Does my child need speech therapy?
We have put together the guideline below that will assist you in determining if your child should be evaluated. Initially, you may want to start with your pediatrician, but we find that pediatricians often times suggest that you wait until your child is a certain age to begin therapy. That is were we would say to trust yourself. If you feel like your child has a speech and/or language delay, it is best to get them evaluated as soon as possible. You do not need a referral from your pediatrician. There is no harm in getting an evaluation done, and it is best for the child to start therapy as early as you can. We don’t recommend waiting to see if they grow out of it. Some general indicators that your child might have a delay would include one or more and is not limited to the following bullet points:
Your child has difficulty or is not able to name common objects.
Your child gets frustrated when peers and/or adults do not understand them.
Your child omits sounds at the end of a word and/or doesn’t use consonants.
Family members have a hard time understanding them.
Your child uses Gestalt Language Processing (repeating phrases, delayed echolalia etc.).
Your child has a hard time following simple instructions.
Your child does not combine words to make a simple sentence (2-3 words).
Here are speech growth miles stones by age:
0-6 months ~ The baby coos, turns toward sound and gives eye contact when they hear someone speaking. If this milestones is not met it could (but does not always) affect social interaction with parents, and can affect oral muscle tone (cheeks, lips, tongue).
6-12 months ~ The baby should have started to babble and repeat sounds (dada, baba etc.) If this milestone is not met it could (but does not always) affect social interaction with parents, and can affect oral muscle tone as well as the baby learning to sequence sounds together.
1-2 years old ~ The child is able to say sounds toward the front of the mouth (/p/, /b/, /m/) (/n/, /d/, /t/). If this milestone is not met it could (but does not always) affect fluency and/or cause frustration for the child because they are not easily understood by their conversation partner.
2-3 years old ~ These are the same sounds from 1-2 year olds however if this milestone is still not met they could be faced with difficulties with socialization. This can also affect expressive language.
4-5 years old ~ The child should be able to pronounce (/k/, /g/, /f/, /s/ and /y/) (/h/, /sh/, /ch/, /j/, /l/). If this milestone is still not met they could be faced with difficulties with socialization. This can also affect expressive language.
5-6 years old ~ The child’s speech should be mostly clear to understand. If this milestone is not met the child could be faced with difficulties with socialization, expressive language, and they could also have difficulties spelling due to articulation errors.
6-7 years old ~ there are not any specific milestones.
7-8 years old ~ The child is able to produce all speech sounds. If this milestone is not met the child could be faced with difficulties with socialization, expressive language, and they could also have difficulties spelling due to articulation errors.
While this is a lot of information, remember we are here to help you! If you have any questions feel free to send an email. If you are ready to get an evaluation, please contact us so we can set up an appointment for you.