When your child struggles to express their thoughts or feelings with words, it can be frustrating both for them and for you. Maybe they know exactly what they want to say but can’t seem to find the right words. Maybe sentences come out jumbled or incomplete, or they have trouble telling stories or asking and answering questions.

Sometimes when this happens, the child may have an expressive language disorder. An expressive language disorder is a language disorder that affects how children use spoken and/or written language to share their thoughts, ideas, needs, and emotions. Children with expressive language challenges can (and do!) make progress and learn to communicate in ways that feel easier, more natural, and are more comprehensible by others.

What Is Expressive Language Disorder?

Expressive language disorder is when a child has difficulty putting their thoughts into words, even though they understand language. Although the two can co-occur, a language disorder is not the same thing as an intellectual disability. An expressive language disorder is not about intelligence; the difficulties are in using language effectively.

Children with expressive language disorder may:

• Speak in short, simple sentences
• Leave out key words or use vague terms like “thing” or “that”
• Have trouble finding the right word when talking
• Struggle to retell events or tell stories in order
• Find it hard to express feelings or complex thoughts
• Use correct grammar inconsistently for their age

Some kids know exactly what they want to say but can’t get the words out quickly. Others might not realize that their message isn’t clear. These challenges can affect conversation, classroom participation, friendships, and confidence. However, children with expressive language disorders can increase their expressive communication skills by receiving support from a speech-language pathologist (SLP) and caring adults at home and school.

How Is It Different from a Speech Delay?

It’s easy to confuse expressive language disorder with a general “speech delay,” but they’re not the same.

A speech delay often refers to challenges making speech sounds or pronouncing words. An expressive language disorder is about the words and sentences themselves, how language is used to share meaning, and not the sounds used to make words.

For example, a child with a speech delay or speech sound disorder might say “tat” instead of “cat”. A child with an expressive language disorder might say, “Him go store” instead of “He went to the store.”

Of course, a child can have difficulties with both speech and language, but they involve different parts of communication, and thus different types of support.

Also read: Language Disorder vs Language Difference

What Causes Expressive Language Disorder?

There isn’t one single cause. Sometimes expressive language disorder appears alongside other neurodevelopmental differences like autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or learning disorders. Other times, it occurs on its own.

Possible contributing factors include:

• Differences in how the brain processes and organizes language
• Family history of language or learning differences
• Early hearing issues or limited exposure to rich language experiences

It’s important to remember that language disorders are not caused by parenting. You didn’t do anything to cause your child’s language difficulties. What is important is supporting your child’s language growth through intervention and language-rich environments.

 

How Speech-Language Therapy Helps

Speech-language therapy is a highly effective support for children with expressive language disorders. In therapy, your child’s SLP will focus on where your child struggles with language, which could include:

• Expanding vocabulary and sentence length
  
• Building grammar and word order skills
  
• Strengthening storytelling and conversation abilities
  
• Using strategies like visuals, modeling, and repetition to make language more accessible
  

Therapy sessions are typically fun and play-based for younger children, and functional and interactive for older ones. The goal isn’t just to improve “correctness” of language use, but to help your child communicate confidently and successfully in everyday situations, which includes teaching them skills to support self-advocacy.

An SLP will also guide you, as the parent, in using strategies at home to reinforce your child’s progress. Although direct therapy with an SLP is beneficial, supporting language at home is powerful because communication happens most naturally in daily life.

How Parents Can Support at Home

Here are some simple but powerful ways to help your child build expressive language skills at home:

1. Model, Don’t Correct
   When your child says something like, “Him go park,” you can gently model the correct form by saying, “Yes, he went to the park!” without having them repeat it after you. This keeps communication positive and flowing.
2. Expand on What They Say
   If your child says “Dog bark,” you might add, “Yes, the dog is barking at the mail carrier!” This adds new words to their sentences and provides a model for building longer sentences naturally.
3. Give Time to Respond
   Children with expressive language difficulties often need extra time to communicate. Try to pause, wait for them to respond, and show patience. 
4. Encourage Storytelling
   Ask open-ended questions like “What happened next?” or “Tell me about your drawing.” Using books, photos, or daily routines can help spark storytelling and sequencing. Add details to your child’s story instead of just asking a list of questions.
5. Use Visual Supports
   Pictures, gestures, and visual supports can help your child organize thoughts and remember key words while talking.
6. Celebrate All Communication Types
   Whether your child uses words, gestures, or pictures, celebrate every attempt to connect. Building confidence is just as important as building language.

What Progress Looks Like

Progress may look different for each child, but over time, you might notice:

• More complete sentences
  
• Better word recall
  
• More participation in conversation
  
• More complete storytelling
  
• Less frustration during communication