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Brooklyn Letters IconBrooklyn Letters

1139 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn

4.9 56 reviews

  • Avatar Emily Matles ★★★★★ a week ago
    We would highly recommend Ally! Our son always asks about her, so very thankful to Brooklyn Letters for introducing us.
    ~ Emily, mom of Brooklyn 2 year old
  • Avatar T Ainsley ★★★★★ 5 months ago
    I cannot express how grateful and rewarding my experience with Brooklyn Letters has been. Her tutor Ms. Daria is so knowledgeable, amazing, kind and awesome. My daughter has made so much progress in Literacy and Math and it's all … More thanks to Ms. Daria. I know my daughter is sad that she can no longer work with Ms. Daria, as she looked forward to their sessions every week. Thank you again!
  • Avatar Natalie Levon ★★★★★ 4 months ago
    Nicole has been an amazing therapist!! She played a tremendous role in our daughter’s speech progress and overall development. She has come such a long way and we are so happy with the therapy she received!
  • Avatar Colin Peters ★★★★★ 6 months ago
    We could not be happier with the services Valerie provided! She is very thoughtful and knowledgeable and provided significant guidance to support our daughter's speech development outside of our scheduled sessions. She established … More a great working relationship with her, and she will definitely be missed! Your business model is amazing and it was an absolute pleasure working with Valerie. I've referred your organization and Valerie to the Executive Director of our daughter's school and friends/colleagues who are in need of speech therapy services.
  • Avatar Lil Amatore ★★★★★ 7 months ago
    Christina was absolutely wonderful. She went out of her way to win my son over and it worked. He looked forward to her visits and his speech improved so much under her care. She was super flexible and it’s clear she truly cares. We adore … More Christina and we’re going to miss her. Almost sad he improved so much! She’s simply amazing and we can’t say enough how great she is. I would recommend her services to anyone and everyone, without hesitation. Thank you so much for connecting us with her!
  • Avatar Heather Liljengren ★★★★★ a year ago
    We cannot say enough good things about Effie, the ASL teacher, who was so engaged and effective with our 2 year old daughter from the very first session! Effie gladly included our whole family in the sessions! Her expertise and fantastic … More personality gave our daughter a way to communicate that she was so desperately seeking. The coordinators at Brooklyn Letters were so helpful and communicative…I would highly recommend their services!
  • Avatar Brigid Bower ★★★★★ 11 months ago
    Samantha Dalmas was fantastic! We saw her for a feeding therapy evaluation and while she doesn’t think my daughter needs more feeding therapy sessions at this time, but she gave me lots of tips to try. If my daughter's doctors want … More to see more progress at her next appointment, I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to Samantha again.
  • Avatar Duygu Başaran ★★★★★ 11 months ago
    Brooklyn Letters was recommended to me through a friend's speech therapist friend in NJ. The articulation evaluation for my daughter went well. We were pleased with Kristin's services.
  • Avatar Kelley Peters-Patel ★★★★★ a year ago
    Melissa was wonderful. Our daughter warmed to her immediately and by the time she left, had already started "practicing" some of the techniques Melissa had shown her. I will not hesitate at all to reach out to Melissa again, should … More the need arise.
  • Avatar R Elmore ★★★★★ a year ago
    Aileen was INCREDIBLY helpful to us, both in assessing possible origins of my grandson's food aversions, as well as informing us of various available interventions to consider.
    I can’t thank you and Brooklyn Letters enough for connecting
    … More us with Aileen. In all our feeding therapy journey we have not gotten anything near the kind of benefit that we did from her. Her knowledge, professionalism, and responsiveness have put us on the path of progress with my grandson and has also made us feel genuinely well cared for.
  • Avatar Christine Weiher ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    We were amazed with Allison! She met my son at 2 1/2 years old, not speaking much at all, and over a computer, and she was able to develop a bond and friendship, so much so that he would look forward to his weekly computer time with Allison. … More I was not sure how the speech therapy would go- but we are so happy that we tried it out and continued. It allowed my son to gain confidence in his speech, make a new friend :), and also give him the skills and a bit of understanding of how to shape his mouth or where to place his tongue to make the proper sounds. We were extremely happy with Allison- she was fantastic to work with.
  • Avatar Andrea Saffady ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    My sessions with Karen have been extremely helpful. My speech has improved tremendously. In fact, I just finished 2 hours of conducting interviews with a consulting client via MS Teams and I have an upcoming conference call. Both my … More neurologist and neurosurgeon remarked about how good my speech is. Much of the day it is perfect, although I still have some rough spots when I get tired or speak too quickly. One of my granddaughters is a speech pathology student at Ithaca College. She sat in on 2 sessions while she was home for winter break, and she was very impressed with Karen.
  • Avatar Jacob B ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    We were delighted with Christie. First, and most importantly, our son made great strides under her guidance. So great, that we felt he no longer needed help! She was incredibly patient and kind with him and our son really responded to … More her. Christie was also great with me and my wife. She provided thorough and informative updates on our son's progress and which exercises she was using with him, so we could reinforce what she was teaching him. All in all, we had a fabulous experience with Christie and would highly recommend her.
  • Avatar Jessica C ★★★★★ a year ago
    Theo was wonderful and his work with my son has produced some progress. I am grateful for the services Theo provided.
  • Avatar Melissa Stevens ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    Highly recommend Jill. She is a total pleasure to work with. After a few months working with Jill, my son is reading above grade level and LOVES to read. Mission accomplished!
  • Avatar Demet Evren ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    Paige was great and we had been really happy with her. I would highly recommend her! I recommend Brooklyn Letters to whomever asks for a speech therapist.
  • Avatar Jeizel Rosenthal ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    Isabel was WONDERFUL and our son absolutely adored her, and he is making great progress with his reading and writing.
