We’ve all had the shoulder shrug or that dreaded ‘look’ your teen gives you that screams "you’re sooo not cool". We’ve all been there when we’ve had to tell our son 400 billion times to unpack the dishwasher or when you ask him to get milk from the shops and he comes back with bananas and a bemused look. You feel frustrated and think ‘he's not a bad kid, why wont he just listen?!’.
And yes, maybe that's true. Maybe he doesn’t know how to listen effectively, maybe he’s overwhelmed or maybe there’s something else going on.
If you’ve ever wondered if its more than just ‘laziness’ or something more- you’ve come to the right place!
Challenges with expressing and processing language (words) is common and does not discriminate by gender, age, or culture.
The older a person gets, typically the harder it is to pick it up and many children (and indeed teenagers) either get misdiagnosed or branded as ‘naughty’ or simply parents say, ‘they just don’t listen’ or ‘they have ADHD’. The truth could be that your child IS listening, they are just not understanding or not being able to hold it in mind long enough to follow through. Or it could mean your child doesn't have the words to accurately and adequately express themself.
So when should you get a communication assessment with a speech pathologist?
You should get an assessment with a speech pathologist for your teen if they have trouble with a number of the following skills:
Red flags for language difficulties in adolescents
Listening/Understanding
Takes a long time to answer
Responses don’t fit with your last question or comment
Difficulties following instructions/directions
Often uses yes/no/ dunno answers
Needs lots of repetition
May seem forgetful, seems to lose concentration
Doesn’t get jokes or sarcasm- seems very literal
Misunderstands conversations/ideas
Fails to understands the links between events and consequences
Speaking/expressing
Doesn’t say much, difficult to engage or doesn’t initiate
Speaks in short sentences or simple sentence structure (then…and then…)
Use non-specific words “stuff”, “thing”.
Uses incorrect grammar
Says a lot but confusing or vague, you need to ask questions to understand
Leaves out important information, mixes up sequence
Speaking is disjointed – lots of pauses or repetitions
Sounds immature
Difficulties talking about feelings beyond the basics
Difficulties giving instructions or directions
Social Skills
Has few friends
Struggles to make OR keep friends
Has challenges seeing others points of view
Bullies/is bullied
Has drama with friends and doesn’t know how to solve appropriately
Avoids social situations or mixing with others
Interacts much better with older people (adults) or younger children
Difficulties negotiating with peers or asserting self
Academic Concerns
Has difficulties learning new skills
Has below average grades in some areas or identified learning difficulties
Has reading problems
School refusal/anxiety/truancy
Teachers report behavioural difficulties in classroom or ‘class clown’
Child says “I hate school”
Developmental
Had delayed language development (first words after 18 months)
Had recurrent middle ear infections or has a hearing impairment
Has had prior speech pathology intervention when younger
Has a congenital/Genetic disorder
There is a family history of language or learning difficulties (diagnosed or not)
Experienced a traumatic event as a child
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