New to this topic? Start with our companion article: High-Level Language Difficulties in Teenagers: A Brisbane Speech Pathologist's Guide
If your teenager is finding high school tough — struggling with essays, missing the point of jokes, or finding it hard to keep up in class — high-level language might be part of the picture. The good news is that language skills continue to develop throughout adolescence (Nippold, 2016), and with the right support, teenagers can make real progress.
In this article, we'll give a sense of what this kind of support can look like — the things families and classrooms can genuinely lean into, and the parts that sit more firmly in a speech pathologist's hands.
A quick note before we dive in: high-level language is subtle clinical work. Inferencing, figurative language, and complex sentence comprehension are areas where a structured, assessment-led approach makes a real difference — they're not things you can reliably "work on at home" from a tip sheet. The strategies below are illustrations of what therapy and classroom support look like, rather than a DIY plan.
What Families Can Lean Into
You might feel like your teenager doesn't want your help (and some days, they might tell you exactly that). But parents still play a huge role — it just looks different from when your child was little.
One thing that can help across the board is making your own thinking visible. When you watch a show together and say, "I wonder why she said that — maybe because she's embarrassed?", you're modelling the invisible process of inferencing in a way that's natural, not quizzy. Speech pathologists often coach families into this kind of thinking-aloud rather than handing over exercises. Pick something your teen actually wants to watch or talk about, keep it relaxed, and let them disagree with you. It's an invitation, not a technique to get right.
Alongside that, a language-rich home — conversation about abstract ideas, shared reading, unhurried listening — gives a teenager more of what their brain needs without turning the dinner table into a classroom. These are the universal things any family can lean into, regardless of whether their teen is in therapy.
What Classroom Support Often Looks Like
Secondary teachers are curriculum experts, and they already use language-rich instruction every day. When a speech pathologist liaises with a teaching team, the shared goal is usually to make a few targeted adjustments that reduce the invisible language load for students who are struggling — many of whom also have an underlying language difficulty like DLD. These are the kinds of shifts that tend to come up:
- Making the implicit explicit — modelling thinking aloud when analysing a text ("The author doesn't say the character is angry, but I can infer it from these clues…") rather than assuming students will find it on their own
- Scaffolding complex tasks — breaking essays into clear stages, providing graphic organisers, and pre-teaching the vocabulary and concepts that will appear in upcoming lessons
- Supporting oral language — giving students time to prepare before contributing, using think-pair-share, and checking understanding with specific questions rather than "any questions?"
Teachers I've worked alongside frequently tell me that once they start making their own thinking visible — "I'm inferring this because..." — the whole class benefits, not just the students with identified language needs.
How Speech Pathology Can Help Teenagers
Speech pathology isn't just for little kids. Teenagers with high-level language difficulties can benefit a great deal from targeted therapy — especially when it's designed to be relevant and engaging.
What Therapy Looks Like
At Speaking Speech Pathology, therapy for teenagers is nothing like a traditional "speech lesson." Sessions are built around each young person's interests, goals, and real-life challenges. These are the kinds of things therapy might work on:
- Inferencing using movie clips, news articles, or podcast excerpts
- Figurative language unpacked in song lyrics, memes, or social media content
- Narrative and persuasive language — learning to tell a clear, well-structured story for essays, conversations, and even job interviews (Nippold, Ward-Lonergan, & Fanning, 2005)
Making Therapy Relevant
The biggest challenge with teenage therapy is engagement. Teenagers need to see the point. That's why we connect everything back to their real life:
- "This inferencing skill will help you nail those English comprehension questions."
- "Understanding sarcasm will help you feel more confident in your friend group."
- "Persuasive language isn't just for essays — it's how you convince your parents to let you go to the concert."
When therapy is relevant and respectful, teenagers are far more likely to engage. Engagement gets us working on the goals they've agreed to; whether it's actually helping is something we check along the way and adjust with them. The teens who initially arrive saying "I don't need speech therapy" are often the ones who end up most engaged — once they realise it's actually about helping them nail their assignments and understand their friends better.
Working with Schools
We liaise with schools to make sure the strategies we use in therapy are supported in the classroom. This might include:
- Providing written recommendations to teachers about how to modify language demands
- Joining school meetings by video to discuss your teenager's needs
- Writing reports that clearly outline strengths, areas of need, and practical strategies
A Note for Parents
If you suspect your teenager might have high-level language difficulties, trust your instincts. You know your child. If something feels off — if they're working harder than their peers for lower results, if they're struggling socially, if they seem frustrated or disengaged — it's worth exploring.
A speech pathology assessment can give you clear answers and a path forward. Your teenager may not love the idea of "speech therapy" at first. Many find that once it's built around their world and their own goals, it's not what they expected. Get in touch to have a chat about how we can help your teen. Any actual clinical work — assessment, diagnosis, or therapy — happens in a consultation about your child, not from an article.
References
Nippold, M. A. (2016). Later language development: School-age children, adolescents, and young adults (4th ed.). Pro-Ed.
Nippold, M. A., Ward-Lonergan, J. M., & Fanning, J. L. (2005). Persuasive writing in children, adolescents, and adults: A study of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic development. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36(2), 125–138.
Alexandra Bouwmeester is a Senior Speech Pathologist (MSPA, CPSP) with over 14 years' experience supporting school-aged children and teenagers. She offers mobile speech pathology to families across Brisbane's south side and Logan.
