Inspiring Kids to Grow and Thrive

 Speech-Language screenings can take on two forms-formal or informal:
Informal Screening:

• Lasts approximately 15-20 minutes
• May involve some play- based activities
• Can take the form of a conversation with a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP)
• Often involves observation during peer interactions
• SLP may ask child age-appropriate questions to determine abilities for answering questions, forming sentences, and articulation skills
• There is no formal protocol to follow
• There is always a result of the screening and recommendations sent to the parent

Formal Screening:

• Lasts approximately 15-20 minutes
• Often has a criterion checklist of skills
• Will look at speech and language production
• May have images for the child to name or fill-in-the-blank sentences
• Usually has questions for the child to answer
• here is always a result of the screening and recommendations sent to the parent

Screenings can be a great tool to determine if a child warrants a full speech-language evaluation. A screening alone is not diagnostically reliable and should only be used as a tool to decide if an evaluation is necessary.  

A comprehensive evaluation is typically 60-90 minutes in length and is very important for those with a suspected communication disorder. Specific areas of assessment are based on the results of a screening and/or expressed concerns. The actual evaluation of your child can involve two types of testing: indirect and direct.  Indirect testing may often look more like play and informal conversation than an evaluation, but the speech-language pathologist is actually using this time to learn more about how your child communicates in real-life situations.  Direct testing is more structured and may involve your child doing things such pointing to pictures in a testing manual, naming items, or answering the SLP’s questions.  It will compare the client’s skills to others of the same age (via norm and/or criterion-referenced tests). 

A speech therapy session for each child is 30 minutes.  Each child is seen one to two times per week depending on the severity of the disorder, and/or what type of intervention program is recommended. More intensive schedules are occasionally implemented as needed.