27/12/2025
📈 Expressive language development isn’t a straight line and it isn’t one-size-fits-all.
When children are learning to communicate, progress often looks up, down, pause… then up again.
Those dips can feel worrying for parents but they are often a sign of learning, not regression.
There are two common ways children develop expressive language:
🧠 Analytical Language Processors: These children tend to build language piece by piece.
You might see:
- Single words appear
- Words start being combined
- A dip where speech sounds simpler or less consistent
- Then sentences return, grammar improves, and language becomes more flexible
🔎 That dip often happens when the brain is learning new rules (like grammar and sentence structure).
It can look like a step backwards but it’s usually a reorganisation phase before a big leap forward.
OR
🎶 Gestalt Language Processors (GLP): These children learn language in meaningful chunks first.
You might see:
- Familiar phrases, scripts, or song lines
- Phrases becoming longer and very fluent
- A dip where favourite phrases disappear or speech sounds less polished
- Then single words emerge later, followed by mixing words into original phrases
🔎 That dip happens when the child starts breaking phrases apart so they can create their own language.
For GLP learners, single words are not the starting point they are the result.
💛
Different learning styles.
Different pathways.
Same destination: confident, flexible communication.
If your child’s language seems to change, pause, or dip, it doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong.
Often, it means their brain is doing exactly what it needs to do.
📞 If you’re unsure where your child fits, or you’re noticing changes in their language, a speech pathologist can help you understand what you’re seeing and how best to support it.
SpeechTherapy
