Speech guides for parents

Plain-English answers to the questions parents actually ask about children’s speech — milestones by age, late talking, practising at home, and what to expect from speech therapy.

• GuideHow much does speech therapy cost?What speech therapy costs privately, what insurance and public health services cover, and the free or cheap options worth trying while you sit on a waiting list.
• GuideHow to fix a lisp in a childThe two kinds of lisp, why one usually resolves on its own and the other almost never does, and a step-by-step home routine for the S sound with practice words.
• GuideIs my 2-year-old a late talker?The two-part test clinicians use for late talking at age two, why “wait and see” is bad advice, and eight things you can start doing at home tonight.
• GuideSpeech delay vs language delaySpeech is how words come out; language is what they mean and how they go together. Which one your child has changes what helps — here is how to tell them apart.
• GuideSpeech milestones by ageWhat most children can say at 12 months, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years old, using the CDC's milestone checklists — plus the signs that are worth asking a professional about.
• GuideHow to do speech therapy at homeA realistic five-minutes-a-day plan for practising speech at home — how to pick a sound, the four levels to work through, and the correction habit to break.