georgetown UAE
When should I refer for Speech & Language Evaluation?
Updated: Feb 10, 2022
Infants:
Lack of eye contact or gaze
Difficulty feeding or swallowing
Difficulty with head control or other motor movements
Extremely fussy or very quiet baby
Difficulty regulating sleep patterns
Medical issues such as reflux, prematurity, asthma, ear infections
Toddlers and Preschoolers:
Articulation
Excessive drooling
Highly unintelligible
Starts to talk and then stops
Child omits the end sounds of words
Is not producing /m, p, b, t, d/ - 2 year olds
Is not producing /k, g, f, n/ - 3 year olds
Is not producing /sh, ch, j, v/ - 4-5 year olds
Receptive Language:
Child seems to not hear you
Child will only respond to things phrased in a certain way (ex., “juice” but not “drink”)
Little affect or understanding of feelings
Responds very well to visual cues or gestures, rather than speech
Echoes what they hear but are not spontaneous in productions
Trouble with following directions
Trouble in new situations (daycare, preschool)
May have behavior problems (frustrations, trouble with transitions)
Expressive Language:
Lack of true words to communicate
Lots of pointing, grunting, or crying when attempting to communicate what they want
Child echoes but is not spontaneous with words
Cannot maintain topic at hand for any period of time
Child will start to play with a toy, but is not able to expand the play or move to anything new (e.g., performs the same action over and over)
Difficulty coming up with names of items or people (word retrieval)
Sensory Integration Issues:
Child may avoid touch or being touched
Picky about food, texture, and touch
Stuffing food in pockets of cheeks
Difficulty drinking from a straw
Child may bump into things often or seems not notice where he is walking
Under reactive to environment
Often looks like attentional or behavior issues
