Child developmental concerns:

You may be concerned about some areas of your child's communication but wonder whether a speech pathologist can help. Consider the list of concerns below. Our Speech Pathologists work with you and your child to identify the particular areas that require strengthening.

Speech

• Unclear speech
• Changes sounds or omits sounds in words
• Difficulty saying longer words
• Stuttering

Expression

• Late to talk
• Uses fewer words than expected
• Talks less frequently than other children
• Sentences are short and simple
• Difficulty explaining clearly
• Difficulty telling about something that has happened
• Difficulty telling ‘news’
• Responds inappropriately to questions
• Uses incorrect or inadequate words to name or describe

Comprehension

• Difficulty following instructions
• Struggles to ‘tune-in’
• Difficulty understanding what people are asking
• Has trouble attending and understanding stories
• Difficulty maintaining attention at group time
• Misunderstands questions
• Difficulty grasping new information, concepts and ideas

Social Communication

• Difficulty joining in
• Difficulty making friends
• Says inappropriate things to others
• Talks too much or too little
• Plays alone
• Solves problems with shouting, whining, tantrums or hitting

Reading

• Slow reader
• Difficulty sounding out words
• Difficulty naming letters and sounds
• Difficulty predicting text
• Misunderstands what has been read
• Misses the main idea or the details of written text
• Reads print well but does not comprehend
• Below the reading level expected

Writing

• Difficulty thinking of what to write
• Written sentences are short and simple
• Story ideas are limited
• Omission of word endings or small grammar words
• Limited ideas and vocabulary

Spelling

• Difficulty learning letters and sounds
• Difficulty learning the spelling of common words
• Spells initial letter correctly but not middle and last letters
• Spells words with 3 letters but not 4 letters
• Difficulty spelling vowels in words
• Below the level expected in spelling ability