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Is your child displaying communication symptoms that are causing you concern? Would you or a loved one like to improve your communication skills at home, work, or in social situations? Maybe you’ve thought about speech therapy but you’re not sure if it’s the answer.

Listed below are two sets of guidelines – one for children and one for individuals of any age.

After reviewing the guidelines, please contact us to arrange a one-hour free consultation, available by phone or in our office.

Referral Guidelines for Communication Concerns in Children

  • Child is not saying three words by 12 months, 20 words by 20 months, two-word combinations and a minimum of 25 words by 26 months.
  • Child has had three episodes of otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear) within a 12-month period up to 18 months of age.
  • Parents are concerned about a child’s communication skills at any age.
  • Speech is difficult to understand after age 2½.
  • Child uses mostly vowel sounds in his speech after age 1.
  • Three-word sentences are not being used by age 3.
  • Sentence structure is noticeably faulty at age 5.

To see more details on communication concerns in children, please visit our Checklists page under Resources.

Referral Guidelines for Communication Concerns at any Age

  • An individual is embarrassed and disturbed by his speech.
  • Speech sounds are distorted, omitted, or substituted after age 6.
  • Voice is monotone, extremely loud, largely inaudible, or of poor quality.
  • Pitch is not appropriate for the individual’s age and sex.
  • An individual often sounds as if he’s talking through his nose or sounds as if he always has a cold.
  • An individual’s voice is chronically hoarse or sounds rough.
  • An individual’s speech is abnormal, non-fluent, or characterized by excessive hesitations and/or repetition of words.
  • An individual uses head jerks, eye blinks, or body or facial movements to help get their words out.
  • An adult or child has difficulty following directions or remembering items.
  • The individual does not respond to loud and soft sounds appropriately.
  • An adult or child has difficulty describing his ideas or finding the right words.

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