Consultations & Evaluations
Evaluations for Adults
Let’s talk about why you might need an evaluation…
Are you frustrated with talking?
Your voice is changing, or it hurts to talk. Your words aren’t coming out as clear as they were before. Or maybe you know what you want to say, but the right words aren’t coming to you. These are all parts of communication that a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) can help you with!
Does it take longer to think through your day or complete activities?
We all have a hard time remembering names sometimes… but if you are finding yourself forgetting important information, like your pin numbers or appointments more often than not, or if you are noticing it takes a longer time to organize, plan, or even focus on everyday activities, an SLP can help you here, too!
Does it take longer for you to finish your meals?
Is something “stuck in your throat,” or do you notice that food or drinks seem to be “going down the wrong way” a lot? Have you noticed you’re coughing after you take a drink of… well, anything? These are common complaints we hear, but we also know how to fix them! Eating should give you energy; it shouldn’t take all of yours…
Yes, it’s a test, BUT…
Don’t worry, you aren’t getting a grade on this one!
Evaluations are our way of accurately assessing your needs – to see what you’re struggling with and what your strengths are.
Once we know what your strengths are, we can use them, and our unique therapy approaches to help you feel more confident and make progress. But we need to figure out how to help first! We do this through a combination of formal and informal testing measures.
Here’s what it looks like…
The testing involves many different activities because an evaluation is going to give us an excellent idea of what you are experiencing and how you feel daily. There are a few ways we get this crucial information. This is what it looks like:
First – we talk to you.
Talking one-on-one with your therapist
We want to know how YOU feel and what you feel your strengths and weakness are at this time. If these are new changes and you want to figure out where they came from, we can help. If you had a stroke and have been working hard but are not quite yourself yet, we can help. If you have a recent diagnosis and need information and support, we can help there, too.
After we talk to you, we will use well-established standardized assessments to get a systematic and measurable look at your areas of strengths and weaknesses. The assessments include tasks like:
Responding to questions…
You’ll answer questions from basic information like your birthday to who our president is, and questions with yes/no answers.
Reading…
We will assess your reading ability at the functional, sentence, and paragraph levels through oral reading as well as reading comprehension tasks.
Writing…
We will assess your writing ability, which hand is most optimal to use and how your letters are composed, to how you express your thoughts at the word, sentence, and paragraph levels.
Thinking…
Remembering, problem-solving, and thinking outside of the box are things that we do every day without realizing it… until we have trouble with it. Our assessment will have tasks to address these areas through memorization and situational tasks.
Eating and Swallowing…
The evaluation may also include eating different foods and liquids if you are having difficulty swallowing or getting through a meal without coughing.
Once we’re done with the evaluation…
It takes about 60 minutes to complete your evaluation. After your session, your therapist will compile all of the information and measurements that were taken that day and write up a clear, concise report. The report will include important information that you provided, along with the subjective and objective data, and results and recommendations from your therapist. These results will be emailed to you within seven days and also printed out to go over during your first session.
After you receive your assessment report, you will have the opportunity to talk to your therapist to have any of your questions and concerns addressed. During that conversation, you will be able to schedule your first therapy appointment, either in person or through telepractice.
Evaluations for Children
Are you worried about your child?
You know your child best. Each child develops at their rate; some will talk early; some will talk later. Some will experiment and try new foods; some will prefer their favorites. However, if you feel like your child is not developing with his or her speech, language, social skills, or feeding within an appropriate age – it’s better to get an evaluation earlier rather than later.
We can get to the bottom of it with a full evaluation.
We perform evaluations in either our child-friendly office or your own home through telepractice. We’ll get to know your child through various standardized and unstructured formats:
Playing…
Sometimes playing with toys and doing crafts is the best way to get to know your child! We want to see what they like to do, what they do well, and we also want them to open up to us! We know that if your child is comfortable with us, they will engage and enjoy therapy a lot more – and you will, too! Through play, we also get a good sense of how your child communicates, articulates his or her words, puts sentences together, and processes questions.
Reading…
We will assess your child’s reading ability at their age-appropriate level, through functional tasks and books.
Talking…
We may have your child name pictures and objects, tell us about their favorite subjects in school, or the most recent trip you took! Talking to them through conversations allows us to see how your child is making their sounds and sentences as well as how they communicate their wants and needs.
Answering questions…
This is for both you and your child. Having an interview with parents and family, as well as your child, gives us a lot of information and a look into your child’s life outside the therapy room!
Eating snacks!
If you are concerned about your child’s feeding habits or swallowing functioning, we will work with different foods and consistencies to encourage your child to try new foods or strengthen their swallowing muscles!
Once we’re done with the evaluation…
It takes about 60 minutes to complete your evaluation.
After our session, your therapist will write a clear, concise report from the information and measurements compiled that day. The report will include important information that you provided, along with the subjective and objective data from the evaluation, and results and recommendations from your therapist. We will email the report to you within seven days and also print it out to go over during your first session.
After you receive your assessment report, you will have the opportunity to talk to your therapist to have any of your questions and concerns addressed. During that conversation, you will be able to schedule your child’s first therapy appointment, either in person or through telepractice.
You or your child CAN get back to your best life!
Starting something new can be scary, but we are here to make you comfortable and successful! We are determined to get you or your child to reach your fullest potential. Every person deserves to be able to express themselves, be understood by others, and to enjoy every meal!
Only you know how these changes have affected your life. Now, take that first step toward feeling like yourself again!
Let’s schedule your free 20-minute phone consultation. If you feel we’re a good fit to work together, we’ll set up an evaluation at your earliest convenience. Call today: (610) 304-3420.