  • Avatar Lesley Duval ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    Theo was fantastic with our 4yo son. We were very worried that his progress would fall off when we had to switch to remote sessions, but Theo kept our son happy and engaged through the screen. Highly highly recommend!
  • Avatar Samantha Packard ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    We've been working with Theo from Brooklyn Letters for close to 4 months now and the results are apparent; our daughter has vastly improved her speech in a relatively short amount of time. We make "Theo Day" a celebration … More in our house with pancakes for breakfast, and the enthusiasm is matched in the sessions. Theo is fun, patient, professional, and caring, and he gives us the tools to take the lessons beyond the session. Thank you Theo, and Brooklyn Letters, for helping our daughter express herself.
  • Avatar Travis Ricca ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    I worked with Alina to enhance my pronunciation, tone, and pacing while communicating socially and in a work environment. She was great to work with and clear about goals and learning objectives. The improvement from day 1 has been tremendous! … More
  • Avatar Enrico Bermudez ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    Cathy has been excellent with us and our son. We will sorely miss her. He has improved significantly with Cathy’s help. Cathy was a true partner with us, especially as we pursued additional help through our son’s school system.
  • Avatar Kayne Elisabeth Wilk ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    We really loved working with Alina, she is so fantastic. Patient yet firm, and determined the best course of action very clearly and succintly for us. And it all transitioned so well to Zoom as well. I will definitely be back in touch for … More services for our other child after summer break!
  • Avatar Jen S ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Vera was amazing! My 11 yo daughter made progress so quickly and really looked forward to her sessions. She was kept motivated and engaged.
  • Avatar susie tofte ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    The work that Allison P. did with our daughter over the years has been invaluable to us. Our daughter had such a good relationship with Allison, and it allowed them to work really well together - even remotely these past 6 months. This … More year, Allison went above and beyond by helping us throughout the neuropsych eval we did, trying to re-open our daughter's IEP at her school, and eventually landing her at our chosen school. She was in contact with our daughter's teachers, with the neuropsychologist, and made herself available as a reference to speak on behalf of our daughter's learning differences.
    Allison stopped by our house last week to give our daughter cupcakes and say goodbye, and I literally cried with appreciation for what an amazing speech therapist she has been. She has been our daughter's biggest champion. The new families that she will work with this year are lucky to have her.
  • Avatar Alicia Perez-Katz ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Sydney was great! Our son was sad to end his sessions with her, which says a lot. We appreciated her honest assessment of his skill level, and he now has materials to self monitor and practice. Thank you!
  • Avatar Kristin Ames ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Our experience with Theo was terrific. Theo was great with my son. He developed a positive relationship with him based on sincerity, respect, trust and a deep personal connection. In their lessons, Theo was encouraging, creative and kind. … More He helped our son understand how to differentiate the sounds he made when he spoke, and gave him great exercises to practice every week between lessons. Our son was sorry to have the lessons come to an end, but recognized that Theo had helped him as much as possible and it was time for him to stop. Theo explained to him (and us) how to keep working to get the last 5%, and encouraged him to keep working on the exercises on his own. I have recommended Theo to another parent who noticed my son's improvement and inquired for her own son.
    We are all grateful to have gotten to know Theo, and we greatly appreciate all the work he did to help our son.
  • Avatar Aisha Holder ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    "I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Michelle Macroy-Higgins. We are extremely pleased with her work with our daughter. I was so grateful for my daughter to have a speech therapist who is a researcher (specialty in late … More talkers), graduate professor and practitioner. Her expertise was clearly evident in our conversations and work with our daughter. She was very responsive to my questions and often sent articles and other materials about language development that I found helpful. Thankfully, my daughter's speech improved tremendously. Michelle developed such a warm relationship with my daughter. My daughter was always excited to see Michelle and would greet her at the door with a big hug. Lastly, I would add that Michelle always demonstrated empathy with me as a mother who was initially worried about her daughter's language development. I could go on and on about how pleased we were with Michelle's work."
  • Avatar Andrea Peartree ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Theo is a wonderful Clinton Hill speech therapist. We were really pleased with him. Our son showed drastic improvement, not only in his speech but in his confidence.
  • Avatar mario costa ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Alexa has been an enthusiastic, reliable, well prepared and caring teacher for our 6 year old daughter. She has been able to improve and increase our daughter's confidence lesson by lesson with patience and competence; through varied … More and productive didactic practice. Alexa has engaged our daughter in several activities that always kept her motivated and eager to learn literacy. My wife and I, both of us are educators, feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to observe Alexa's pedagogical skills. Alexa has had a big impact on our daughter literacy growth. Thank you Brooklyn Letters!
  • Avatar Lily Alt ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    We were absolutely DELIGHTED with Marsha's services. She was wonderful. We found her to be kind, fun, engaging, very knowledgeable. She provided us with clear instructions and additional written handouts each week. She engaged our … More son with different techniques and toys, and showed us how to use her techniques when we were interacting with him. I actually just texted her on Saturday - Our son finally said "more" - one of the target words we had been working on with her. It was a total joy to hear, and I had to share it with her - she wrote back immediately to congratulate us. I am so appreciative of her expertise, and wish we could have seen her for longer. I recommended her to another family in our neighborhood who is looking for a speech therapist.

