How do I know if my child needs speech therapy?

All children develop at their own pace achieving milestones from rolling over and learning to crawl, to eating solid foods.

It’s a process which is different for every child.Communication development milestones determine how a child is progressing with their speech and understanding abilities as well as whether their current skills are typical for their age.If you are having any concerns regarding your child’s communication abilities the “wait and see” approach is not recommended it is best to make an appointment to see a speech pathologist so that evaluation can take place. Early intervention is key 😊.

Speech milestones

At 12 months a child should understand about 10 words, respond to their name, and recognise greetings and gestures, such as ‘hi’ and ‘bye-bye’. They will recognise a few familiar people and objects (e.g., mummy, blankie, teddy) and make eye contact. They will continue to babble.

At 18 months a child should understand up to 50 words and some short phrases and follow simple instructions (e.g., ‘throw the ball’). They should be able to point to familiar objects when named and point to some pictures in familiar books. They may copy lots of words and noises, name a few body parts and use objects in pretend play (e.g., hold toy phone to their ear and say ‘hello?’).

At 2 years a child will have more than 50 single words and be able to put two words together (e.g., ‘bye teddy’, ‘no ball’. They should be able to follow simple two part instructions (e.g., ‘give me the ball and the car’), respond to simple questions, such as ‘what’ and ‘where’ and point to several body parts and pictures in books when named. They will understand when an object is ‘in’ and ‘on’ something and use their tone of voice to ask a question (e.g.,‘teddy go?’). They will say ‘no’ when they do not want something and use most vowel sounds and a variety of consonants (m, n, p, b, k, g, h, w, t, d) • start to use ‘mine’ and ‘my’.

At 3 years a child should be speaking using 4-5 word sentences. They should be asking questions and be able to talk about something that has happened in the past. They should be able to follow complex instructions, recognise colours and understand concepts such as ‘same’ and ‘different’.

At 4 years a child should be able to make longer sentences describing events, asking lots of questions and able to count. They should be able to answer questions and understand “why” questions.

At 5 years a child should use full sentence constructions, take turns in conversations appropriately and use most of their speech sounds correct. They can follow three-part instructions, understand time-related words eg. before and after, be thinking about the meaning of words and be able to recognise most letters and numbers.

Do I need to see the doctor for a referral before taking my child to a speech therapist?

No, you don’t need a referral from a doctor to make an initial speech pathology appointment.

What will the speech therapist do in our first appointment?

The speech pathologist will assess your child’s speech and language skills. Initially the speech pathologist will ask questions regarding your child’s communication abilities within the home and preschool/school environments as well as in the community. Via play or by looking at pictures, the speech pathologist will determine whether the child’s speech skills are appropriate for their current age regarding both the speech sounds used and length of utterances spoken.

The speech pathologist will also evaluate whether the child is able to understand different concepts and follow instructions appropriate to their age.The speech pathologist will then be able to give feedback as to whether speech pathology intervention is necessary or could be beneficial for the child.

How many days/weeks between appointments?

Initially appointments may be weekly, then move to fortnightly. The amount of speech therapy required for each child is different and will depend on several individual factors.

How can I arrange an initial appointment for my child to see a speech pathologist?

Your Journey Therapy is dedicated to ensuring that we provide your child with efficient and effective intervention, our team is dedicated to assist your child with the support they need to achieve their goals. If you would like to meet with one of our experienced speech pathologists please contact us on 03 9267 9048 or visit our website Contact — Your Journey Therapy. We are here to help!