Speech & Language Assessments

From a very young age children’s ability to understand and use speech and language impacts their ability to have their needs met and to engage socially. If you’re concerned your child’s development is lagging behind their same aged peers, a Speech & Language Assessment can be a good place to start (available at our Hawthorn clinic)

Straight to:

What is a Speech & Language Assessment for?

Who is it suitable for?

The Assessment Process

After the assessment

Support for NDIS Participants

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Speech and language skills are essential for children, particularly in their developmental years. Children use language to learn, build social relationships, problem solve and to organise and communicate ideas.

Weaknesses in these areas can influence a child’s learning and social skills, particularly as they transition into school where demands become more complex.

neurocare offers Speech & Language Assessments in our Hawthorn clinic and works with both NDIS participants and private clients to support their communication and social development.

What is a Speech & Language Assessment for?

If you’re concerned your child’s development is lagging behind their same age peers a Speech & Language Assessment can help. An assessment will help to:

Identify any areas of concern

Delayed communication skills can occur for a variety of reasons. An assessment can help identify the specific nature and causes of your child’s difficulties and help determine appropriate next steps to support their ongoing development.

Determine underlying language needs

Both learning and social interaction involve a complex combination of listening and verbal abilities, as well as social skills. Identifying any underlying areas of need provides the opportunity for early intervention targeted towards the specific areas where your child needs extra support.

Provide treatment recommendations

An assessment enables your clinician to develop personalised recommendations and tailor a custom program to improve your child’s communication as well as their social skills and academic development across home, school, and community contexts.

Determine any additional services required

Our speech and language therapists can help you determine any additional services your child might need in school, preschool or the community. They will also provide advice to teachers and carers on the best way to further support language development.

Provide documentation for further support

We can assist with the reporting required to receive additional support from schools/preschools as well as government agencies such as the NDIS./div>

Who is a Speech & Language Assessment Suited to?

Anyone lagging behind peers with their speech, language and communication skills would benefit from a comprehensive speech, language and communication assessment. At neurocare we have standardised assessments of language suitable for children aged 1 to 21 years, 11 months.

While early intervention is preferable to take advantage of their developmental stage a child is never too old to benefit from an assessment. Assessments are suitable for people up to and into adulthood and can reveal obstacles that may exist in their development or issues that have been holding them back in their learning and social abilities.

Some common indications a child may benefit from this assessment include:

Delayed or disordered speech sounds
Difficulty understanding the language of others or following instructions
Trouble communicating or expressing themselves
Poor social skills

The Assessment Process

neurocare’s assessment processes combines use of ANZ standardised CELF (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals) testing with clinical observations to build a complete picture of your child’s speech and language development as compared to same aged peers.

The components of the testing and clinical battery used will vary depending on your child’s circumstances, however the process will involve:

Standardised Formal Assessment
This provides a measure of specific aspects of language form and content compared to same age peers. neurocare offers a range of clinical assessments including CELF 5, CELF P2 and PLS5.

Developmental history and clinical evaluation
This involves collecting information about your child’s early and current developmental behavioural, emotional and medical history. The process enables neurocare to go beyond standardise testing, providing a more complete picture of how your child is functioning in the classroom and everyday life. As part of the process our clinicians will talk to parents/carers and your child, as well as any other relevant professionals who support them (such as teachers or doctors).

Next steps after the assessment

Assessment_Feedback

Following the assessment, your clinician will review the results with you in a feedback session to help you understand your child’s strengths, weaknesses and the areas of development to focus on.

In the case that your child needs further support, the assessment results will enable your clinician to develop a personalised treatment program with goals to target areas of weakness and improve communication skills.

We can also provide support and advice for your child’s school, including recommendations for combined intervention, supporting the planning process or simply helping the teaching team identify situations when your child may need more time and assistance to process language in a learning environment.

Support for NDIS participants

neurocare is a registered NDIS provider, and we provide programs under the Capacity Building stream. While specific support and funding will be based on your individual goals, we generally support participants under Improved Daily Living or Social and Community Participation.

Some common conditions we work with are:

Developmental delays and intellectual disability
Specific learning disability in reading, writing or spelling
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy.

We work collaboratively with NDIS participants, carers, families, and support workers to set meaningful goals and deliver supports to help you achieve the outcomes you are aiming for.

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