Speech Therapy for Toddlers

Speech Therapy for Toddlers | Evaluation

First Appointment | Speech Therapy for Toddlers

You will talk about your child with a Speech-Language Pathologist.  Many families share worries for their child’s development during this initial meeting before getting speech therapy for their toddlers. At the same time, during this meeting you will make a plan. Some families move to an evaluation, while others may use other community-based resources.
 

Evaluation

Parent Interview: During this interview, you will complete a case-history form. With this in mind, your evaluator will be able to understand your perspective. Since most parents have fantastic instincts about what is happening with their child, this is the first step of the evaluation.
 
Following the parent interview, your child will take the stage. Evaluation activities for toddlers include:
  • looking at pictures and pointing to words, so that the evaluator can see what words your child knows
  • playing with favorite toys, for example some children love to play with bubbles.
  • following simple directions with different sized cups, balls, or other toys
  • singing nursery rhymes or favorite songs, so that the evaluator can hear your child speak
All in all, the evaluation is a snapshot of your child’s skills, but not the entire picture. Please share videos of your child at their best and worst communication levels.
 
A pie chart depicting the four phases of speech therapy for toddlers: setting the stage, observation, solution finding, and reflection

Speech Therapy for Toddlers | Therapy

Once your child has been evaluated, its time to decide what to do with the information in your evaluation report. Together with your SLP, you’ll come up with a plan. You’ll set measurable goals and begin working together. Speech therapy for toddlers often involves making some changes at home. Here are some examples of where families often begin:

  • Create routines that encourage the child to communicate in any way they can.
  • Increase the amount of time per day that the child spends playing or communicating with a preferred adult.
  • Build vocabulary using thematic books.
  • Build reading into every day by adding it to the before-bed routine.
  • Decrease passive television watching and create opportunities for shared TV time with communication breaks

 

Kayla Calabro, a speech-language pathologist who specializes in speech therapy for toddlers
Kayla Calabro is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Schedule an Intake Appointment