Summer Boredom

Help!! I'm not sure what is going on but ever since my 6 year old finished kindergarten we have been in an "I'm bored Mom" stage. He doesn't express himself that way, mostly in other ways like pestering his brother and sister, wanting to watch TV constantly, destroying things around the house. Every suggestion that I make is met by a "no." I try to do or go to one fun thing a day and there are friends in the neighborhood to play with, but the attitude and problems remain.
Any suggestions will be most welcome!!

How do I know if my child has a speech or language problem?

This is the most common question I get from parents, friends, neighbors, and the lady standing behind me at the grocery store when they find out that I am a Speech Language Pathologist. So, let me share...

First of all, let's talk about the difference between Speech and Language.

When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder. When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder.

This is the way I would explain it to my students: Speech deals with sounds, Langauge deals with meaning.

Speech
So, if you are having difficulty understanding what your child is saying and if they are becoming frustrated, it's most likely a speech problem. You can check an articulation chart to see if your child's speech is developing appropriately. Here is a good handout from Super Duper Inc. or here is a chart from Talking Child.

Keep in mind that there is a wide range of normal development and that charts will also differ depending on when the research that the chart is based on was completed.

Language
If you are having difficulty understanding the meaning of what your child is trying to tell you or you worry that they are not using language at an appropriate level for their age, it's most likely a language problem. Here is a great post from Mommy Speech Therapy that includes some communciation milestones to check. The Child Development tracker on PBSparents is also a great resource.

If you still have concerns after looking at these resources it may be a good time to contact a Speech Language Pathologist in your area.


This is some broad advice to get you started, if there are any specific questions out there I would be happy to answer. And I'm sure the other SLPs on this site are sitting on the edges of their seats ready with advice as well. :)