Download Red Flags for Toddlers and School-Age Children ARTICULATION: A

Red Flags for Toddlers and School-Age Children
ARTICULATION: A child’s speech should be 80% intelligible to the
unfamiliar listener by 3 years of age(though most parents can
understand what their child is saying, this refers to how well The
child can communicate to the average person in your community)
RED flags:
• Child starts talking, is hard to understand, then stops.
• Child leaves the ending off of many words.
• Child lacks of variety of sounds produced.
• You are unable to understand even simple words.
• Excessive drooling, difficulty eating, difficulty drinking from a straw, and
difficulty imitating mouth postures (like sticking out his/her tongue or
puckering lips).
• Child stuffs food into their mouth or is a picky eater.
• Child produces an s-sound with a lisp.
VOICE: This area of speech-language development refers to the
pitch, intonation, quality and loudness of a child’s voice.
RED flags recurrent:
• Hoarseness
• Breaks in voice while speaking
• Loss of voice
• Low pitch
• Reflux or constant sore throat, especially in morning
EXPRESSIVE and RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE: The child should be able to
clearly communicate his/her ideas, wants and needs. The child
should be able to demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts,
answer questions, and follow directions.
Connec-to-Talk, LLC
59 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897
(ph)203-210-7124 (f)203-210-7123
www.connec-to-talk.com
RED flags:
• Child is not approximating words or imitating sounds by 18 months of age.
• Child is not combining words at 2 1/2 years of age.
• Child is difficult to understand, cannot express ideas logically or clearly.
• Child cannot maintain a topic, even for a brief period of time.
• Child starts talking about something, or sees something, and cannot move
on to another topic.
• Child has difficulty coming up with the names of items or people.
• Child has difficulty answering “what,” “where,” “who,” and “why”
questions.
• Child has difficulty talking about events, people, or things that are not in
the immediate environment.
• Child uses physical body language, rather than speaking to communicate
with peers.
• Child has trouble following directions.
• Child has difficulty completing tasks independently.
• Child has trouble making friends, entering a play circle, or expressing
feelings.
STUTTERING: This area of speech refers to the inability of a child to
speak without getting stuck on his/her words. This is a coordination
problem involving difficulty coordinating breathing, voice, rate, and
articulation.
RED flags:
• Prolongations – “Give me the sssscissors.”
• Part-Word – “Give me the sci- sci- sci- scissors.”
• Whole-Word – “Give Give Give me the scissors.”
• Phrase repetitions – “Give me, Give me, Give me the scissors.”
• Rate - child talks so fast that he/she exhibits the behaviors listed above.
AUDITORY PROCESSING: This area of speech-language development
refers to the inability of a child to accurately detect and understand
incoming auditory information- from simple sounds/noises to the
speech of others (despite the fact that the child has normal hearing
– normal audiograms/hearing check-ups).
RED flags:
• Near average, average, or above average intelligence but still experiencing
academic difficulties; may repeat a grade or be labeled a "slow learner."
Connec-to-Talk, LLC
59 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897
(ph)203-210-7124 (f)203-210-7123
www.connec-to-talk.com
• Exhibits a short attention span and becomes easily fatigued; forgets what
is said within a few minutes.
• Unable to block out irrelevant stimuli (background noises like air
conditioners or traffic).
• Inability to detect where sound is coming from.
• May listen attentively, but has difficulty following long or complicated
directions.
• A significant history of chronic middle ear infections or fluctuating hearing
loss.
• Slow to answer questions.
• Difficulty in reading, writing, or spelling.
• Appears pre-occupied; difficult to get their attention; daydreams.
• Presence of hyperactivity, or Attention Deficit Disorder.
• Limited abstract abilities and difficulty pretending in play situations.
• Does not remember simple routine things from day to day.
• Overreacts to loud noises or sounds.
• May show need to “cock head” or extend neck to focus attention.
• Always looks to see what others are doing before responding to verbal
direction.
• Verbalizes whatever comes to mind; responses may not be appropriate to
questions, topics, or situations.
Connec-to-Talk, LLC
59 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897
(ph)203-210-7124 (f)203-210-7123
www.connec-to-talk.com