Our Communication Red Flags series continues this month with a resource addressing the late elementary years (grades 3-5).
The hallmark of communication development at this age is that all-important shift to becoming a Student with a capital S. Understanding and using academic vocabulary takes center stage with this group. Kids this age can have conversations with a variety of communication partners about loads of different topics, efficiently tailoring what they’re saying and how they’re saying it to their audience. This process is called code switching and the late elementary years see rapid development in this area. This goes hand in hand with the social language typically seen with our late elementary friends. Jokes and wordplay become more nuanced, and peer groups start to develop and use their own slang.
Here are a few questions to think about if you know kids this age:
- Are they able to “keep up” in a rapidly moving conversation?
- Are they able to learn and retain new academic vocabulary in a reasonable timeframe?
- Are they using complex language and vocabulary to talk about the relationships between people and things?
- Can you understand everything they say and is their speech error-free?
- Are they able to understand subtle humor, idioms, similes, metaphors, and hyperbole?
5 Communication Development Red Flags
Communication development is complicated and there are many ways to get to the finish line. This can make it difficult to know when to refer for evaluation and when to wait it out. Keep your eyes out for these five red flags along the road, they should never be ignored.
1. Listening
3rd through 5th grade children should be able to follow directions, answer a variety of questions, and remember and refer to information. If a child has difficulty understanding, requires “wait time” to process or understand, or struggles with curriculum vocabulary and concepts, a language evaluation may be warranted.
2. Speaking
By late elementary age, most children can express ideas in organized sequences that make sense to the listener. They can also clarify when needed. Difficulty using complete, grammatically correct sentences to explain and answer questions or struggling to think of the right word to say may warrant a language evaluation.
3. Speech Sounds
By this age, children should correctly produce all speech sounds and their speech should not be distracting from their message. A child who is difficult to understand or has difficulty producing specific speech sounds (including L, R, and S) is a candidate for a speech evaluation. Children at this age often do not grow out of their speech difficulties.
4. Stuttering
Late elementary children who are repeating sounds and words, especially with any sort of struggle, tension, force, or stoppage of airflow, should undergo formal assessment. If a student is avoiding or replacing certain words or not wanting to participate in class discussions, they may need a communication assessment.
5. Social Language
By late elementary school, children can have conversations with friends, understand many figures of speech and nonliteral language. They understand the unwritten rules of social communication. Difficulty interacting with others may warrant a social communication evaluation.
If you know a child who is struggling in any of these areas, please contact us. We will help however we can, and refer you to other helpers if we’re not the right fit.
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This post is for educational and informational purposes only. You should always speak with your own therapist before implementing this information on your own.
