Once you schedule your speech therapy evaluation, our front desk will email you a link to complete your initial paperwork. This paperwork includes your basic registration, Consent forms, HIPPA forms, and financial policy. The paperwork must be completed prior to your first visit. Additionally, please complete the Speech-Language Therapy Health history form on our website. When you complete the health history form in detail prior to your session, the therapist is better able to make decisions about what formal tests to select for the evaluation. When we receive this information prior to the evaluation, the therapist has enough time for both formal and informal assessments during the actual evaluation.
During the assessment, speech therapist evaluates following areas of communication:
Articulation – Your child’s ability to produce speech sounds and her overall speech intelligibility. Articulation skills may be evaluated informally via conversation or through administration of a formal test.
Language – Your child’s expressive and receptive skills will be assessed through use of formal testing and through direct interactions with your child during testing. Areas of language assessed include receptive and expressive vocabularies, ability to understand and answer questions, following directions and use of grammar and syntax.
Oral – Motor – The therapist may complete an oral examination to determine adequacy of structure and function for speech production.
Voice and Fluency– Unless there are specific concerns related to voice and fluency (stuttering), these areas are always assessed informally. Be sure to let your therapist know if you have concerns in these areas, so that she can assess them with greater depth if necessary.
Social/Pragmatic Language Skills– Through conversational or play based interactions with your child, the therapist will assess your child’s conversational skills including topic initiation, turn-taking, topic maintenance, greeting/parting behavior, etc.
Play Skills – For younger children, the therapist will assess a child’s play skills by engaging them in play interactions. These skills are a precursor to the development of speech-language skills and often reveal information about your child’s cognitive, linguistic, and social readiness.
At the end of the evaluation, your therapist will review her clinical impressions and make recommendations for future therapy visits. It takes time to score standardized tests, so your therapist will discuss the details of the findings during your following visit. At this time, you will be directed to the scheduler to schedule ongoing therapy appointments. Hopefully, this information will prepare you for your first visit. We look forward to helping you and your child.