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Speech therapist with a smiling boy and his mother

speech and language assessments

What is a Speech & Language Assessment?

A speech and language assessment helps us understand how a child communicates in everyday life. We look at how they understand language, express ideas, and produce speech sounds, not just through tasks, but through interaction and observation. The goal is to bring clarity to concerns and help families decide what support, if any, is needed next.

Waiting room for speech assessment
Woman comforts boy during speech assessment

When is this assessment needed?

Parents often seek a speech and language assessment when communication doesn’t seem to be developing as expected. This may include concerns about speech clarity, limited vocabulary, difficulty forming sentences, or challenges in social communication. An assessment can help make sense of these observations and provide a clearer direction forward.

Speech Assessment

A Speech Assessment focuses on how a child produces speech sounds and how clearly they are understood when they speak. We look at sound production, speech patterns, fluency, and voice quality through observation and interaction. The aim is to understand any difficulties affecting speech clarity and how these may be impacting everyday communication.

Speech Assessments Areas

  • This assessment evaluates difficulties related to planning and coordinating speech movements. It helps clarify speech production challenges that affect clarity.

    • Speech movement planning

    • Sound sequencing

    • Consistency of speech errors

    • Motor coordination for speech

    • Speech clarity patterns

    Boy pointing at cards during speech assessment with therapist.

  • This assessment looks at patterns of sound errors in speech. It helps understand how speech sounds are organised and produced.

    • Speech sound patterns

    • Sound substitutions or omissions

    • Consistency of errors

    • Developmental sound use

    • Overall speech intelligibility

    Man assessing boy's speech

  • This assessment examines the structure and movement of the oral muscles involved in speech. It helps identify physical factors that may affect speech production.

    • Lip and tongue movement

    • Jaw stability

    • Oral muscle strength

    • Coordination of speech muscles

    • Structural observations

    Woman checking boy's tongue for speech assessment

  • This assessment evaluates the flow and rhythm of speech. It helps identify disruptions that may affect communication comfort and confidence.

    • Speech flow patterns

    • Repetitions or blocks

    • Rate of speech

    • Physical tension during speech

    • Impact on communication

    Boy talking to woman taking notes during speech assessment

  • This assessment focuses on how clearly individual speech sounds are produced. It helps identify sound-specific difficulties affecting speech clarity.

    • Sound production accuracy

    • Clarity of speech sounds

    • Error patterns

    • Age-appropriate articulation

    • Overall intelligibility

    Boy talking to therapist during speech assessment

  • This assessment looks at voice quality and vocal use. It helps identify concerns related to pitch, loudness, or vocal strain.

    • Voice quality

    • Pitch and loudness

    • Vocal endurance

    • Vocal habits

    • Impact on communication

    Young boy engaging in a speech assessment with a therapist

Language Assessment

A Language Assessment helps us understand how a child makes sense of language and uses it to communicate. We look at how they understand what is said to them, how they express ideas using words and sentences, and how they use language in everyday interactions. This assessment focuses on meaning, understanding, and communication, rather than how speech sounds are produced.

Language Assessments Areas

  • This assessment looks at how a child understands language and how they use words and sentences to communicate. It helps identify strengths and challenges in everyday language use and supports decisions about appropriate next steps.

    • Understanding spoken language

    • Expressing ideas and needs

    • Sentence formulation

    • Use of age-appropriate language

    • Communication across settings

    Speech therapist assessing young boy

  • This assessment focuses on the range of words a child understands and uses. It helps clarify whether vocabulary development is supporting effective communication in daily situations.

    • Word understanding

    • Word usage

    • Naming skills

    • Concept development

    • Age-appropriate vocabulary

    Child points to apple with adult during speech assessment

  • This assessment examines how a child forms sentences and applies language rules. It helps identify difficulties that may affect clarity and effective communication.

    • Sentence formation

    • Use of grammatical rules

    • Word order

    • Language complexity

    • Spoken language structure

    Boy speaking to woman during speech assessment

  • This assessment looks at how a child uses language in social situations. It focuses on interaction skills needed for everyday communication with others.

    • Turn-taking skills

    • Conversation maintenance

    • Social use of language

    • Understanding social cues

    • Communication in group settings

    Speech therapist working with children

  • This assessment explores communication options for children who have limited or ineffective spoken language. It helps identify suitable ways to support functional communication.

    • Current communication abilities

    • Non-verbal communication methods

    • Use of symbols or devices

    • Functional communication needs

    • Everyday communication access

    Young boy speaking with therapist during a speech assessment

What We Focus On

01

SPEECH CLARITY
 

How clearly your child speaks and expresses ideas

02

LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDING

How they understand language and respond in conversations

03

EVERYDAY COMMUNICATION

How communication affects daily life at home or school

Trusted by Parents

We can help you understand whether this support is right for your child

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