What To Expect: Toddler Speech & Language Assessment
If your toddler needs a speech and language assessment (or evaluation, same thing!), we’re writing this post for you. We know an appointment like this can bring up some nerves and feelings-- for you and for them-- so we want to give you a roadmap and explain exactly what to expect.
Before Your Toddler’s Speech and Language Assessment
First, we want to assure you that your Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) wants this to be a positive experience for you and your child. You can trust that they will do their best to make it fun and comfortable for your child, while also taking time to get to know you and your family a bit.
SLPs have a lot of experience working with toddlers, so we definitely understand if your child doesn't show all of their abilities during the assessment. That’s so typical! Whether the assessment is being completed in your home, via telepractice, or at a clinic, it will be a new experience for your child to have a new person there. The SLP won’t expect your child to perform for them, but we will do our best to make your child feel as comfortable as possible, making it a fun and playful experience.
Track Your Toddler’s Language Development From Home
The first step you should take is to learn the language development milestones and start to track which ones your toddler is meeting—or not meeting. It is really easy to do with our free toddler language milestones checklist. Before you read the rest of this post, we highly recommend grabbing your copy!
Preparing for Your Toddler’s Assessment
You can prepare for the assessment in advance by spending a little time thinking about how your child is communicating with you (the checklist will help get the juices flowing), and what your main concerns are. The SLP will want to hear about it! You are the expert on your child. You can make a list of gestures, sounds and/or words they’re saying. If you have a good video example of your child’s speech, that may also be helpful for the SLP to see.
How To Prepare Your Child
To help your child prepare for their assessment, we recommend saying something like, “You're going to see a new person named __, and you’re going to play together. And with mom/dad/grandma/caregiver.” Explain to them that it’s playtime, and they might get to sit at a little table and look at some pictures, or even play on the floor. Let them know there will be toys and (likely) stickers! It’s okay if your toddler doesn’t understand this yet, and even if they don’t, it’s worth taking some time to prep them a bit. You can bring a favorite toy, snack and some water.
What Happens in a Speech Language Assessment for Toddlers
Typically, a speech and language assessment for a toddler either takes place in a clinic setting or in your home. It lasts between 1-1.5 hours, but additional observation times may be scheduled outside that time. The initial 1-1.5 hours will cover:
Case History
Prior to the assessment or on the day of the assessment, you will be asked to complete case history forms which will ask you all about your child’s health and developmental history. This gives your SLP some background information.
A Hearing Test
A hearing evaluation or screening is recommended as a part of all speech and language assessments. Surprisingly, sometimes hearing problems go undetected. We want to ensure that your child is hearing properly, because it’s necessary for spoken language development. A vision screening may also be recommended, and we would advise doing this. Always good to rule things out that may be contributing to a speech and/or language delay.
Parent Interviews
Your SLP wants to get to know you and your child, and they know that you know your child best. They’ll ask you many questions about your child’s communication skills. Here are some examples:
What sounds or words does your child say?
Does your child point to or gesture for things they want?
Does your child understand simple directions, such as "come here" or "give me the ball"?
What are your child's favorite toys or activities?
How does your child communicate with you when they're upset?
Does your child use any gestures or facial expressions to communicate?
Does your child interact with other children or adults in a social setting?
What is your child's daily routine like (e.g. meals, bath time, bedtime)?
Has your child had any ear infections or other health concerns that could affect their hearing or speech development?
Are there any other family members who have experienced speech or language delays or disorders?
You are the expert on your child. This information helps the SLP understand your child on a deeper level.
Play Observation
Your SLP will likely observe your child in both solo play & play with a caregiver (you). It may be surprising, but play and language development are closely related. A child’s play skills can tell us a lot about how they are developing and their strengths and needs.
Direct Assessment
Your SLP might also use an assessment that asks your child to name a picture or respond to simple questions. Two assessment tools we like to use are the REEL and the Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale.
The REEL (Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language) assessment
This is a tool that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) use to evaluate how well young children (from birth to 3 years old) understand and use language.
During the assessment, the SLP will watch your child play and interact, and may ask your child to do things like point to pictures in books, follow simple commands, or name objects. They will also observe your child's communication skills, such as how well they take turns in a conversation and how well they express themselves through words or gestures.
The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale
It is a criterion-referenced test used to assess the language development of infants and toddlers. The Rossetti assesses a child's language skills based on specific developmental criteria, rather than comparing them to other children of the same age. It helps the SLP understand a child's communication abilities in various areas, including social interaction, play skills, and expressive and receptive language. The scale is based on observation and interaction with the child, and it takes into account the child's age, developmental level, and cultural background.
Speech Sounds
Typically, with clients ages one and two years, we don’t do a formal speech sound assessment. We focus far more on the meaning they are trying to convey rather than perfect speech sound production. This takes time to develop. Closer to age three, the SLP may have your child participate in naming pictures that will help the SLP determine which sounds your child may need some extra support with. For little ones, we tend to informally observe and make notes of speech sound patterns and sounds that may be pronounced incorrectly.
After Your Toddler’s Speech and Language Assessment
Once the assessment is completed, your SLP will write a report and review the findings with you.
In some instances, it’s very clear what the next steps should be. When that’s the case, your SLP will share some information with you or suggest additional referrals be made right on the spot.
In other instances, your SLP may need some time to review the findings, so they might not be able to give you a clear answer on how to proceed at this first meeting. If that’s the case, the SLP will review the assessment and findings with you at a mutually agreed upon date.
Either way, feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to support you and your family!
Results & Recommendations
Next, depending on the findings of the assessment, your SLP will make recommendations. They may suggest therapy, or a course to help you learn more about how to support your child’s language development, or they might suggest that you come back in a few months to check your child’s progress.
Sometimes, even after the assessment, the SLP doesn’t know the exact right course of action for your child. In these cases, they may decide that it’s best to take some more time to get to know them, and to see how they respond to therapy. This is relatively common, so it’s worth going in with the expectation that you may not get a clear answer right away.
A Note For Parents
We speak from personal experience when we say that SLPs working with young children truly aim to partner closely with families. We know that you are the expert on your child, and that you’re the person with your child most of the time. Working together with your child’s therapist will help your family to have the best possible results.
We know it can be a little nerve wracking going in for an assessment like this. Let us assure you that your SLP is on your side. They will be happy to work with you and answer any questions you have at any point in the process.
Your Next Step: Educate Yourself on What You Can do at Home
A lot of what we do with toddlers in speech therapy, is teach parents the strategies that we know help toddlers talk and communicate more. We created our TalkToddler course for this reason. If you need extra guidance, this course is for you!
