Many children and families encounter a speech therapist for the first time before starting school, during mandatory school readiness evaluations. Early diagnosis and stimulation are extremely important, and therefore, in our kindergarten, we conduct an assessment of speech and language abilities for preschool and early school-age children. We will try to explain what the assessment and speech therapy testing involve.
WHAT DOES THE ASSESSMENT INCLUDE?
Expressive Speech
Assessment of oral praxis, i.e. whether the child is able to perform all assigned oral motor movements needed for the articulation of all sounds in our language. We examine whether the child is aware of their speech organs and their positioning.
Sound Articulation
We assess whether the child correctly articulates all the sounds of their native language.
We also evaluate phonological awareness, i.e. whether the child is aware of all sounds, their position in words, whether they can distinguish them from other similar sounds in terms of sound or articulation point, and whether they can recognize rhyming words, etc.
Child’s Communicative Status
We assess whether the child initiates communication spontaneously, at a dialog level during introductions. The child is then asked to tell a story based on pictures. While the child speaks, it is important to assess sentence length, grammatical structures used, vocabulary richness, and the flow of the story.
Receptive Speech
We assess speech comprehension by giving the child multi-step instructions to follow.
Graphomotor Skills
On a blank sheet of paper, the child is asked to draw specific shapes, write letters and numbers, and complete a complex graphomotor sequence. We assess proper pencil grip and which hand the child uses. We observe writing direction (left to right) and whether the child writes letters from top to bottom. We use various tests, including the prediction test, which provides information about the maturity of graphomotor skills and visual perception.
Fine Motor Skills
We assess the use of pencils, crayons, building blocks, scissors, and other didactic materials that require fine motor coordination.
Visual Perception and Memory
We test recognition and naming of colors and shapes, sorting and classifying objects based on specific instructions. Children are shown pictures and are asked to identify differences or similarities, as well as remember where a certain picture was placed.
Auditory Perception and Memory
Children are asked to remember and repeat given sounds, words, sentences, or numbers.
Spatial Orientation
The child should be able to point to parts of the body on themselves or others and understand what is “in front” or “behind.” We assess orientation in space and on paper by asking the child to place objects in a specified position or relative to another object, and to draw something below or above a line, or on one side or the other of the paper.
Lateralization
We assess the child’s dominant limbs and sensory organs using a specialized battery of tests and tasks.
Temporal Orientation
We assess whether the child understands what has already happened and what is yet to come. The child should know what time of day it is, what they had for breakfast, and when bedtime is. They should be able to name the days of the week and say what day was yesterday or what day will be tomorrow. When retelling a story or event, we observe whether the story has a beginning, middle, and end. It is also important to note whether the child uses past and future tenses and correct grammatical constructions.
The assessment is conducted in a relaxed atmosphere through conversation with the child and the use of several tests.
Dear parents, listen to your child and their needs, and respond to them. Invest your energy in working with your children, be patient, but also creative. Be their support and anchor, even when they don’t expect it—because by doing so, you are investing in your child’s future. And don’t forget to praise them for their efforts.