SPEECH SCREENING
Pictures are shown to the child and either a parent or teacher would write the
sound heard if this is done at home or school. *If a facility has contracted
with MEC to do this, a trained specialist documents what is heard (submit the
parent forms with payment to the school/facility or call Dawn Heil at
847-854-0347 to discuss this option).* Both are reviewed by a licensed
speech/language therapist to better determine if the child is within normal
limits or if further testing is needed by a speech professional. Other parts of
the screening addresses if single words are more understandable than
conversational speech, if the child is spontaneous or if coaxing is needed, how
fluent the child is, how many words in a sentence, and if grammar is correctly
used.
Sometimes the results will be OBSERVE which usually means the child was within
normal limits for the age but was missing some later developing skills which may
emerge with maturity. This is a PASS at the child’s age but because the speech
is not fully clear due usually to the younger age of the child, it is best to
screen the child again in six months to a year to make sure all sounds have
emerged and still within normal limits. Sometimes the missed sounds are not
noted in the report since it is best to allow them to emerge without a great
deal of pressure.
It should also be noted that it can be very normal for children ages 3-6 to have
some periods of dysfluency (stuttering type behavior). Sometimes children’s
brains think faster than they can produce the sounds so it is best to ignore it
and soon it may disappear. When parents or teachers bring attention to this, it
can make it worse rather than better. If the dysfluency (repeating the beginning
sounds of words, blocking, or saying “uh, uh, uh”), lasts for more than six
months or if there are associated behaviors with it such as blinking, moving the
head, or something else, further testing may be considered. Stuttering may also
run in families so this needs to be watched carefully.
It is important to have a hearing screening or evaluation done if speech is a
concern. Sometimes hearing problems caused by fluid or wax in the ears,
sinus/allergy problems, colds, ear infections can interfere with speech
production. Missing teeth or thumb sucking can also influence speech at times.