Speech and language assessment - what to expect?

[chuckeyegg]

The letter has finally arrived and we have our initial assessment. What should I expect it's booked for a months time and I'm already feeling nervous.

For you or your dc, what age are they?

moondog's a salt, so bump later
When my dc have had initial assessments, it's a lot about chat with you about the concerns and their development, look at picture books and talking about them, questions and so on, also a bit of play with the toys suitable for their age. How old is your dc?

He is 2 years and 4 months.

x

I'm on Surrey and dd4's assessment consisted of us going into a room with the therapist dd playes with the toys for quite some time - she gave the teddies a picnic but there was lots to choose from. We then looked at a book together and dd was asked what all the things in the picture were and the therapist wrote down what she said.

The imaginative play seemed to be to assess whether she could do role play & imaginative play and the book for getting an accurate reflection of how she actually spoke. She was 2.7 at the time.

I was actually playing with dd with the teddies etc I guess so long as there is interaction going on to demonstrate that he understands what you are saying etc.

dd was advanced in her role play etc having 2 older sisters very close in age she started young!

My DD1 had an assessment about a month ago - she loved it! She's also 2yrs 4 mths

Nice big room - with quite educational/fun toys. There was a big dolls house with lots of furniture to see what she could identify. There was a sand pit with lots of pictures hidden in the sand. Books and toys that the therapist used (like a jack-in-a-box)to try and get her to shout out at!

I got plenty of time to chat about my concerns and the therapist seemed much less worried about her than I was! I got lots of great tips, a fast-track onto a course should I still be concerned by the summer hols and lots of pointers to help. I thought it was brilliant. It just made me feel that if there is a big underlying problem (although there's probably not) then I felt I'd have help. Since then she's been joining two words together (finally) and we're really building on it in a way I know is right for her.

Hope it goes well - I'm sure it will

Our SALT came to the nursery, spoke to us for a long time beforehand, asking questions about DS's speech, play, interests, and then went in and observed him for an hour and a half.
She also came home to see what he did there; the home visit was not very structured, she just wanted to see how he talked and interacted with us in his 'natural' environment and with his usual toys.
Feeling nervous is inevitable, but please try to stay calm because children tend to pick up straight away that something is going on, or that they are being observed. Good luck, hope it all goes well

Thanks for all your replies, I feel a little better.
x

Hi, I've just graduated as a therapist so thought I'd add my bit.

What the others have said pretty much reflects what happens. In the 1st appointment the therapist has a chat with you and asks questions about how the child interacts, your concerns, any medical history, the child's speech and understanding. Then based on what has been discussed and what the referral was for, an assessment will be carried out usually using pictures or toys depending what will be assessed.

Therapists always try to work in partnership with parents so you will be kept informed about what will be done and why and you should be empowered to have a say on the therapy provided.

I hope it's a pleasurable experience for you!

Out of interest how long has it been between being referred and getting the letter? My ds has just been referred for hearing and speech assessment and my GP mentioned a 'long wait' but I forgot to ask how long!

My DS2 (not yet 2 yo) doesn't say anything at all and it was a 15 week wait to have an assessment. I saw GP in January and the appointment is second week of April. I was told that at our center, it is a group assessment with two therapists and that there are no one-to-one discussions between parent therapist, the children are in a small group with children of similar age, and observed on how they play, communicate, etc.