Speech Buddies Speech Therapy System

It's Time for Kindergarten! Is your child ready?

It’s hard to believe that the end of summer is here and the school year is fast approaching!  If you have a child entering kindergarten, this is a big milestone.  A step that can be greeted with excitement at a new beginning, sadness at how quickly your “baby” is growing up, and possibly concern that your child’s speech and language skills are not where they should be.

What does Kindergarten readiness mean? 

From the perspective of language skills, five year old kids should now be mastering the more refined aspects of language skills.  Their conversational ability should become more sophisticated and they should be able to respond to and follow complex sets of instructions (more than one or two steps).  Most kindergarteners can talk in detail about the world around them.  They should begin to understand and recognize letters and numbers and realize that these are symbols that represent real things and ideas.  Have your child tell you a story or ask about things that happened during the day – he should be able to do so in a very basic format. (I went to the park and played on the slide).   If your child is a chatterbox, that is great!  Encouraging these skills provides meaningful learning and will be beneficial as she learns to branch out in the classroom.

While children’s speech and communication skills develop at different rates, if your child is not hitting one or more of the benchmarks above, it’s a good idea to get a professional evaluation.  Other speech & language difficulties that begin to arise at this age include: unclear speech (sound articulation), stuttering, difficulty learning concepts such as colors or counting, or poor vocabulary acquisition.  Refer to Types of Speech & Language Disorders: A Parent’s Guide for more information.

If any of the above patterns sound familiar then the first thing you will want to do is a hearing screening with your child.  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, hearing loss is the most common hereditary condition in the United States, yet 50% of hearing loss has no known cause.   In looking for a local specialist (called an audiologist), you will want to ask if she tests children, as not all audiologists perform pediatric screening.

In the hopeful event that any hearing loss is ruled out, consider getting a speech evaluation by a qualified speech-language pathologist.  Public schools are required to perform speech evolutions for kids who need one, but private schools are not. That said, the waiting period for getting a school-based evaluation can be quite long.  We recommend going to see a speech-language pathologist to determine the extent of your child’s difficulty and recommended course of action.  Check the Speech Buddies’ Provider page for recommendations in your area.

While it is true that some speech and language problems will be outgrown, the best treatment for your child is early intervention.  The sooner the problem is corrected, the sooner your child will get back to the more fun aspects of kindergarten!  If you have any questions, contact us or post a comment on our Facebook page.  We will respond within 2 business days.

By: A. Penake, CFO, Articulate Technologies