How To Prepare Your Child For A Speech Evaluation

If your child has never been to a speech therapist before, s/he likely doesn’t know what to expect.  Most often, a child expects a doctor’s office and might be scared or apprehensive.  To prepare your child for the most success during the evaluation, the following tips may be helpful:

1. Show your child my photo from my website. If a child knows what to expect, you can help alleviate at least some of the “unknown.”
2. Let your child know what will happen at the evaluation by saying something like this. “We are going to go meet a new friend today. Her name is Miss Allison, and she has a lot of toys and games. She teaches many kids, and she is so excited to meet you.” In reality, I will be doing much more than simply playing with toys and games, but I am usually able to conduct my evaluation and analysis without your child knowing!
3. If your child is old enough or has expressed frustration with their speech (especially stuttering), you can certainly have a conversation about this. You might say something like, “Miss Allison is a teacher who helps a lot of kids with their talking. Would you like to meet her and see if she can help make it a little bit easier?”

Contact Allison Elium

​​Allison Elium, MA, CCC-SLP is the owner of Wildflower Speech Therapy, PLLC, a private speech therapy practice in Austin, Tx. Allison specializes primarily in stuttering and speech disorders in children and adults. Read more about her approach here