Speech Evaluation questions

So I know that there are tons of posts about this, but i am at work and can't search right now. My boys are 2 and went to their check up last night, she referred us to have a speech eval due to the lack of progression in their speech, don't get me wrong they are progressing but at a snails pace!!
I think the only reason she is referring us is because of my concern, she seemed ok w/their development as am I, but in reality i feel like they should be speaking more. I have the unfortunate benefit of comparing them to my niece who is 2 months older and speaks circles around the boys.
So my question is what is a speech eval? What should i expect? Any advice is helpful.

 

with our speech eval (and I'm in PA so I'm not sure exactly every state) 2 people came out - an evaluator and a service coordinator...the SC was there to explain the services that were available to us and how they would be offered...the evaluator did the actual question asking and inputting information, as well as basically just playing with DS to get a feel for what he might need...our eval also was not just for speech, but also for motor and cognitive skills - if he tested at a 20% deficiency in anything he'd get services (whether it was ST or OT or PT)...his motor and cognitive skills were way above the chart but speech was way below - so he qualified...the ST started in February and in 3 months he's made leaps and bounds so well that we'll probably discontinue in July!

 

My DD started speech therapy several months ago at 3.9 years so she didn't qualify for early intervention programs. At her evaluation she sat at a table and they went through a book of pictures and asked her a lot of questions. It took about an hour. I watched through a 1-way glass mirror. It wasn't any big deal, it was just hard for her to sit still that long.

 

My twins did not have any EI at this point. But because I am a deaf Mom and will be asking the Pedi to have someone evaluate them to be sure that they are on track since I may have missed out their speech. So, basically I think anyone should get EI are important to all of us anyway. It doesn't hurt to go to a free evaluation it doesn't mean we are not doing enough. It is a advantage point for us as sometimes we need a third party tell us either they are doing fine or explore a bit more in that direction. I don't compare other toddlers against ours because each toddlers have different milestones with development which is pointless to worry. We just sort of need a mother instinct to tell us sometimes, right?

They are late for their 18 month check-up and still have to make an appointment to get their shot taken care of and will be asking about EI.

Good luck!
D, w/Rianna and Justin

 

Ethan wasn't talking much at 2 and the pedi said to wait until 30 months for an evaluation. Well, he still wasn't talking much by then, I made the appt, and he started talking (still while he was 30 months). I did the eval anyway (it wasn't just for speech) -- he was also spelling, doing 48 piece puzzles on his own and a few other things. Anyway, he was doing 2-3 words phrases within 3 weeks of him really starting to talk and he didn't qualify for services. Now at 34 months, he doesn't STOP talking. So...no real help with a speech eval specifically, but I wouldn't worry just yet. I was a wreck since he wasn't talking and his brother was, but he has so made up for it -- back seat driving and all -- LOL!

Good luck!
Mendy

 

My girls have had Early Intervention since birth because they were preemies. They will qualify until they are three. They were evaluated at 12 months because they were behind in speech. A service coordinator and a speech person came and played with the girls and asked them questions. They always stay for about an hour. The girls were behind at 12 months and now at 2 they are speaking at a 3 year old level. Even though they no longer need EI, we have them come every three months to catch anything that we aren't seeing (like the speech when they were 12 months).

They will give you things to work on with them. They gave us a ton of helpful tips to expand their speech. I would highly recommend them!