When should we have an evaluation?

The American Speech-Language Hearing Association recommends the following guidelines:
https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm

What is Speech VS Language?

Put simply, speech is the clarity of sounds we use to communicate and language is the what (vocabulary), how (grammar) and why (social purpose) of communication. 

Retrieved From: ​London-Elgin Speech & Language Services

A general Speech-Language Evaluation typically lasts 1 - 2 hours in your home or online via Zoom.
We'll take a look at the following areas: 

SPEECH:

• Speech Sound Development
• Motor Speech Skills
• Oral Mechanism Evaluation

​
LANGUAGE: 

• Vocabulary Knowledge (Semantics)
• Grammatical Word Endings (Morphology)
• Sentence Level Grammar (Syntax)
• Understanding and Retelling Narratives (Discourse)
• Social Language (Pragmatics)
• Other areas as needed. 

What can a Speech-Language Evaluation Diagnose?

• Developmental Language Disorder (read more HERE)
• Speech Sound Disorder 
• Word Finding Disorder
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech (read more HERE)
• Social-Pragmatic Language Disorder

  
A general Speech-Language Evaluation cannot diagnose:

•  Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Dyslexia (this is completed through a longer language-literacy evaluation)
• Learning disabilities outside of language
• Stuttering (this will require a fluency evaluation by a speech-language pathologist with a specialty in fluency)