‘Communication is a human right’: Canterbury children's futures at risk as speech therapy waits grow

Friday, 26 June 2026

When Jasleen Kaur’s son Aahnik turned 3 and still couldn’t string two words together, she knew something needed to change.

“He just was not saying enough words and sentences,” she said. “That was the time when I realised, I need to ask for help.”

Doctors initially put Aahnik's delays down to him growing up bilingual, speaking Punjabi at home and English at preschool. But as months passed with little change, Kaur pushed for a referral through his school.

“I really needed a therapist. I kept asking.”

Aahnik is among 404 Canterbury children on the waitlist for communication or early intervention services. Ministry of Education data shows children wait an average of nearly 70 days for communication services and 74 days for early intervention.

NZEI Te Riu Roa national member leader Conor Fraser said the consequences of delayed support reach into every corner of a child's life.

“Communication impacts everything you do, your social relationships with peers, how you communicate with adults, how you think and form sentences, how you understand instructions in a classroom.”

The window for effective intervention was narrow, Fraser said.

“Language starts developing from the moment a child is born… The earlier we see these kids, the better.”

Despite the urgency, typical wait times are far beyond what official data suggests, she said.

“There's definitely families waiting for up to a year to be seen - and that’s just kids who make it on the waitlist.”

Even now that an early intervention nurse visits Aahnik’s preschool weekly, Kaur said the support has fallen short of what she hoped for.

Now 4, Aahnik has made progress. He speaks mostly Punjabi at home, is learning English at preschool, and has become more confident and engaged.

But Kaur said she expected more direct support for her son.

“I wanted somebody that would go to the school and give him the extra support he needed.”

Eighty per cent of all requests into the ministry's learning support service are for communication needs.

Deputy secretary of learning support Bridget White acknowledged demand was outstripping supply, due to population growth, the increasing complexity of needs, and workforce shortages.

“Waitlists and wait times have grown, particularly in early intervention, communication and behaviour services,” she said.

Fraser said the solution was obvious.

“There’s just more and more kids. We just need more speech therapists.”

She urged parents not to wait for a school or doctor to act on their behalf.

“As soon as parents have any concerns around their child’s communication, they can refer to the ministry themselves.”

Budget 2025 funded 237 new specialist positions, with 163 roles now filled or in pre-employment. White said early data showed more children were being seen sooner.

But Fraser said speech therapists had not seen the same boost as other learning support roles, leaving waits growing even as investment increased elsewhere.

“Communication is a human right. We should be providing whatever help we can, as early as we can.”

And for Kaur, the reality remains difficult.

Private speech therapy was too expensive for many families already struggling with the cost of living, she said.

“People are struggling … they need to have some support system so that they can actually make their children’s lives better.”