Understanding different concepts

Concepts are words that depict features of an object or activity and are frequently used in conversation. Difficulties with understanding concepts can lead to children finding it difficult to understand instructions or information.

Our speech and language therapists can assess your child’s understanding of different concepts and identify any difficulties. Our speech and language therapists use the information from the assessment to create a therapy programme that works on overcoming your child’s difficulties with understanding language through increasing your child’s understanding of concepts.

In the first few years of life children learn basic concepts that aid their understanding and increase vocabulary. Concepts help children to become more successful communicators.

Learning new concepts can help a child understand more of what is being said. Concepts help a child to become ready for education; they are often referred to as the building blocks of early education. Concepts help build the skills needed for reading and early mathematics.

Basic concepts include:

• Size - big / little.
• Prepositions - in / on / under.
• Colours.
• Numbers.
• Temperature - hot / cold.
• Feelings - happy / sad.
• Texture - hard / soft.
• Vehicles - car / bus / bike / truck / train.

Children who struggle to understand basic concepts can often struggle to understand simple instructions, differentiate between items or understand details given in conversations. Our speech and language therapists can provide therapy to increase a child’s understanding of various concepts.

A child who struggles to understand basic concepts may find it difficult to understand everyday language used at home, school and with their peers. The child may struggle to join in with games or follow instructions given by others as they struggle to differentiate between objects by their features.

Our speech and language therapists help children to develop an understanding of concepts through activities that include real life objects to enhance their learning. Once children understand these concepts at an object level using single words, our speech and language therapists will incorporate them into longer more complex utterances and use pictures and symbols instead of objects. They will also give advice to parents on how to develop their understanding of concepts naturally in everyday life.

If you think your child struggles to understand concepts, and if this is impacting their language comprehension email office@sltforkids.co.uk or call 0330 088 2298s to speak to one of our speech and language therapists.