{"id":56522,"date":"2021-11-05T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=56522"},"modified":"2025-09-17T14:19:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T13:19:32","slug":"supporting-speech-language-and-communication-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/supporting-speech-language-and-communication-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Support Children With Speech, Language, and Communication Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) are prevalent in classrooms across the country: around 10% of children are estimated to have a long-term issue in this area, with up to 50% having shorter-term difficulties when they start school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we will go into detail about what SLCN are, why it\u2019s important to identify these needs in schools and early years settings, and how they can have an impact on learning. We will also provide you with a free SLCN support plan<\/a> to use in your setting.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What Are Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (SLCN)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speech, language, and communication needs<\/strong> (SLCN) are difficulties across one or more aspects of communication and interaction. They range from mild to very severe, and they are a type of special educational need and\/or disability (SEND)<\/a>. They can occur in conjunction with other conditions, such as autism spectrum conditions or cerebral palsy, but they can also occur alone. While some SLCN may be present from birth, others may arise during a person\u2019s life: for example, adults might develop SLCN as a result of brain injury or progressive illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SLCN are often termed \u2018hidden needs\u2019 \u2013 many individuals with these needs go unidentified or are given inadequate support, causing their future outcomes to be severely impacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of SLCN<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are broadly two types of SLCN: delays and disorders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A delay<\/strong> is a temporary or short-term form of SLCN, where a child is developing skills in the right order but is behind the average in achieving each milestone. Delays can occur in any area, such as the development of speech sounds, vocabulary, attention and listening, or non-verbal\/pragmatic skills (such as taking turns in conversations and following other unwritten social communication rules).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of language delays in children under three are resolved by giving the child support as soon as possible. This then allows them to catch up with their age group. However, if children don’t receive any support, it can lead to more complex, long-term difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A disorder <\/strong>is likely to require long-term support \u2013 we use this term to describe a child who is developing in an unusual or atypical way in one or more areas. For example, a child might have problems understanding language and following what is going on (receptive developmental language disorder), have problems remembering words and forming sentences (expressive developmental language disorder), get stuck on a certain sound or part of a word (stammer), struggle coordinating their muscles to produce sounds (verbal dyspraxia), or have communication anxiety in certain situations that prevents them from speaking (selective mutism). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Do Speech and Language Disorders Affect Learning?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A child with SLCN might be affected in the following areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n