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BABY TODDLER PRESCHOOLER SPEECH LANGUAGE DELAY THERAPY

EARLY STAGES OF COMMUNICATION

BABY TODDLER PRESCHOOLER SPEECH-LANGUAGE-DELAY THERAPY

EARLY STAGES OF COMMUNICATION
As Featured In:

Speech-Language Pathologists Travel To Your NYC Metro Area Home! Expert Private Pay In-Person Baby Toddler Preschooler Speech-Language Delay Therapy. Free Consultations and Meet & Greets.

Speech-Language Pathologists Travel To Your NYC Metro Area Home! Expert Private Pay In-Person Baby Toddler Preschooler Speech-Language Delay Therapy. Free Consultations and Meet & Greets.
Brooklyn Letters manages four Letters websites, connecting families with top-tier speech-language pathology/therapy across the Tri-State area. Licensed speech-language pathologists travel to you in BrooklynManhattanThe BronxQueensStaten Island, Yonkers, Long IslandConnecticut (CT)Westchester, and New Jersey (NJ) for offering
private pay speech-language therapy services for all ages.
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologists

Licensed speech-language pathologists travel to you and also offer remote services. Some of our speech-language pathologists are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many licensed speech-language pathologists we work with are trained in literacy and offer support with decodingspelling and reading fluency services. The licensed speech-language pathologists we work with provide services for babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:

They also assist children on the autism spectrum.

Licensed Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists

Licensed speech-language pathologists travel to you and also offer remote services. Some licensed speech-language pathologists we work with are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many licensed speech-language pathologists we work with are trained in literacy and offer support with decodingspelling and reading fluency services. The licensed speech-language pathologists we work with provide services for babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:

They also assist children on the autism spectrum.

Training/Certifications
Training/Certifications
TESTIMONIALS

Julia was amazing with daughter. My daughter had a very difficult end of preschool year and Julia was awesome with working with her during a difficult time. She was always super patient and kind and knew when to push and when to pull back. My daughter's speech has improved tremendously since working with Julia. Her confidence in speaking has also improved a lot. Also, she has become a lot less frustrated when speaking.

- Joeann, mom of a Brooklyn 4 year old.

We are very happy with Paige and recommend her with enthusiasm!
We hired Paige to work with our six-year-old daughter and our three-year-old son on their speech impediments. Our son had a speech delay because he couldn’t make certain sounds; Paige helped him catch up to age level, and now he talks up a storm! Our daughter has a lisp, and Paige has helped her learn how to pronounce S properly and consciously correct herself.
Our kids love Paige and are always excited about her visits. Paige has a wonderful manner with the kids; she’s playful and funny and incorporates a lot of games and toys into her therapy. She provides detailed reports to us on our kids’ progress after each visit and concrete instructions on how to continue therapy between her visits.

-Sameer and Mandi

Soooo Happy We Found You!
After two awkward sessions with different speech therapists, who favored two different approaches, a quick search online led me to Brooklyn Letters and Craig, who promptly remedied my confusion about how to best treat my son's speech delay. On Craig’s recommendation, he's been seeing Lisa, Brooklyn Letters speech therapist, for two months now, and I wanted to share how we are dazzled by his progress. Lisa is so wonderful. At every session (in our home) I'm impressed by her patience, thoughtfulness, preparedness, and creativity. In fact, I often find myself drawn to the rug where she works with my son, so I can learn to better model phrases for him when Lisa's not around, not to mention her stellar assortment of toys and books: every session has its own unique theme. So, thanks Craig for sending her our way!

- Tanya (mom of JF, 2)

Progress can only be made when therapy is put into context. My son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 18 months, with a significant delay in expressive language. Craig has been an invaluable part of my son’s therapeutic team since my son's diagnosis 5 months ago. Craig is very knowledgeable in his discipline, taking care to stay current with the latest research and evidence versus fads. He is very patient in his sessions and is skilled at engaging children so that they are challenged but not overwhelmed. Craig approaches speech therapy with the family in mind. Craig consistently engaged me in my son’s speech sessions,
explaining how to specifically target underlying issues associated with Autism that impede communication (such as joint attention, eye contact, social reciprocity). He also showed me creative strategies to engage my son to encourage communication, such as following my son’s lead and interests, playful obstruction, modeling sounds with actions, and adding tactile aspects to communication. This allowed me to carry over his recommendations at home. The most important lesson that I learned from Craig is that therapeutic approaches for children on the spectrum do not exist separate from the lives of the children themselves progress can only be made when therapy is put into context. I learned how to embed opportunities for communication in ways that didn’t feel forced or unnatural, which allowed me to always be a mom to my son first. What a joy it is to hear our son's beautiful voice!

- Mother of Dev

My then 2 year old son used to be very shy and scared of being alone with somebody that he didn’t know, and so we have decided to get someone that could help him with his speech delay and do the therapy sessions in the place where he would feel secure and comfortable – our home. I have reached out to Craig, and he’s been very helpful and kind to answer all our questions and requests. Through Brooklyn Letters, we have been referred to Penny, which I believe is the best fit speech therapist for my son. She’s been very patient with him from day 1. She’s cheerful and lively, and she surely knows how to interact and get the attention of a toddler. She’s also thoughtful and treats my son like a family. My son is just so comfortable being around her. We have been with Penny for 1.5years now and my son’s speech has developed from zero to now being able to say three to four word sentences. We are very happy and satisfied and would continue do sessions with her until my son is ready.

- Gel Molino
Check Out Other Testimonials!

BABIES, TODDLERS, PRESCHOOLERS

When we set up an initial consultation and/or evaluation, we will assess your child’s speech and language skills and determine if there are speech-language delays. Analysis will target where your child is having difficulty with their speech and language development. Pinpointing the underlying difficulties is critical for effective treatment.

For infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, speech therapy does not resemble a traditional speech class or formal speech lesson. Instead, therapy is play-based, developmentally appropriate, and embedded in meaningful interaction. While families sometimes search for speech classes for toddlers, early intervention is most effective when services are individualized rather than delivered in a group format.

In addition to language therapy, we provide speech therapy for all ages. Read about Early Childhood Concepts.

EARLY STAGES OF COMMUNICATION

Before a child speaks, he/she child relies on non-verbal communication, e.g. pointing, reaching, and handing an object to a parent. Babies and toddlers with communication delays- who are not ready to speak- first need help learning how to communicate non-verbally and some babies and toddlers need help with their social focus, called joint attention. Therapy focuses on increasing the frequency and improving the quality of the child s communicative gestures and improving their focus during social games/activities.

Learn more about encouraging speech at home and how to recognize when to see a speech therapist.

EARLY EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Early expressive language development is characterized by the quantity and quality of the child’s vocabulary, and the manner in which a child combines words before speaking full sentences. Once the child is speaking in full sentences, his or her development is characterized in terms of how well the words are used to convey more complex ideas or thoughts.

Delays in early language development involve slower acquisition of sounds, words, combining words, less frequent social communicative attempts, and difficulty understanding cognitive or linguistic concepts (such as big vs. small, under vs next to, some vs all, or first vs. last). If a child is having significant expressive language issues compared to peers, he or she may have an expressive language disorder (also known as spoken language disorder) or an expressive language delay (for children 4 years and younger). 

Learn how speech therapy helps children thrive.

Late Talkers

While communication delays in some children may not point to an expressive language disorder, some toddlers with a limited vocabulary for their age and exhibit other symptoms may be at risk. In particular, studies suggest that mild comprehension for their age, a family history of language and learning issues, and using few gestures when communicating are indicators that a child could have continuing language delay. This may mean that a child is showing signs of a language disorder (expressive or expressive/receptive language) also known as a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), or language impairment as research calls it. Explore social skills support for young learners.

Stages of babbling:

  • 0-2 Months: Crying and cooing
  • 3-4 Months: Simple speech sounds (goo).
  • 5 Months: Single-syllable speech sounds (ba, da, ma).
  • 6-7 Months : Reduplicated babbling – repeating the same syllable (ba-ba, na-na).
  • 8-9 Months: Variegated babbling – mixing different sounds (ba de da).
  • 10-11 Months: Jargon – complex babbling with simple words (baba da ma ball da).
  • 12 Months: Real words gradually take over.

By 1 year of age, most babies will:

  • Look for and be able to locate the source of a sound.
  • When you call their name, they usually respond.
  • Wave goodbye.
  • Look where you point when you say, 
  • Babble with intonation (voice rises and falls as if they speak).
  • Take turns “talking” to you, paying attention and listening when you speak, and then babbling when you stop. Say “da-da” to their father and “ma-ma” to their mother.
  • Say at least 1 word.
  • Make sounds while pointing to items they want that are out of reach.

By the age of two, most toddlers will:

  • Point to various body parts and common objects.
  • Point to common images in books.
  • Follow 1-step commands without a gesture, such as, “Put your cup on the table.”
  • Be able to say about 250 but cut off is 50 spontaneous words, and they are combing words Dadda Up
  • Say a few two-word phrases, such as “Daddy go,” “Doll mine,” and “All gone.”
  • Perhaps say 3-word sentences like “I want juice” or “You go bye-bye.”
A Time to Talk

Know more about late-talking in this interview with Dr. Michelle Macroy-Higgins, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist, associate professor in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Program at Hunter College, New York, and author of Time to Talk: What You Need to Know About Your Child’s Speech and Language Development. She speaks with speech-language pathologist, learning specialist, and Brooklyn Letters CEO Craig Selinger about the signs and symptoms of late-talking and how to diagnose it in young children.

What is the relationship between language and learning disabilities

During this early stage of expressive language, toddlers also begin to acquire and develop their narrative skills. This is crucial as young children expand their use of language and communication by retelling or describing stories, experiences, or past events. Narrative development is directly correlated with a child’s success in school and academic achievement.

Typically developing children commonly acquire all grammatical morphemes by age four (see chart below). But for children struggling with narrative language, parents may notice some delays or missing aspects in their child’s language skills. At Brooklyn Letters, we work with students who struggle with narrative development.

Another condition is Social Communication Pragmatic Disorder (SCPD). Learn more about social communication pragmatic disorder, its symptoms, causes, and strategies parents can employ to support their child with this disorder.

Read about Early Childhood Developmental Milestones.

Grammatical Morphemes in Order of Acquisition scaled

Narrative Development in Children

According to research, narrative development can play a significant role in determining a child’s later success in school and literacyThis is because narration and relaying a previous experience allows the child to communicate and use language beyond the present context or the “here and now.” This determines the child’s grasp of linguistic structure and words chosen. But what exactly is narrative development? And how do you know your child’s progress is appropriate for his or her age?
A child’s narrative skills refer to his or her ability to use language in telling or communicating a story. As children develop their narrative skills, they learn to follow the rules of story-telling. This involves sequencing of events, organization, introducing characters, establishing the plot or main idea, and taking perspectives.
Narrative skills are first developed and introduced in very young children through storytelling or bedtime story sessions with their parents.
By listening to stories and being exposed to story-telling, children begin to understand and develop narrative structure. In most cases, children with language impairments or conditions struggle with comprehending and executing narratives. At Brooklyn Letters, children are connected with professionals who address narrative language difficulties.
Find out more about the Stages of Narrative Development.
Stages of Narrative Development scaled

What is an Expressive Language Disorder?

Unlike speech sound disorders, which involve difficulties in producing spoken sounds, language disorders refer to problems using spoken language compared to peers. These expressive problems manifest in at least one of these areas: spoken vocabulary, complexity of what the child is saying (grammar), and social use of words (pragmatics). These issues become more apparent when children, older than 4 years of age, have difficulties telling stories and making friends. 

Language Disorders are classified as two types: 

Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder – Difficulty with comprehension or understanding the words or complexity of what the individual understands compared to peers and has an expressive language disorder.

Expressive Language Disorder – Receptively, the individual is age appropriate but there are significant issues expressing oneself compared to peers.

There is no such thing as just a receptive language disorder. If a child is misdiagnosed with this label, either the child has significant attentional difficulties, or the child’s expressive language skills were not thoroughly assessed. Licensed speech-language pathologists are the best professionals to thoroughly assess expressive language skills.

Spoken or expressive language disorder is a lifelong condition and appears in early childhood. It is often developmental in nature but may also be caused by traumatic brain injury. An individual with expressive language disorder exhibits normal comprehension skills but has difficulty with written and/or verbal expression. This can impair academic achievement and make it more difficult to socialize in groups with peers.

What Are the Signs of an Expressive Language Disorder?

In many cases, signs of an expressive language disorder may may be invisible to parents and teachers. Some signs and behaviors may not directly imply a language problem. According to research, one of the early signs of a language disorder in children is late talking. The Hanen Centre defines a late talker as a child between 18 and 30 months with a good understanding of language and typical development in other areas (hearing, vision, motor, and cognitive skills) but has a limited spoken vocabulary compared to peers for their age. However, late talking becomes a more serious concern for children who also exhibit other risk factors, such as:

  • Quiet or little babbling as an infant
  • Has a history of ear infections
  • Limited consonant sounds
  • Does not link pretend ideas and actions together during play
  • Does not imitate words or sounds
  • Uses mostly nouns and few verbs
  • Difficulty interacting or playing with peers
  • A family history of communication, learning, and academic difficulties
  • Mild comprehension delay for their age
  • Uses few gestures to communicate

Other signs of an expressive language disorder in children also include:

  • less developed vocabulary than their peers
  • often uses fillers like “um,” “uh,” and “huh”
  • having no problems with understanding, but struggle with speaking, asking questions, or answering
  • using short phrases or sentences or say the same words or phrases over and over;
  • struggling with telling stories
  • for toddlers, relying on using gestures
  • lacking intonation and modulation when talking
  • shying away from conversation and avoid social situations or group interactions
  • may say a lot but not make much sense

Signs of a child who needs expressive language therapy:

  • Difficulty naming items and objects.
  • Does not link words together or may use sentences that are shorter than those used by children of the same age.
  • Uses sentences that are not grammatically correct and, therefore, can sound immature.
  • May use jargon (made-up words) when talking.
  • Speaks in sentences that are ‘jumbled’ (i.e., words are in the wrong order, lots of stopping and starting, creating a lack of flow).
  • Can be misunderstood by unfamiliar people.
  • May have difficulty finding the correct words to use when describing something or having a conversation. The child may use techniques such as ‘circumlocution’ (talking around the word) or a word with a similar meaning to help them express themselves.
PBS.ORG, Average Number of Words Produced
  • At 15 months= 14 words
  • 18 months= 68 words
  • 23 months= 200 words
  • 24 months= 200 to 300 words                  (Dr Rhea Paul, Ph. D.)
  • 30 months= 570 words

Diagnosing an Expressive Language Disorder

As with all speech or language disorders, it is always important to first ensure that there are no hearing issues affecting language development. A hearing assessment by an audiologist is necessary to rule out any issues with hearing (ears). Even undetected ear infections can interfere with acquiring language in younger children.

To get your child diagnosed with an expressive language disorder, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) must do a thorough evaluation. A comprehensive assessment must be conducted with the help of the child’s family and teachers. This evaluation process includes both informal and formal assessments. Formal evaluation comes in the form of standardized tests, while informal evaluation involves interviews, observations, checklists, and language samples.

Learn what an early language assessment is, how a speech pathologist evaluates children, the role of play in understanding communication, and when you should consider professional early intervention.

