Why Refer?

Indicators that your preschool-aged child may need an assessment by a speech pathologist:

Difficulty following 2-step instructions
Difficulty answering simple questions (e.g. who gave you that? & where did you go?)
Speaking in sentences shorter than 3-5 words
Using basic word grammar or omitting function words from spoken sentences (e.g. Daddy run)
Difficulty attending to large units of speech (e.g. clapping words in sentences) and rhyme
Communicating in grunts, jargon or using gestures in place of spoken words
Making speech sound errors such as ‘eat’ for ‘feet’ and ‘fit’ for ‘fish’
Not able to be understood by most people around them
Limited vocabulary, using words such as ‘that’, ‘there’ and ‘look’ to refer to many things
Observable frustration when not understood by others

Indicators that your child in kindergarten may need an assessment by a speech pathologist:

Difficulty following 3-step instructions or slow to process verbal information
Difficulty answering questions (e.g. what is this for? & what is happening in this picture?)
Making multiple errors with pronouns (e.g. Me go there), past tense (e.g. I goed there) and plurals (e.g. two foots)
Speaking in sentences shorter than 4-6 words
Making speech sound errors such as ‘tat’ for ‘cat’ and ‘sail’ for ‘snail’
Not able to be understood by all people around them
Spoken stories are difficult to follow
Limited vocabulary compared to peers
Observable frustration when not understood by others
Difficulty attending to sounds within words and breaking a word into smaller parts
Difficulty interacting with other children in the playground

Please refer to the following for more information

AND www.talkingpoint.org.uk/sites/talkingpoint.org.uk/files/Primary%20Milestone%20Poster%20-%20Final.pdf

For a copy of the referral form, please download here: