Speech Therapy Assessments |
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What can I expect from an assessment? |
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How long does an assessment take? |
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Will I get a report? |
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How often do children need to be assessed? |
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What can I expect from an assessment? |
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The Initial Assessment includes
- Detailed discussion with a parent/guardian about the child’s
areas of delay /difficulty, the parent’s concerns and any medical
and early development history that may be relevant to speech and language
issues. For example, questions are asked about a child’s history
of infections, including glue ear and ear infections as this can affect
a child’s hearing and consequently speech and language development
- Observation of your child at play (if appropriate)
- Informal or formal assessment of a child’s speech and language skills.
Formal assessments are published assessments that are often standardised so
a child’s extent of delay or difficulty can be quantified as
well as qualified
- Feedback given to the parent/guardian on any findings, and preliminary
recommendations
- Opportunity for questions to be raised
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My child often doesn’t seem to follow what I’m
saying or asking him to do. How do I know if he has a problem with
his understanding? |
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If a child doesn’t seem to follow what you say or ask him to
do, it could be due to a difficulty with:
- Hearing
- Understanding, or
- Attention
The only way to know which difficulty, or combination
of difficulties, a child may have is to:
- Investigate if the child has any hearing difficulties, or has
a history of ear infections or glue ear. Glue ear can affect the
way a child
hears speech
sounds – some say it can be like listening to someone talking under
water. As many as 25% of children can experience some element of hearing
loss at some
stage due to glue ear or ear infections
- Assess a child’s understanding of language to see if it
is at a level expected for their age
- Assess a child’s level of attention and listening. This
is done by observation whilst the child is playing and/or during
the assessment of understanding of
language
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How long does an assessment take? |
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The Initial Assessment usually takes 1 ½ hours. However, if
the assessment needs are complex, an assessment may take one ore more
sessions to complete. The complexity of assessment depends on the type
and severity of the child’s speech and language delay/difficulties. |
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Will I get a report? |
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A Summary Report will be written and given to parents/guardians following
the completion of the assessment process. The Report will give details
of the child’s speech and language strengths and difficulties.
A more comprehensive Report can also be provided, which gives more
detail about the findings, and includes advice, management strategies
for both school and home, and recommendations for treatment.
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How often do children need to be assessed? |
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A child’s speech and language skills are regularly reviewed informally
during the therapy process. As a child’s skills change and develop,
additional testing may be required.
A comprehensive re-assessment of a child’s speech and language
skills is not usually conducted within a 6 month period. This is partly
as published standardised tests cannot be re-administered in under
a 6 month period.
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