Speech is the verbal means of communicating. It includes articulation (speech sound production), voice (use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound), and fluency (the rhythm of speech).

Language involves socially shared rules that include what words mean, how to make new words, how to put words together, and how to use words in different social situations. When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or has difficulty sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder.

A comprehensive evaluation by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the first step to improving language and speech problems.

To find out additional information, please select an item from the Resource Menu.