New Speech Sound Disorder Diagnosis: Top 5 Questions to ask your Child's Speech-Language Pathologist

The early stages following a speech sound disorder diagnosis is often full of a lot of emotions and questions for parents. As you begin to navigate this new journey, it’s essential to establish clear and open communication with your child’s speech-language pathologist. The sooner you and the therapist align on goals and strategies, the more effective the therapeutic process will be. Remember, you are working together toward a common objective: supporting your child’s success and well-being. As a professional in the field, here are five key questions I recommend asking your child’s speech-language pathologist.

New Speech Sound Disorder Diagnosis: Top 5 Questions to ask your Child's Speech-Language Pathologist

Your child has completed a speech therapy evaluation and has been diagnosed with a speech sound disorder, and the weekly speech therapy sessions have been scheduled... now what? Here are some things to ask your child's speech-language pathologist.

1. What are my child's specific speech sound difficulties?

Although you might hear your child's speech errors, discuss with the speech-language pathologist what the exact errors are. Are they phonological or articulatory? What is anatomically happening? Ask for a description of the errors or pattern of errors-remember as an SLP they spent a lot of years learning the ins and outs of speech sounds, ask for help to better understand your child's specific disorder.

2. What are the short term and long term goals for speech therapy?

What is the plan we can start working towards today? Discuss a clear timeline for short term goals. This allows you as the parent to feel confident about what the next few months of speech therapy will look like for your child. Then discuss the long term goals of speech therapy. What do those look like? By asking about short term and long term goals you are able to map out the future direction of speech therapy for your child.

3. How can we make therapy engaging for my child?

Ask about the speech-language pathologist’s strategies for making therapy engaging and effective. Additionally, offer insight into what motivates your child, and how they respond when frustrated. While the SLP brings expertise in therapy, you are the expert on your child-- collaborate on strategies and motivators to help your child engage and succeed in a therapy setting.

4. What can I do to reinforce learning at home?

Ask for additional resources/strategies, apps, word lists, etc. to use at home. Explain to the SLP that you are invested in helping your child through the speech therapy process and you are interested in any additional resources or information they can provide. (Remember to check out the free and premium resources under the "early-childhood" page as well!)

5. Does my child need any extra support in the classroom?

Your child may be beginning to learn to read or participating in standardized assessments. It’s important to discuss with the SLP whether your child requires additional support in any areas of the classroom and how to ensure they have access to these resources. If necessary, encourage open communication between the SLP and your child’s teacher to ensure a coordinated approach to their learning and development.

Conclusion

Although this time might be overwhelming and full of emotions and planning, remember you are not alone with your child's speech sound disorder diagnosis. Your child's speech-language pathologist is there to answer questions and help guide you through this process as well. You, as the parent, are a vital part of your child's therapy team. Use these questions to open the dialogue between you and the SLP to better help your child. What other questions would you add to the list?