If you're searching for free speech therapy, you probably don't want a lecture on child development. You want to know if this is normal, whether you should act, and what you can actually do without turning your child's day into a test. Here's the practical version: watch how your child communicates across real routines, try a few small things this week, and loop in an SLP, pediatrician, early intervention team, or school team if the pattern sticks around. The question worth asking isn't "how do I get my child to talk right now." It's closer to "what is my child already communicating, and what would make the next step a little easier for them." That framing keeps things calmer between you and your child, and it also gives any professional you eventually talk to better information to work with. Don't judge this from one rough afternoon. Watch across several days and situations instead: gestures, imitation, pretend play, whether your child responds to their name, how they handle frustration, any scripts or sound attempts they use, whether they reach for AAC, and whether they seem to understand more than they can say back. A pattern across routines tells you far more than any single moment. For this week, pick one routine that already happens daily, whether that's snack time, bath time, or the drive to school. Model one useful word, phrase, gesture, or AAC button inside that routine, then pause long enough to let your child respond in whatever form they have available. A sign, a point, a script, an approximation, a button press: all of it counts as communication. And if the moment starts sliding into a battle, stop. It's not worth pushing through. Worth knowing: free and low-cost options do exist beyond what a family typically thinks of first, including EI programs, school districts, university clinics, Easter Seals, Scottish Rite, Variety, and library reading programs. If what's prompting your free speech therapy search feels like part of a bigger pattern, don't wait to ask for help. You can request a hearing check, an early intervention evaluation, a private SLP evaluation, a school-based evaluation, or a broader developmental assessment. Asking early doesn't mean something is wrong, it means your child gets access to support sooner rather than later. If you want more on the school side of things, the IEP support hub covers that ground, and the broader parent guides collection has more on related topics. Little Words is meant as educational support for home practice. It isn't a medical device, an AAC replacement, or a stand-in for a licensed speech-language pathologist, pediatrician, early intervention program, school team, or developmental evaluation.