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20 Terms Your Speech Therapist Uses Explained

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In the waiting room or after your child’s online speech therapy session, you may hear many different terms used. These 20 terms are well-known and frequently used among speech therapists, but can be obscure or confusing to others. 

We want to make these 20 terms more familiar so that you get the most out of your meetings with your speech therapist. 

Our posts also link to our other posts to expand on topics you may have an interest in. These words come up often and include many different areas in the field. 

Understanding these terms may help your understanding of the treatment and support your child receives in speech therapy. 

Support in Session 

Prompt: A prompt is a direct way of giving support. It may be something that is said or pointed to, but it helps the person get closer to knowing the answer to something or doing something successfully. For example, if a child has difficulty in making a speech sound a speech therapist may have them imitate part of the word to help them say what they want to say.
 
Cue: A cue is similar to a prompt but is more information based and gives less support. When a child has difficulty making a sound, we may give them a cue by telling them about how they should shape their tongue to make a sound. 
 
Gestural Prompt: This is when gestures give a clue to the answer. The therapist might also point to something to help support the person in getting the right answer. 

Tactile Prompt: This is when a speech therapist touches the client to support their ability to do something. Usually this tactile prompts are given to help children make sounds by touching under their chin or near the lips to help them know the correct place to make the sound. 

Additional Support Terms and Positive Reinforcement

Verbal cue: A verbal cue is used when a therapist uses words to say something that will help the child get the closer to getting an answer or performing a skill they are using a verbal cue. 

Phonemic Cue: Phonemic cues are given when the therapist says a sound or part of a word to give a clue as to what the whole word is. 

Semantic Cue: A semantic cue has to do with the meaning of words. It might be given when a someone is trying to think of a certain word or the meaning of a word. A speech therapist might give a semantic cue by giving part of a definition, naming a synonym or naming a feature of a word. 
 
Positive Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement means a reward is given to someone in response to participating in an activity. Importantly, it is not a bribe. This is a way to support a person’s participation by giving them something to work for. 

Visual Supports 

Visual Schedule: This is a visual on a screen or piece of paper that shows clearly what is expected for the session. A visual schedule shows the child what activities they will participate in and helps them know when there are breaks. This can help children transition between activities by showing them clearly what will happen. it also helps show when the session will end. 
 
Visual: A visual is any representation that helps support a person in understanding a concept or participating in an activity. For example, for kids practicing social skills, they might have a visual showing what could do in a conversation (such as asking questions and making comments). Visuals can be especially helpful for persons with autism. 

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Speech and Language 

A parent talking with her child's speech therapy about 20 terms to know.

Most of the time, your speech therapist will talk about speech or language. By knowing more of what these terms mean, you may gain a better understanding of your child’s progress. It will also help you know exactly what your child is doing in therapy. Knowing these words may help you make better observations of their skills at home. 

Receptive Language: This means understanding the words we hear or see so that we can use that knowledge to express what we want to say. There are many different ways to understand language. 

Expressive Language: This refers to how we express ourselves using language. There are many different ways to express ourselves with language. For example, we may use language verbally, through AAC and through signing. Even if a child is unable to speak, they can still use other means to express their wants and needs. 
 

20 Terms Continued

Verbal Apraxia: This refers to a speech disorder in which a person has difficulty moving between different speech sounds. Often, children with verbal apraxia struggle to repeat words the same way and to move from one speech sound to another. 

ASD: ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism is a disorder that may involve challenges with language, cognition, and social skills. Persons with autism see and process the world differently than others. Autistic people are a neurodivergent population and therapy should reflect this fact. 

Vocabulary Knowledge: This refers to our understanding of words. While we may memorize a single word, we know a lot more about that word and are able to connect it with other words. Every time we see and use and object or use a word, we build on what we know about that word.

Phoneme: A phoneme represents speech sounds. It is how we think of speech sounds. A phoneme is different from the actual speech sounds that children produce. 

Broad Terms  about Language and Social Skills

Syntax: Critically, syntax is language. Many people use the word language in different ways. However when language therapists talk about language they usually mean grammar. 
 
Semantics: This refers to the meaning of words. When a speech therapist talks about semantics they mean the meaning of words and how children understand words and larger concepts. 
 
Pragmatic Language: This refers to the language we use socially. When we talk with other people, we use language differently. Pragmatic language means a child’s ability to use the language they have socially to interact with others. 

How Knowing These 20 Terms Helps You

By knowing these 20 terms, you learn more about what a speech therapist explains after sessions. These words connect with many other concepts. They are important for understanding the treatment your child receives. We talked about how these 20 terms may help in better understanding speech therapy.
 
The 20 terms also give you the opportunity to ask your child’s speech therapist more questions. They give you the chance to talk about your child’s needs with other professionals as well. For example, a pediatrician or a psychologist may find it useful to know what supports help your child attend tasks and what their present levels of need are in an area. 
 
These terms also give you a chance to ask more detailed questions about how you might help support your child’s skills at home. 

Begin Using These 20 Terms Today

You can begin using these 20 terms with your speech therapist today. They will answer any questions you may have and tell you how these words relate to your child’s therapy. 

If your child struggles to communicate by making speech sounds or putting words together, contact a licensed speech therapist today. At Verbalyze, we offer 100% online, research-based speech therapy for kids. At Verbalyze, we also provide parent support. We explain the terms you need to know to best understand your child’s progress. We also give you the tools you need to help support your child’s skills at home. 

If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language or social skills or another area of communication, contact us today to get your free consultation. 

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