The Speech/Language Pathologists at MacArthur Early Childhood Center are very active in the screening process of the 3, 4, and 5 year olds in the community.  Once a child has been screened, they determine if a speech/language evaluation is warranted.  If it is determined that an evaluation is needed, then one of the Speech/Language Pathologists will conduct the evaluation.   After the evaluation is completed, all those involved in the evaluation meet with the parents to determine if the child is eligible for speech/language therapy.  One of the Speech/Language Pathologists will then provide therapy to those children. Therapy may then be held in the classroom and/or a therapy room.

The school Speech/Language Pathologists are also an excellent resource to the parents and to the classroom teachers.  Therefore, please feel free to contact Amber Bruning or Dawn Stiles for questions regarding speech and language development, ways to help your child with their skills, information about disorders and syndromes, or any other questions.

IS MY CHILD's SPEECH or LANGUAGE DELAYED?
Carolyn A. Weiner, M.A., C.C.C.
Communication Skill Builders, Inc. 1988

Parents are often the first adults to notice a possible delay in their child's speech or language development.  Your child's speech may not be clear. Or, your child may use shorter sentences than other children the same age.  This observation generally leads to questions:

Is my child's speech or language delayed?
Speech skills are different from language skills.  Language refers to the use of words and sentences to convey ideas. Speech is the production of sounds that make up the words and sentences.
Using developmental milestones, such as those listed below,  you can compare your child's development with that of other children the same age.  Read the description and ask yourself the questions listed. You can get an idea if your child's communication skills are about the same, higher than, or lower than expected.
Use caution when applying any measure of development to your child. Individual differences or special circumstances need to be accounted for. 

Milestones of Speech and Language Development

• One year old children should be able to understand a variety of words and should be using a few single words.
  
• By age two, words should be combined into two and three word phrases and sentences.
  
• Between the ages of three and five, children learn to carry on a conversation, ask and answer questions, follow and give directions, and speak alone in the presence of a group.  These are important skills to success in kindergarten.

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