A child with a receptive language disorder may have difficulties with understanding what is said to him/her. The symptoms vary between children (ie: Understanding what gestures mean, following directions, answering questions, identifying objects and pictures, taking turns when talking with others etc) but, generally, problems with language comprehension usually begin before the age of four years. Children need to understand spoken language before they can use language effectively.

A child with an expressive language disorder may have difficulty conveying or expressing information in speech, writing, sign language or gesture. Some examples include: Asking questions, Naming objects, using gestures, putting words together into sentences, learning songs and rhyme, using correct pronouns, such as "he" or "they", knowing how to start a conversation and keep it going etc.

A child with a pragmatic language delay may have difficulty appropriately using language (e.g., persuade, request, inform, reject), change language (e.g., talk differently to different audiences, provide background information to unfamiliar listeners, speak differently in different settings, etc) as well as follow conversational rules (e.g., take turns, introduce topics, rephrase sentences, maintain appropriate physical distance during conversational exchanges, use facial expressions and eye contact, etc) all of which culminate into the child’s general ability to appropriately interact with others in a variety of settings.

A child with inadequate social skills have may difficulty interacting with others both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. Social skills are crucial to get along with others as well as to create and maintain meaningful relationships.

A child with Autism, may have may have difficulty in aspects of joint attention and social reciprocity, as well as challenges in the use of verbal and nonverbal communicative behaviors for social interaction. Restricted, repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities are manifested by stereotyped, repetitive speech, motor movement, or use of objects; inflexible adherence to routines; restricted interests; and hyper- and/or hypo-sensitivity to sensory input.

A child with a phonological process disorder may have difficulty with patterns of sound errors. For example, substituting all sounds made in the back of the mouth like "k" and "g" for those in the front of the mouth like "t" and "d" (e.g., saying "tup" for "cup" or "das" for "gas").

Another rule of speech is that some words start with two consonants, such as broken or spoon. When children don't follow this rule, and say only one of the sounds ("boken" for broken or "poon" for spoon), it is more difficult for the listener to understand the child. While it is common for young children learning speech to leave one of the sounds out of the word, it is not expected as a child gets older. If a child continues to demonstrate such cluster reduction, he or she may have a phonological process disorder.

A child with an articulation disorder, produces atypical speech sounds, which are characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions or distortions that may interfere with intelligibility. An articulation disorder involves problems making sounds. Sounds can be substituted, left off, added or changed. These errors may make it hard for people to understand you.

Young children often make speech errors. For instance, many young children sound like they are making a "w" sound for an "r" sound (e.g., "wabbit" for "rabbit") or may leave sounds out of words, such as "nana" for "banana." The child may have an articulation disorder if these errors continue past the expected age. To see the age range during which most children develop each sound, visit Developmental_Sound_Chart

A child with Selective Mutism, a complex childhood anxiety disorder has the inability to speak and communicate effectively in select social settings, such as school. These children can speak and communicate in settings where they are comfortable, secure, and relaxed. 

A child with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS,) a motor speech disorder, may have difficulty saying sounds, syllables, and words. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis.