Assessment Speech & Language Assessment What happens in the Speech Assessment How the Results Are Scored and Analyzed The Speech and Language Evaluation Report Cost of Services Speech & Language Assessment: Assessment of your child's speech and language may utilize several unique approaches, all based on what is best for your child. Our skilled therapists know there is no "cookbook"approach with your child. A careful assessment takes some time, planning and patience to see your child in different situations. We often collaborate with each other and parents to plan how to best determine a child's needs. It's important to have parents actively involved in the assessment. Parent input provides a much better understanding of a child's communication needs in different settings. An initial assessment is completed in the first visit. This gives us information about your child's speech articulation, listening skills and sentence use. We review the impact that speech may have on developing friendships, getting along in school and impacts that may occur on later school learning and reading. This first assessment lets you know about whether your child requires help in developing better speech and language skills or whether he/she will just "outgrow it." We may see your child for a follow-up visit to gain more understanding and further assess your child's skills. top What happens in the speech assessment? A typical evaluation may include assessments to: Make sure there are no problems with your child's mouth and oral structure. Check the way speech sounds, words and sentences are used. Analyze how well your child communicates in play and informal activities. Find out how well your child understands what is said. Observe how well your child is developing early reading skills (even as young as 18 months!). See how your child responds to techniques to help develop better talking skills. We will also spend time with you and your child in a variety of developmentally appropriate play interaction activities. This gives us the best idea of how your child is communicating and what the difficulties may be. We often ask parents to show us how they play and interact with their child. This helps us understand how your child uses speech and language with you. Knowing how you communicate with your child helps us design better suggestions to help your child. top How the results are scored and analyzed: When the assessment is complete, the results are scored and a statistical analysis of your child's responses is completed. These scores are then compared with those of other children the same age. The scores help us establish a "developmental age level" for your child. You might become involved with child development services or a school. The developmental level is important because some agencies use these numbers to determine if your child is eligible for those services or to help with speech therapy if there is no insurance coverage. Assessment scores also help determine the level of need your child has and are used to measure progress over time. top The Speech and Language Evaluation Report: All the results are put in a written report that is sent to parents, usually within one week. The report summarizes the information we have obtained, the test results and what those results mean. We help parents figure out "what really matters" to help their child's speech development. The report typically will include recommendations for how to help improve your child's speech and language skills and any other referrals that might be helpful such as a hearing evaluation. Our recommendations will be made based on what is most appropriate to assure that your child—s speech, language and developmental needs are best met to assure success. Most importantly we will provide a list of written goals, objectives and suggested activities for your child. Following the evaluation we will discuss with you different approaches for your child. top Cost of Services If you have concerns about paying for an evaluation for your child, contact us first. We can find resources that will be helpful. The cost of a speech and language evaluation is covered by many insurance companies. We ask that you obtain a referral from your physician for a speech evaluation. Before you come, we will confirm that your insurance coverage will pay for the evaluation and therapy. When we receive the referral information from your doctor, we will call you and set up an appointment for you and your child. Contact the Speech-Language Pathology Department for more information. top