While both types are essential in providing accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment goals, it is the language sample that provides a clearer picture of the child’s language abilities and conversational skillsThrough language sampling, an SLP is able to gain better understanding of the child’s strengths and weaknesses with regards to key language areasThese areas include syntax or grammar, semantics or word meanings, morphology (suffixes and prefixes), and pragmatics or social skills. The licensed speech-language pathologists working with Brooklyn Letters conduct language sampling to accurately diagnose and assess the needs of your child using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts or SALT program. The typical expressive language development in young children, aged 12 months to 47 months onwards, is outlined in the Acquisition of Sentence Forms Within Brown’s Stages of Development. This framework is an invaluable tool used by SLPs in conducting a structural analysis of a language sample.
(Related: Find out more about language sampling in this article on the Structural Analysis of a Language Sample.)

During this phase, the licensed speech-language pathologists will need to know the child’s:

  • full case history (including birth and medical records; history of language, speech, reading, or academic difficulties in the family; languages or dialects spoken at home; and, the family’s and teacher’s own observations and concerns)
  • spoken language skills (phonology and phonological awareness, semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics)
  • level of reading and writing (if the child is school age)
AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORDS A CHILD PRODUCES/SAYS
  • Age 3 1/2: 4,200 words

  • Age 4: 5,600 words

  • Age 5: 9,600 words

How to Treat an Expressive Language Disorders in Young Children

Once a diagnosis is made, the SLP will conduct further analysis and observations before creating an individualized program. However, it is important to remember that therapy will not offer a permanent “cure” for the disorder. Instead, licensed speech-language pathologists can equip children with strategies and techniques to help them manage their condition.

Therapy methods can vary, depending on the therapist and the child’s needs. Modeling target behavior is one technique where the therapist models and reinforces aspects of speech that need to be targeted, such as sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical structure.

Some areas that licensed speech-language pathologists address are:

For preschoolers (ages 3 to 5):

  • enhancing phonological awareness through rhyming, blending, and segmenting spoken words
  • improving vocabulary and understanding of semantic relationships
  • increasing sentence types, length, and complexity
  • improving conversational skills
  • developing narrative skills
  • increasing language flexibility in different contexts
  • building and encouraging literacy skills
  • The Beginning with Babble app is a mobile tool designed to help parents and caregivers interact with their children from birth to five years old through research-based, developmentally appropriate tips and activities. The licensed speech-language pathologists working with Brooklyn Letters coach families on effectively using the app, so parents can confidently apply its tips and strategies when a clinician isn’t present, fostering language-rich interactions and building foundational language and pre-literacy skills independently.

For preschoolers (ages 3–5), therapy focuses on building flexible language skills through play, storytelling, and caregiver coaching—far more effective than generic speech classes or group-based speech lessons.

- BABIES, TODDLERS, PRESCHOOLERS

When we set up an initial consultation and/or evaluation, we will assess your child s speech and language skills and determine if there are speech-language delays. Analysis will target where your child is having difficulty with their speech and language development. Pinpointing the underlying difficulties is critical for effective treatment. In addition to language therapy, we provide speech therapy for all ages.

Read about Early Childhood Concepts.

EARLY STAGES OF COMMUNICATION

Before a child speaks, he/she child relies on non-verbal communication, e.g. pointing, reaching, and handing an object to a parent. Babies and toddlers with communication delays- who are not ready to speak- first need help learning how to communicate non-verbally and some babies and toddlers need help with their social focus, called joint attention. Therapy focuses on increasing the frequency and improving the quality of the child s communicative gestures and improving their focus during social games/activities.

Learn more about encouraging speech at home and how to recognize when to see a speech therapist.

EARLY EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Early expressive language development is characterized by the quantity and quality of the child’s vocabulary, and the manner in which a child combines words before speaking full sentences. Once the child is speaking in full sentences, his or her development is characterized in terms of how well the words are used to convey more complex ideas or thoughts.

Delays in early language development involve slower acquisition of sounds, words, combining words, less frequent social communicative attempts, and difficulty understanding cognitive or linguistic concepts (such as big vs. small, under vs next to, some vs all, or first vs. last). If a child is having significant expressive language issues compared to peers, he or she may have an expressive language disorder (also known as spoken language disorder) or an expressive language delay (for children 4 years and younger). 

Learn how speech therapy helps children thrive.

Late Talkers

While communication delays in some children may not point to an expressive language disorder, some toddlers with a limited vocabulary for their age and exhibit other symptoms may be at risk. In particular, studies suggest that mild comprehension for their age, a family history of language and learning issues, and using few gestures when communicating are indicators that a child could have continuing language delay. This may mean that a child is showing signs of a language disorder (expressive or expressive/receptive language) also known as a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), or language impairment as research calls it. Explore social skills support for young learners.

Stages of babbling:

  • 0-2 Months: Crying and cooing
  • 3-4 Months: Simple speech sounds (goo).
  • 5 Months: Single-syllable speech sounds (ba, da, ma).
  • 6-7 Months : Reduplicated babbling – repeating the same syllable (ba-ba, na-na).
  • 8-9 Months: Variegated babbling – mixing different sounds (ba de da).
  • 10-11 Months: Jargon – complex babbling with simple words (baba da ma ball da).
  • 12 Months: Real words gradually take over.

By 1 year of age, most babies will:

  • Look for and be able to locate the source of a sound.
  • When you call their name, they usually respond.
  • Wave goodbye.
  • Look where you point when you say,
  • Babble with intonation (voice rises and falls as if they speak).
  • Take turns “talking” to you, paying attention and listening when you speak, and then babbling when you stop. Say “da-da” to their father and “ma-ma” to their mother.
  • Say at least 1 word.
  • Make sounds while pointing to items they want that are out of reach.

