Does my child need speech therapy? (Calgary parents, this is for you!)
This is probably one of the most common questions I get. Parents will reach out and say things like, “I’m not sure if I should be worried…” or “I think they might be a bit behind, but I don’t know if it’s enough to do anything yet.” And honestly, that makes total sense. There’s a huge range of what’s considered “normal,” and it’s not always clear when to wait and when to do something. So I thought I would walk through some of the things I pay attention to as an SLP.
First, trust your gut
If you’re wondering about your child’s communication, there’s usually a reason. That doesn’t mean something is seriously wrong, but it does mean it’s worth paying attention to. I would much rather have a quick conversation early on and say “this looks fine, let’s keep an eye on it” than have things sit for another year when support could have helped.
Some common reasons parents reach out
These are things I see often:
Your toddler isn’t talking yet, or only has a few words
You’re hearing a lot of sounds, but not many clear words
You’re having trouble understanding what your child is saying
Your child gets frustrated when trying to communicate
They don’t seem to be following directions consistently
Something just feels “off,” even if you can’t fully explain it
None of these automatically mean your child needs speech therapy, but they are good reasons to check in.
“Should we just wait it out?”
This is a great quesiton! Sometimes kids do catch up on their own, but it’s hard to know which kids will and which ones might need a bit more support. What I usually tell parents is that getting support early doesn’t hurt anything. Even if your child doesn’t need ongoing therapy, you’ll come away with strategies you can start using right away. And if they do need support, you’re not losing time.
What speech therapy can actually help with
A lot of people think speech therapy is just about talking, but it’s a bit broader than that.
We also support things like:
Understanding language
Using words and sentences
Speech sounds (how clearly your child is speaking)
Social communication
Play and interaction
Literacy and pre-literacy skills
So even if your child is talking, there can still be areas we can support.
If you’re in Calgary and not sure what to do next
At Rocky View Speech Therapy, we offer in-home speech therapy across Calgary, so we come right to you. That means we can see how your child is communicating in their actual day-to-day environment, which gives us a really helpful starting point. If you’ve been on the fence, you’re always welcome to reach out. Even if you just want to talk things through, we’re happy to help you figure out what makes the most sense for your child.