Trusting Your Gut: What to do when you have concerns

As an SLP, I get approached frequently by families concerned with their child’s speech and language development. Many times, families first bring their concerns to their child’s pediatrician who often (not always) encourages the families to give their child time. As a speech language pathologist who has been working with young children for over 15 years, my recommendation is to always go with your gut. If your child is between the ages of 0-3, the first step would be to contact your county’s

Early Intervention Program. In most states, a developmental evaluation is free of cost and can either give you the peace of mind that your child is doing ok, or can help your child to get the services he or she needs as early as possible. If a child has a speech and/ or language delay, the best possible thing to do is to provide him or her with speech language therapy as early as possible. If your child is over the age of three and speech language delays are impacting his/ her access to education, the school district may be able to provide a speech and language evaluation. If that is not the case, having a private speech language evaluation is advised. The speech language pathologist will use norm referenced tests to evaluate your child and determine whether or not your child would benefit from speech language therapy. If you are concerned about your child’s speech language development, please contact SOMASP at 973-996-8089 for a free phone consultation. Feel free to share this post with your friends and family who have children.