By the age of two, most toddlers will:

  • Point to various body parts and common objects.
  • Point to common images in books.
  • Follow 1-step commands without a gesture, such as, “Put your cup on the table.”
  • Be able to say about 250 but cut off is 50 spontaneous words, and they are combing words Dadda Up
  • Say a few two-word phrases, such as “Daddy go,” “Doll mine,” and “All gone.”
  • Perhaps say 3-word sentences like “I want juice” or “You go bye-bye.”

Know more about late-talking in this interview with Dr. Michelle Macroy-Higgins, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist, associate professor in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Program at Hunter College, New York, and author of Time to Talk: What You Need to Know About Your Child’s Speech and Language Development. She speaks with Craig Selinger, a speech-language pathologist, learning specialist, and Brooklyn Letters CEO, about the signs and symptoms of late-talking and how to diagnose it in young children.

A Time to Talk
What is the relationship between language and learning disabilities

During this early stage of expressive language, toddlers also begin to acquire and develop their narrative skills. This is crucial as young children expand their use of language and communication by retelling or describing stories, experiences, or past events. Narrative development is directly correlated with a child’s success in school and academic achievement.

Typically developing children commonly acquire all grammatical morphemes by age four (see chart below). But for children struggling with narrative language, parents may notice some delays or missing aspects in their child’s language skills. At Brooklyn Letters, children are connected with professionals who address narrative development challenges.

Another condition is Social Communication Pragmatic Disorder (SCPD). Learn more about social communication pragmatic disorder, its symptoms, causes, and strategies parents can employ to support their child with this disorder.

Read about Early Childhood Developmental Milestones.

Grammatical Morphemes in Order of Acquisition scaled

Narrative Development in Children

According to research, narrative development can play a significant role in determining a child’s later success in school and literacy. This is because narration and relaying a previous experience allows the child to communicate and use language beyond the present context or the “here and now.” This determines the child’s grasp of linguistic structure and words chosen. But what exactly is narrative development? And how do you know your child’s progress is appropriate for his or her age?
A child’s narrative skills refer to his or her ability to use language in telling or communicating a story. As children develop their narrative skills, they learn to follow the rules of story-telling. This involves sequencing of events, organization, introducing characters, establishing the plot or main idea, and taking perspectives.
Narrative skills are first developed and introduced in very young children through storytelling or bedtime story sessions with their parents.
By listening to stories and being exposed to story-telling, children begin to understand and develop narrative structure. In most cases, children with language impairments or conditions struggle with comprehending and executing narratives. At Brooklyn Letters, children are connected with professionals who address narrative language difficulties.
Find out more about the Stages of Narrative Development.
Stages of Narrative Development scaled

What is an Expressive Language Disorder?

Unlike speech sound disorders, which involve difficulties in producing spoken sounds, language disorders refer to problems using spoken language compared to peers. These expressive problems manifest in at least one of these areas: spoken vocabulary, complexity of what the child is saying (grammar), and social use of words (pragmatics). These issues become more apparent when children, older than 4 years of age, have difficulties telling stories and making friends. 

Language Disorders are classified as two types: 

Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder – Difficulty with comprehension or understanding the words or complexity of what the individual understands compared to peers and has an expressive language disorder. 

Expressive Language Disorder – Receptively, the individual is age appropriate but there are significant issues expressing oneself compared to peers. 

There is no such thing as just a receptive language disorder. If a child is misdiagnosed with this label, either the child has significant attentional difficulties, or the child’s expressive language skills were not thoroughly assessed. Speech language pathologists are the best professionals to thoroughly assess expressive language skills. 

Spoken or expressive language disorder is a lifelong condition and appears in early childhood. It is often developmental in nature but may also be caused by traumatic brain injury. An individual with expressive language disorder exhibits normal comprehension skills but has difficulty with written and/or verbal expression. This can impair academic achievement and make it more difficult to socialize in groups with peers. 

What Are the Signs of an Expressive Language Disorder?

In many cases, signs of an expressive language disorder may may be invisible to parents and teachers. Some signs and behaviors may not directly imply a language problem. According to research, one of the early signs of a language disorder in children is late talking. The Hanen Centre defines a late talker as a child between 18 and 30 months with a good understanding of language and typical development in other areas (hearing, vision, motor, and cognitive skills) but has a limited spoken vocabulary compared to peers for their age. However, late talking becomes a more serious concern for children who also exhibit other risk factors, such as:

  • Quiet or little babbling as an infant
  • Has a history of ear infections
  • Limited consonant sounds
  • Does not link pretend ideas and actions together during play
  • Does not imitate words or sounds
  • Uses mostly nouns and few verbs
  • Difficulty interacting or playing with peers
  • A family history of communication, learning, and academic difficulties
  • Mild comprehension delay for their age
  • Uses few gestures to communicate

Other signs of an expressive language disorder in children also include:

  • less developed vocabulary than their peers
  • often uses fillers like “um,” “uh,” and “huh”
  • having no problems with understanding, but struggle with speaking, asking questions, or answering
  • using short phrases or sentences or say the same words or phrases over and over;
  • struggling with telling stories
  • for toddlers, relying on using gestures
  • lacking intonation and modulation when talking
  • shying away from conversation and avoid social situations or group interactions
  • may say a lot but not make much sense

