Leanne Sherred, M.S., CCC-SLP
Is your child meeting their speech and language milestones? Does your teen seem to have a hard time communicating clearly? Or are you concerned about your own communication skills?
Our simple screener will let you know if a speech evaluation is recommended, for you or your child.
Take our speech and language screener
This free online screener takes just a few minutes to complete. The quiz questions are tailored by age, from babies and toddlers, through school-age children, teens, and adults.
If your toddler isn’t talking much yet, you might wonder if they’re simply a “late bloomer.” How do you know if it’s a speech delay?
Perhaps other people have a hard time understanding your preschooler’s speech. Maybe your teen seems to struggle with conversational skills. Or as an adult, you’d like to improve your communication style at work, or continue working on a speech issue that you received therapy for as a child.
The screener questions cover all of these issues and more:
Expressive language: How well we can express our thoughts and needs
Receptive language: How well we can understand spoken language
Speech clarity: How clearly we can speak and pronounce speech sounds
Social communication: How well we use verbal and nonverbal language for social purposes, such as conversation
Discuss your personalized results with a speech therapist
After completing the screener, you'll receive in-depth results that explain the communication milestones targeted in each question and what your answers might mean. You can save your personalized results as a PDF to share with your doctor or refer back to later.
You can also discuss your results with a licensed speech-language pathologist in a free consultation call. They’ll help you understand your answers and schedule an evaluation, if needed.
Many speech and language issues in children go undiagnosed
Underidentification of speech, language, and communication disorders is a big problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 12 children has a communication disorder. But almost half of them aren’t receiving the treatment and support they need, such as speech therapy.
Many parents might assume their child is a late talker. They might take a “wait-and-see” approach. But early diagnosis and intervention is important. Many children don’t “grow out” of their speech or language disorder. And the longer a child waits to start treatment, the harder it becomes to correct speech problems.
1 in 12 children has a communication disorder. But almost half of them aren’t receiving the treatment they need, such as speech therapy.
Early intervention helps children make faster progress and meet their developmental milestones more quickly. It also leads to better school success and overall quality of life.
An evaluation by a licensed speech therapist can determine whether your child needs speech therapy. And our screener lets you know if an evaluation is recommended.
Teens and adults can benefit from speech therapy, too
Our speech and language screener is for people of all ages. Any person who wants help with their communication abilities can benefit from speech therapy. For example, speech therapy for articulation helps people learn to pronounce sounds that they’re struggling with. A teenager or adult can have trouble with a lisp, or with pronouncing other speech sounds. Some of the trickier errors that can linger if not properly treated in childhood occur with the /s/, /r/, and /l/ sounds.
Social pragmatics is another major area where some teens and adults need help. Social pragmatics refers to the social aspect of language and communication. This includes social rules during conversations, such as:
Maintaining eye contact
Not standing too close to the person with whom you’re speaking
Staying on topic
Having a two-way, rather than a one-sided, conversation
Even the ability to understand sarcasm can be a challenge for people who struggle with social communication.
Treatment for social language can help people become the best communicators they can be at school, at work, and socially.
Talk with a licensed speech therapist for free
Trust your instincts. If you’re worried your child might have a speech delay or isn’t reaching milestones typical for their age, take our screener. You can talk with a speech therapist to share your concerns, discuss your screener results, and get expert recommendations. Listen to your gut, and don’t wait to take the next step.
