View our guidelines - Fraser Health

Where to Refer?Abbotsford Health Unit604-864-3435Burnaby Health Unit604-918-7663Chilliwack Health Unit604-702-4944Maple Ridge Health Unit604-476-7000Mission Health Unit604-814-5500Newport Health Unit604-949-7200New Westminster604-777-6856Port Coquitlam Health Unit604-777-8700For the North Delta, South Delta,North Surrey and Langley HealthUnits,Contact Central referral604-587-4273Making Speech andLanguage Referrals forPreschool Age ChildrenEarly referral is importantto a child’s speech andlanguage development.Speech-Language referralscan be made throughpublic health for childrenfrom birth to age 5.With parent permission,anyone can refer a child toa speech pathologist bycontacting the local healthunit.© September 11, 2013Public HealthSpeech &LanguageTherapyREFERRALGUIDE

The Benefits of Early ReferralEarly identification and earlyintervention of speech andlanguage difficulties are essentialfor a child’s optimal learning, socialdevelopment and emotional health.Early speech and language abilitiesare strong predictors of later schoolperformance.As well, early parent involvement ina intervention program has positiveeffects on a child’s communicationdevelopment.Following are guidelinesrepresenting different stages of achild’s speech and languagedevelopment. They will help youdetermine if a child should bereferred.Birth – 12 Months Vocalizes “ooh” and “ah” Makes eye contact, smiles andlaughs Imitates speech sounds Babbles “buhbuhbuh” and “dada” At 12 months, one word stands as“sentence”Refer if child….. Does not engage in vocal play Does not seem responsive to soundor other distractionsOne – Two Years Uses one to three word “sentences”and “phrases” with or without jargon A few word vocabulary at 16 months toabout 200 words by 24 months Understands simple questions eg.“Where’s your mouth?” Follows one-step directions Uses sounds made with the lips eg.“p”, “b”, “m”, “w”Refer if child….. Does not talk at all (very important torefer now) Has a limited vocabularyTwo – Three Years Uses 2 to 3 word incomplete sentences Approximately 1000 words by 3 yearsof age Beginning to have short conversationswith adults and peers Follows 2-step directions By 3 years speech is about 80%intelligible Commonly used words arerecognizableRefer if child….. Shows some frustration trying tocommunicate Is not understandable Does not combine words Shows signs of stuttering eg.Repetitions of words or soundsThree – Four Years Uses 3 to 4 word simple sentences Asks many questions Is able to pretend play and role play May not pronounce endings of wordscompletelyRefer if child…. Speaks unintelligibly Continues to use short and simplephrases eg. “daddy go” Is unable to follow directions’ Is echolalic eg. Repeats or mimicsspeechFour – Five Years Tells simple stories Speech is almost 100% intelligible Sentence structure is complex Follows 3-step directions Uses adult-like grammar Sound errors may still be present on“r”, “ch”, “sh”, “l”, “th” and lisp on “s”Refer if child….. Is unable to engage in conversationswith adults or peers Produces incomplete sentences Stutters Is unintelligible Cannot follow directions