Check List For Your Child

Why does my child or teenager need a Speech Pathologist?

ChecklistYou should refer any child:

  1. If you or other people are having difficulty understanding your child
  2. If people think your child is younger than they are because of the way they speak
  3. If your child is being teased or showing frustration because of the way they talk
  4. If your child is using fewer words than other children their age
  5. If your child stutters
  6. If your child’s interactions or play seems unusual or inappropriate
  7. If your child is struggling with reading or writing
  8. Who has a diagnosis that could affect his/her speech or language such as hearing loss, auditory processing disorder, autism, Aspbergers Syndrome, developmental delay, etc.

Checklist indicators for referring to speech pathology:

Simply click your child's age below for an age-appropriate checklist.

A 12 month old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is not babbling

Is not using a variety of different sounds

Does not use 2-3 words (other than ‘mama’ and ‘dada’)

Does not imitate familiar words

Does not understand simple instructions (eg ‘come here’, ‘don’t touch’)

Does not recognise simple words such as ‘cup’, ‘shoe’, ‘juice’

Does not use a combination of sounds and actions to let you know what he or she wants

An 18 month old old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Does not use the word ‘no’

Does not use ten or more words

Does not understand and use the names of familiar objects
(eg ‘doggy’, ‘ball’, ‘bed’, ‘car’)

Does not take turns when playing with a partner

Never answers the question “what’s this?”

Does not use toys for pretend play

Does not understand simple commands

A 2 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is not using a large variety of different consonants

Does not point to some body parts when named (eg nose, hair)

Does not use two word combinations (eg ‘more biscuit’)

Does not ask questions (eg “What dat?”)

Does not enjoy listening to stories

Is not able to name some pictures in stories

Has less then 50 words in his/her vocabulary

Is not able to sing simple songs (eg Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep)

A 3 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Checklist

Is stuttering

Is not correctly producing any of the following sounds:
p, b, m, w, t, d, n, g, h, y

Is omitting the final consonant from the end of words
(eg bow for boat, fla for flag)

Is voicing sounds
(eg saying ‘big’ instead of ‘pig’, ‘doy’ instead of ‘toy’)

Is not able to follow a two-part instruction
(eg “Go to the kitchen and get your juice”)

Is not able to participate in short conversations

Is not putting three or more words together in a sentence

Does not ask ‘why’ questions

Is not able to talk about something that happened yesterday or last week.

Is not beginning to use basic grammar

A 3 ½ year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is not correctly producing any of the following sounds: p, b, m, w, t, d, n, g, h, y

Is not correctly producing the sound ‘f’

Is not correctly producing the sound ‘k’

Is omitting the final consonant from the end of words (eg bow for boat, fla for flag)

Is voicing sounds (eg saying ‘big’ instead of ‘pig’, ‘doy’ instead of ‘toy’)

Is not using basic grammar

A 4 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is not correctly producing any of the following sounds: p, b, m, w, t, d, n, k, g, h, y, f

Can not say sh, ch

Can not say l or y

Is not talking in whole sentences

Is not using adult-like grammar

Is not asking a lot of questions

Is not answering ‘who’, ‘how’, ‘how many’ questions

Is getting pronouns mixed up (I, me, you, he, she)

Is not telling stories that you can easily follow

Is not using language to create imaginative pretend play with others

A 4 ½ year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is not correctly producing any of the following sounds:
p, b, m, w, t, d, n, k, g, h, y, f, sh, ch, l, y

Can not say s or z

Can not say ‘j’

Is not talking in whole sentences

Is not using adult-like grammar

Is not asking a lot of questions

Is not answering ‘who’, ‘how’, ‘how many’ questions

Is getting pronouns mixed up (I, me, you, he, she)

Is not telling stories that you can easily follow

Is not using language to create imaginative pretend play with others

A 5 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is having difficulty with any sounds (except th – this develops later).

Can not explain how an object can be used

Can not answer ‘when’ and ‘why’ questions

Is not using language to talk about past and future events

Can not participate in detailed conversations

Is reluctant to answer questions in the classroom

Has trouble thinking of the word he or she wants to say

Gets frustrated because he or she is having trouble understanding something or communicating something

Frequently avoids talking

Is having difficulty learning to read

Finds it difficult to rhyme words

Finds it difficult to find words that ‘start with the same sound’, or words that start with a specified sound (eg ‘show me all the words that start with the ‘p’ sound).

A 6 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Workshops

Is stuttering

Is having difficulty with any sounds (except th) in his or her speech

Is having difficulty with grammar

Has a limited vocabulary compared to same-aged peers

Is having difficulty asking or answering questions(who, what, how, why, when, where)

Can not participate in detailed conversations

Is reluctant to answer questions in the classroom

Has trouble thinking of the word he or she wants to say

Gets frustrated because he or she is having trouble understanding something or communicating something

Frequently avoids talking

Is behind in his or her reading ability

Has trouble spelling

Is having difficulty writing

Has trouble with reading comprehension tasks

Has trouble with auditory comprehension tasks

A 7 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is having difficulty with any sounds in his or her speech

Is having difficulty with grammar

Has a limited vocabulary compared to same-aged peers

Is having difficulty asking or answering questions (who, what, how, why, when, where)

Can not participate in detailed conversations

Is reluctant to answer questions in the classroom

Has trouble thinking of the word he or she wants to say

Gets frustrated because he or she is having trouble understanding something or communicating something

Frequently avoids talking

Is behind in his or her reading ability

Has trouble spelling

Is having difficulty writing

Has trouble with reading comprehension tasks

Has trouble with auditory comprehension tasks

A 8-12 year old may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is having difficulty with any sounds in his or her speech

Is having difficulty with grammar

Has a limited vocabulary compared to same-aged peers

Is having difficulty asking or answering questions (who, what, how, why, when, where)

Can not participate in detailed conversations

Is reluctant to answer questions in the classroom

Has trouble thinking of the word he or she wants to say

Gets frustrated because he or she is having trouble understanding something or communicating something

Frequently avoids talking

Is behind in his or her reading ability

Has trouble spelling

Has difficulty writing

Has difficulty with schoolwork

Has trouble with reading comprehension tasks

Has trouble with auditory comprehension tasks

Has difficulty understanding jokes

Has difficulty understanding figurative language (eg he turned over a new leaf)

Gets confused with multiple meaning words (eg ‘bark’ is something a dog does and also something on a tree trunk)

A teenager may need to see a speech pathologist if he/she:

Is stuttering

Is stuttering

Is having difficulty with any sounds in his or her speech

Is having difficulty with grammar

Has a limited vocabulary compared to same-aged peers

Is having difficulty asking or answering questions (who, what, how, why, when, where)

Can not participate in detailed conversations

Is reluctant to answer questions in the classroom

Has trouble thinking of the word he or she wants to say

Gets frustrated because he or she is having trouble understanding something or communicating something

Frequently avoids talking

Is behind in his or her reading ability

Has trouble spelling

Has difficulty writing

Has difficulty with schoolwork

Has trouble with reading comprehension tasks

Has trouble with auditory comprehension tasks

Has difficulty understanding jokes

Has difficulty understanding figurative language (eg he turned over a new leaf)

Gets confused with multiple meaning words (eg ‘bark’ is something a dog does and also something on a tree trunk)

Has difficulty following conversations in a group

Liberty Speech TherapyIf your child or teenager demonstrates any of the above, they may greatly benefit from seeing a Speech Pathologist.