What should I expect at a speech and developmental evaluation?

What should I expect from a speech thrapist for a 2 year old with speech delay?

• My son is 27months and does not speak. He has a speech therapist who sees him 1 hour twice a week, ans a development therapist who also comes twice a week for 2 hours. All his speech ...show more

• Answer:

  In my experience (coursework in speech and language delays and working with a speech therapist in an early childhood preschool), this seems somewhat appropriate, depending what his needs are. It sounds like she is working on labeling with him. Does he know that names for objects? If you say "give me the ball" can he do it? If a child does not know the name for objects, then they will not be able to label it, even if they do speak. How long has she been working with him? Sometimes the first several sessions are just getting the child comfortable with you and seeing where his abilities are. Little ones learn best through play, so his sessions at this age will remain play based. If you have concerns about what the speech therapist is doing, ask her to explain what she is doing with your son and ask what you can work on at home. This will let you feel more comfortable and understand what she is doing. If you work with him at home, it also helps to generalize what he is learning to different environments (the object is a blue ball at home, in the car, at the store, etc not just in the speech room)