Your child may benefit from an assessment with a speech therapist if he/she presents with communication difficulties. For example, he/she may:

• Have poor eye contact

• Have no single words by the age of 18 months

• Not be speaking short sentences (3-4 words) by the age of 3

• Have unclear speech. Generally, you should understand 50% of your child’s speech at 2 years old, 70-80% at 3 years old, and 100% by 4 years old

• Have difficulties learning new vocabulary

• Have difficulties learning and understanding grammar and sentence structures

• Have difficulties expressing thoughts and ideas in words verbally and in writing

• Have difficulties following long and complex instructions

• Have difficulties making friends, initiating social interactions and having a conversation

• Have poor academic performance