When to consider Speech Therapy?

For Children if you have:

• delayed speech and language skills
• impaired attention and memory with impulsivity
• limited vocabulary
• difficulty expressing basic needs and wants
• difficulty saying greetings (i.e., “hi” and “bye”) on own
• difficulty counting to 10
• limited eye contact
• limited social behaviors (i.e., appropriate comments, turn taking, staying on topic)

For Adults if you have:

• poor organization, with limited problem solving and judgment
• limited awareness of extent of difficulties; exhibits socially inappropriate behavior
• difficulty with concepts of time and money
• difficulty self-disciplining and self-monitoring to follow rules
• difficulty changing routine or schedule; difficulty learning new rules
• difficulty selecting appropriate words and remembering names
• limited memory and/or knowledge of current events and/or personal history
• missing or misunderstanding humor
• difficulty understanding nonverbal communication (i.e., facial expressions and/or body language)
• difficulty understanding abstract information

Difficulty managing home or maintaining a job or business due to:

• difficulty planning and completing necessary daily activities
• difficulty following directions
• difficulty comprehending or applying abstract written information
• difficulty analyzing personal and/or business problems, identifying and applying solutions
• difficulty assessing own strengths and weaknesses, developing effective plans to improve weaknesses
• difficulty managing multiple responsibilities simultaneously
• difficulty managing emotions (especially anxiety, frustration, or anger) related to performance difficulties
• difficulty making, following, and modifying plans as needed

Does Your Child Need Speech Therapy?

Potential Consequences/Impact of Speech Impairment Can Include:

• Difficulty expressing need or routine information intelligibly
• Difficulty communicating intelligibly in order to function at level of independence expected for age
• Difficulty expressing feelings intelligibly; may be at risk for frustration or depression
• Difficulty engaging successfully in social and/or classroom situations that require intelligible speech
• Difficulty achieving adequate intelligible speech to reach educational potential

Behaviors that should trigger an Speech Therapy referral

By age 3 years cannot:

• be understood by family and/or caregivers
• correctly produce vowels and such sounds as p, b, m, w in words
• repeat when not understood without becoming frustrated

By age 4 years cannot:

• be understood by individuals with whom they do not associate regularly
• be understood by family and/or caregivers
• correctly produce t, d, k, g, f
• be asked to repeat without becoming sensitive

By age 5 years cannot:

• be understood in all situations by most listeners
• correctly produce most speech sounds
• be asked to repeat without exhibiting frustration
• Disturbance in neuromuscular control causes difficulty learning to produce sounds appropriately speech is usually slurred; difficulty controlling respiration for speech; abnormal loudness, rhythm, or vocal quality exhibits difficulty learning sounds to form words; may sound nasal, strangled and/or breathy
• exhibits frustration and/or avoidance of speech due to extreme difficulty forming sounds or difficulty being understood