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12 Speech Pathology Australia: Speech Pathology in Schools Project
Typical speech, language and
communication development
This section is provided as a resource for
speech pathologists to use when you are
required to present information to principals,
teachers and parents. Links to websites outlining
developmental milestones are included below.
Level of educational attainment is one of the
strongest single determinants of health on
a population basis and is heavily reliant on
language and literacy skills.
All children and young people need to have
acquired well-developed speech, language
and communication skills to reach their full
potential; academically, socially, vocationally,
and economically. As well as being vital for
learning, speech, language and communication
skills are essential across the school day – for
students to make friends, sort out problems
and share experiences. Speech, language and
communication underpin literacy and numeracy
– skills which are necessary for students to
understand and achieve in all key learning areas.
In turn, having adequate literacy skills also
contributes to children’s language skills. Speech,
language and communication are closely linked
to behaviour, educational outcomes, social skills
and self-esteem.
Language skills are innate and do not directly
need to be taught when children are developing
typically. However, literacy skills, in particular
reading, must be explicitly taught. Children
must master the basics of decoding and
comprehension in the first three years of school
in order to progress from “learning to read”, to
“reading to learn”.
Speech, language and communication needs
that are evident in a child during early to mid-
primary school do not resolve on transition
to secondary school without appropriate
intervention. Many young people with speech,
language and communication needs struggle
enormously with the transition to secondary
school and it has been shown that many
develop mental health problems such as anxiety
and depression as a result. More sophisticated
aspects of language develop during secondary
school years: complex verbal reasoning,
understanding and using figurative language,
telling more involved stories, and using
increasingly sophisticated social communication
skills.
All of these skills are needed to access both
the academic and social curriculum of school,
to cope with the demands of adolescence and
to ensure a successful onward transition to the
workplace.
As learning becomes more reliant on
independent study, language enables students
to make contact with others; to organise,
manage and evaluate experiences; and to
influence and inform. Adolescents spend more
time than younger children talking to others, so
becoming adept at switching between styles of
language. Socially, interactions become more
complex and sophisticated and interaction
becomes increasingly reliant on competent
communication skills; being able to hold a
conversation and to put together sentences into
a story or report (narrative) is integral to creating
and maintaining social relationships.
A focus on speech, language, and
communication is seen by some as the key for
young people to fit into society, and language
difficulties are identified as a significant risk
factor in adult outcomes (e.g., participation in
education and training, and employment). Many
employers place communication skills above
qualifications and value young people with
good communication, literacy and interaction
skills, which is why we need to support those
with SLCN. Some schools have an increasing
emphasis on the development of functional skills
for life and work and on personal learning and
thinking skills. None of these can be achieved
without effective communication skills.
For information on milestones of primary and
secondary school-aged students, see:
I CAN, the children’s communication
charity (UK Registered charity 21003)