Signs of a child who needs expressive language therapy:

  • Difficulty naming items and objects.
  • Does not link words together or may use sentences that are shorter than those used by children of the same age.
  • Uses sentences that are not grammatically correct and, therefore, can sound immature.
  • May use jargon (made-up words) when talking.
  • Speaks in sentences that are ‘jumbled’ (i.e., words are in the wrong order, lots of stopping and starting, creating a lack of flow).
  • Can be misunderstood by unfamiliar people.
  • May have difficulty finding the correct words to use when describing something or having a conversation. The child may use techniques such as ‘circumlocution’ (talking around the word) or a word with a similar meaning to help them express themselves.
PBS.ORG, Average Number of Words Produced
  • At 15 months= 14 words
  • 18 months= 68 words
  • 23 months= 200 words
  • 24 months= 200 to 300 words (Dr Rhea Paul, Ph. D.)
  • 30 months= 570 words

Diagnosing an Expressive Language Disorder

As with all speech or language disorders, it is always important to first ensure that there are no hearing issues affecting language development. A hearing assessment by an audiologist is necessary to rule out any issues with hearing (ears). Even undetected ear infections can interfere with acquiring language in younger children.

To get your child diagnosed with an expressive language disorder, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) must do a thorough evaluation. A comprehensive assessment must be conducted with the help of the child’s family and teachers. This evaluation process includes both informal and formal assessments. Formal evaluation comes in the form of standardized tests, while informal evaluation involves interviews, observations, checklists, and language samples.

While both types are essential in providing accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment goals, it is the language sample that provides a clearer picture of the child’s language abilities and conversational skillsThrough language sampling, an SLP is able to gain better understanding of the child’s strengths and weaknesses with regards to key language areasThese areas include syntax or grammar, semantics or word meanings, morphology (suffixes and prefixes), and pragmatics or social skills. The licensed speech-language pathologists working with Brooklyn Letters conduct language sampling to accurately diagnose and assess the needs of your child using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts or SALT program. The typical expressive language development in young children, aged 12 months to 47 months onwards, is outlined in the Acquisition of Sentence Forms Within Brown’s Stages of Development. This framework is an invaluable tool used by SLPs in conducting a structural analysis of a language sample.
(Related: Find out more about language sampling in this article on the Structural Analysis of a Language Sample.)

During this phase, speech language pathologists will need to know the child’s:

  • full case history (including birth and medical records; history of language, speech, reading, or academic difficulties in the family; languages or dialects spoken at home; and, the family’s and teacher’s own observations and concerns)
  • spoken language skills (phonology and phonological awareness, semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics)
  • level of reading and writing (if the child is school age)
AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORDS A CHILD PRODUCES/SAYS
  • Age 3 1/2: 4,200 words

  • Age 4: 5,600 words

  • Age 5: 9,600 words

Read more about

How to Treat an Expressive Language Disorder in Young Children

Once a diagnosis is made, the SLP will conduct further analysis and observations before creating an individualized program. However, it is important to remember that therapy will not offer a permanent “cure” for the disorder. Instead, licensed speech-language pathologists can equip children with strategies and techniques to help them manage their condition.

Therapy methods can vary, depending on the therapist and the child’s needs. Modeling target behavior is one technique where the therapist models and reinforces aspects of speech that need to be targeted, such as sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical structure.

Some areas that SLPs address are:

For preschoolers (ages 3 to 5):

  • enhancing phonological awareness through rhyming, blending, and segmenting spoken words
  • improving vocabulary and understanding of semantic relationships
  • increasing sentence types, length, and complexity
  • improving conversational skills
  • developing narrative skills
  • increasing language flexibility in different contexts
  • building and encouraging literacy skills
  • The Beginning with Babble app is a mobile tool designed to help parents and caregivers interact with their children from birth to five years old through research-based, developmentally appropriate tips and activities. The licensed speech-language pathologists working with Brooklyn Letters coach families on effectively using the app, so parents can confidently apply its tips and strategies when a clinician isn’t present, fostering language-rich interactions and building foundational language and pre-literacy skills independently.

Brooklyn Letters’ new chatbot offers quick, evidence-based answers to your developmental pediatric speech and language questions, helping you make informed decisions without the hassle of sifting through extensive information online. It’s an excellent resource for parents, SLPs, psychologists, and other professionals seeking concise guidance on speech and language development, including understanding the crucial difference between chronological and linguistic age, speech sound acquisition, and language milestones.

MEET THE BROOKLYN SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS WE WORK WITH WHO TRAVEL TO YOUR HOME

Staff 28
Kathleen E.
SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Andrea S
Andrea S.
M.A., CCC-SLP, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Staff 29
Christina R.
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSHH, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Amanda
Amanda
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Michelle
Michelle L.
M.S. CCC-SLP, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Staff 12
Theo W.
M.S. CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist
Staff 31
Liza B.
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

Prefer to call or email? Text or call (917) 426-8880 or email [email protected]

You’re Not Alone—We’ll Guide You Through Every Step

Parents often feel unsure about whether their child’s literacy challenges are typical or indicators of deeper decoding or spelling difficulties. Our literacy specialists will walk you through the entire assessment process—from reviewing prior evaluations to creating targeted, research-backed literacy goals. We make the process clear, supportive, and stress-free so you know exactly what your child needs next.

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