TIPS FOR WHEN A SPEECH PATHOLOGY

ASSESSMENT IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA

AUTISM – what to look for:

• Social awkwardness
• Lack of flexibility
• Problems with change
• Sensory issues
• Egocentric in their outlook
• Tendency to talk in monologues – not really conversing
• Low frustration tolerance
• Problems with emotional regulation
• Difficulty joining in, fitting in
• Difficulty with conversation
• Lack of empathy
• Awkward body language
• Poor eye contact
• Perfectionism
• Being very literal

DYSLEXIA – what to look for:

• Difficulty following directions
• Difficulty reading, including reading aloud
• Slow and labor-intensive reading and writing
• Problems spelling
• Avoiding activities that involve reading
• Mispronouncing names or words, or problems retrieving words
• Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
• Difficulty summarizing a story
• Being very literal
• Difficulty doing text / word maths problems

SPEECH – what to look for

• Speech is unclear
• Some speech sounds are incorrect
• Speech is mumbly
• Speech might be dysfluent / stuttering
• LANGUAGE – what to look for
• Limited vocabulary
• Difficulty expressing ideas clearly
• Using incorrect verb tenses
• Difficulty processing and understanding language

These lists are just a little guide.

Some other resources

This page was last updated Feb 2024

Communication Milestones

Information from Speech Pathology Australia

LINK : Communication Milestones

Autism
Autism SA (Link) for resources, services and any news about autism in South Australia.
Tony Attwood’s home page (Link) for information about Asperger’s Syndrome (high-level Autism Spectrum Disorder).
Sue Larkey’s home page (Link) for helpful resources for teachers and parents.  Also check out her Facebook page for some useful discussions regarding managing challenging behaviours.
Bill Nason’s Autism Discussion Page on Facebook.

Speech Difficulties in Children
Caroline Bowen’s home page (Link) for information on speech sound disorders.  She explains the differences among the different types of disorders.  She also provides helpful explanations regarding the links between speech sound disorders and literacy development.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (Link) website for information regarding speech and language development.

The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Facebook page for Australian parents (Link).

Voice
Many people who use their voices a lot during work or leisure activities can develop voice problems, including hoarseness, harshness and discomfort. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (Link) in the US provides some helpful information on protecting your voice.