How can I tell if my child needs speech or language therapy?

To identify speech and/ or language impairments, a child must be evaluated by a speech/ language clinician. During the evaluation, the clinician will use both formal and informal tests to compare your child's abilities to developmental "norms". While it depends upon the age and needs of a child, an evaluation usually takes 1-2 hours. A comprehensive speech and language evaluation will look at a child's articulation, language, fluency, and voice.

How do I contact a speech/ language clinician?

If your child is school- age, there will be a speech clinician assigned to their school. Contact your school for more information.

If your child is not yet enrolled in school, contact the Lincoln Intermediate Unit Preschool Program for more information.

What are Language Disorders?

Language disorders are marked by slowness or differences in the development of language skills necessary for expressing ideas and for understanding thoughts and ideas one hears or reads.

What is a Speech/ Language Delay?

Many children have speech or language delays that are developmental in nature. Not all delays require direct therapy services. Sometimes, problems can be corrected at home or by the child becoming more aware of his/her own speech or language differences.

By   age 3...

• More than half of a child's  speech should be understandable to a "new" listener.
• Children should be making the following sounds: all vowels; p,b,
• Children should be making short sentences.   
• Children should be asking simple questions.
• Children should be following simple 2- step directions
• Children should be using simple plurals and pronouns

By   age 4...

• Most, if not all, of a child's speech should be understandable to a "new" listener.
• Children should be making the following sounds: w,n,ng,d,t,g,k
• Children should be speaking in sentences.
• Children should be using most pronouns and plurals.
• Children should be able to identify at least 6 colors.

By   age 5...

• Children should be making the following sounds: y,f,v,l
• Children should be using past tense verbs
• Children should be able to follow 2 and 3- step directions
• Children should be able to listen to stories for 10-15 minutes

By   age 6...

• Children may be making the following sounds: s,z,th,sh,ch,zh,r. However, some children may not be making all of these sounds.
• Children should be speaking on longer and grammatically correct sentences.