Language Therapy

Language therapy for everyday communication

We help children understand what others say and express their own ideas. Therapy goals may include following directions, learning new words, building sentences, telling stories, and taking part in conversations. We choose activities that fit your child’s age, interests, and daily life.

If you are exploring what may be behind a language concern, read about developmental language disorder or late talking. Children who need help with written language may also benefit from literacy support.

How speech-language therapy helps

At West End Speech, we help children learn to:

• understand longer and more complex directions
• build longer, more complete sentences
• use grammar correctly
• expand and strengthen vocabulary
• tell clear stories with a beginning, middle, and end
• participate more fully in conversations

Therapy uses games, conversation, storytelling activities, and structured exercises matched to each child’s needs and goals.

Our approach

Our approach to language therapy is built around each child and grounded in what the research supports.

Play-based for younger children

For preschool and early school-age children, therapy is embedded in play. We create opportunities for language learning during activities your child enjoys: building, drawing, pretend play, games, and books. See how this approach helped a 5-year-old with autism expand from limited words to a vocabulary of over 200 words.

Structured activities for older children

For school-age children and teens, therapy may include more structured tasks targeting specific language skills, such as narrative retelling, vocabulary instruction, comprehension strategies, and written language support.

Parent involvement

You play a huge role in language therapy. We give you coaching and strategies so you can support your child’s language during everyday routines: mealtimes, car rides, bedtime stories, and errands.

Older children may also benefit from cognitive communication support to develop organization, problem-solving, and self-advocacy skills.

What to expect

Assessment

We start with a full language assessment to understand your child’s receptive and expressive abilities. This may include standardized testing, language sampling, and observation during play or conversation.

Therapy sessions

Sessions are typically 30–45 minutes and are planned around your child’s age and goals. Younger children may have shorter, more frequent sessions, while older children may have longer sessions focused on specific skills.

Progress monitoring

We track progress throughout therapy and adjust goals as your child grows. You’ll get regular updates so you can see what’s changing.

How to get started

If you’re worried about your child’s language development, contact us to book an assessment. We offer sessions online across BC and in-home around Vancouver, in English and French.