Many who have known a child who is struggling with communication skills do not realize the differences between speech and language.
Speech is considered everything that can be perceived, such as how the sounds are being produced by someone. Examples include articulation, which falls under the category of speech, as it is related to how a person produces their sounds. Another example is fluency. In the field of speech language pathology, fluency refers to stuttering. This is also considered speech-related.
Language is the content of what we communicate. Examples include vocabulary skills or responding to language comprehension questions, such as "who teaches kids how to read and write?" Language can also refer to grammar skills, such as putting together a grammatical sentence.
Pragmatics fall under the language category, including social language. A child can have pragmatic deficits as a result of their overall language skills. For example, a child could have difficulty communicating with their peers, ,such as initiating a conversation, as a result of the language deficits or difficulties they may face.
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