Speech assessment experience anyone?

[chubbymomie2012]

My DS3 is having a speech therapy assessment on Friday next week and I was wondering have any of you had this done before and how it was done. My wee man is 2 1/2 and I'm worried he won't perform.

When we had our assessment for ds the SALT played with toys with him, asked chit chat type questions, asked him do puzzles and games that involved her showing a picture and seeing if he could name it and how he pronounced it.

We were asked some general questions but nothing too nosey.

Ds had very bad speech and at nearly 5 he is still having trouble with th sounds, the L sound and at1 or 2 others.

Have you had his hearing checked too, a proper test and not just a doctor peering down his ear?

Don't worry they'll be used to it.

For ds the assessment (pronunciation) was always go through the book asking him to name the picture. When he first did it, they would go through until he started getting bored and uncooperative (in about 5 minutes). Then they'd move onto playing a game, then might try again, with promise of more playing.

He now knows to assessment book so well he likes to guess the next page

When DS had his assessment it was very casual and play based. DS had no sounds by 2 and a half except very basic vowel sounds and alot of the assessment focused more on his listening and ability to understand than how well he could speak at this stage. He is now nearly 5 and speaks really well except for the odd sound but can converse and make himself understood with no problems. Good luck!

Thanks Millie my DS is exactly the same. No words just basic vowel sounds. He has had a full tympanic hearing test which he passed so I know it's not an auditory problem. Took a while for my GP to admit there was a problem. He even told me his speech was bad because he doesn't brush his teeth regularly enough!!!!

'Took a while for my GP to admit there was a problem. He even told me his speech was bad because he doesn't brush his teeth regularly enough!!!! '

Jeez - that's a new one!

chubbie, I'm an Early Years SLT. Don't worry about him 'performing' - the therapist won't be 'making' him say anything. It will all be done through play and pictures - he will just think it's a little play session. Remember it's normal for little ones to be very quiet at first around new people - the therapist will be expecting this and will give him lots of time to feel comfortable.

Please try not to be anxious because your DS will pick up on it, and don't tell him that he has to talk to the lady or anything like that. Just tell him 'we're going to see

Cannot believe what your GP said! It can be hard to be listened to so well done on getting a referral so soon. When DS was having his last sessions before starting reception there were children joining his group who had already started school and had received no prior input as no one had flagged up a concern and they were now really struggling. Hopefully starting him so young will enable him to get the help he needs. I used to spend evenings in tears thinking DS would never be able to speak and now it's hard to remember there was a time when he couldn't!

Lottapianos thank you for that message. It is reassuring.
Millie this is my 3rd of 4 children and he's the only one who ever had any "problems" but his birth was so traumatic (shoulder dystocia ) we half expected it. I am also a nurse so I know not to take any crap from doctors lol.

they will get him to try to make various sounds and then make notes how accurate he was saying them or even knowing what the right word might be for each picture. Then they can tell you whether he is on target for age, and some simple habits you can try at home that may help bring him on. They will emphatically tell you not to correct his speech mistakes, only to model the correct sounds clearly and slowly while making eye contact. They will also ask about your other concerns wrt his language development.

Oh wow, so glad to see this thread (although I know it's old). It's really reassuring. A lot of your DC sound like my DS2. He is practically 2.4 & makes vowel sounds, quite a few consonants & some attempts at words & noises to represent things (nee-nar for fire engine, eww when asked what cat says, oo-oo for train etc). We have already been to SL group sessions around the time he turned 2, which gave me some good ideas on strategies to help encourage him. Since doing this & starting nursery he understands a lot more, points a lot more & does actions to some nursery rhymes. He has had one hearing test & has another next week, the first one showed some fluid in the ears & audiologist thought maybe some hearing impairment, but also he didn't cooperate with the tests very well, little monkey