What are Speech and Language Assessments for Children?
Speech and Language Assessments for Children
The type of speech pathology assessment used for your child will vary depending on the symptoms they present with.
There are two broad categories,
how your child pronounces speech sounds (articulation)
how your child uses and understands language (receptive and expressive).
What symptoms would your child need to have in order to be investigated with an articulation assessment?
If you child is displaying the following:
difficulty understanding what your child is saying.
deleting speech sounds in words. Some examples of this might be: “toe” for the word ‘toad’, “nana” for the word ‘banana’, “pane” for the word ‘plane’.
substituting one sound for a different sound. Some examples of this might be: “gog” for the word ‘dog’, “tat” for the word ‘cat’, “wion” for the word ‘lion’.
protruding the tongue between the teeth for sounds other than ‘th’. Some examples of this might be: “thun” for the word ‘sun’, “glath” for the word ‘glass’.
‘slushy’ speech sounds. This is referred to as a lateral lisp and is common with the sounds ‘s’, ‘z’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘j’.
then you should have it checked out by a Speech Pathologist.
What are some of the assessment used for children who have articulation difficulties?
There are standardised speech pathology tests and screening tests for children . There are a number of assessments a speech therapist could use, here are a couple:
The Articulation Survey: Neil Atkin and John Fisher (1996).
The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP).
What are some of the symptoms that my child’s receptive language may need investigating?
Receptive language is a child's ability to understand and process spoken or written language. If you child is experiencing any of the speech related issues below, it may be worth having an language assessment:
Understanding long or complex sentences.
Understanding the meaning and context of words and sentences.
They may appear to be not listening or ignoring you most of the time.
They may not keep up with peers, either with school work or socially.
They may have behavioural problems or be acting up in class.
They may be easily distracted or drift off when listening to speech or stories.
They may appear to be forgetful. For example, they only complete part of an instruction or remember part of a shopping list.
What are some of the symptoms your child might have that require assessment of their expressive language?
Expressive language is a child's ability to express themselves and get their meaning across through speaking or writing. The symptoms below would require further investigation.
Poor sentence or grammatical structure.
Limited content in their speech.
Confused meaning and grammar.
They generally use short, simple sentences.
Difficulty coming to the point.
Problems starting or participating in conversations.
Difficulty recalling or retelling information.
Difficulty completing oral and written narratives and/or assignments.
Have trouble finding the right words.
What are some of the assessments that a speech pathologist might use for expressive language?
The New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS)
The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals – Preschool 2nd Edition - Australian Standardised Edition (CELF-P2)
The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals –5th Edition - Australian Standardised Edition (CELF-5):
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