COVE SPEECH LANGUAGE AND FEEDING THERAPY
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     Speech & Language
  Red Flags



       When Should You Be Concerned About Your Child's Speech,                                        Language & Literacy Development?

Receptive Language Red Flags

  • No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
  • No consistent response to their own name by 12 months​
  • Unable to follow simple and familiar directions by 18 months​​

Expressive Language Red Flags

  • No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by 9 months
  • No babbling by 12 months
  • No words by 16 months
  • Preference of gestures over vocalizations to communicate by 18 months
  • Trouble imitating sounds​ by 18 months
  • Unable to make two-word meaningful phrases without imitating or repeating by 24 months
  • Can only imitate speech or actions and doesn't produce words or phrases spontaneously​ by 2 years
  • Only says some sounds or words repeatedly and can't use oral language to communicate more than their immediate needs by 2 years old
  • Has an unusual tone of voice (such as raspy or nasal sounding) by 2 years
  • Parents and familiar caregivers should understand 50% of a child's speech by 2 years and 75% by 3 years.
  • A child should be mostly understood, even by people who don't know the child by 4 years old.
  • Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills (like eye contact) at any age

Pragmatic/Social Language Red Flags

​
  • Not smiling by 4 months
  • Difficulty making and maintaining eye contact with an adult by 6 months
  • No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions during interaction with another person by 6 months​
  • Isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye​ by 12 months
  • Not imitating actions and movements by the age of 24 months​
  • No back-and-forth conversational turn-taking by 2.5 Years​​
  • Getting overly upset with change or transitions from activity to activity
  • Unaware of changes in his/her environment and routine
  • ​Showing poor or no eye contact

Play Skills Red Flags

  • Not imitating body actions on a doll by 15 months of age (kiss the baby, feed the baby)
  • Frequently jumping and/or purposely falling to the floor/crashing into things​
  • Afraid of/aversive to/avoids being messy, or touching different textures such as grass, sand, carpet, paint, playdoh, etc.​
  • Not engaging in pretend play by the age of 24 months
  • Not demonstrating appropriate play with an object (i.e. instead of trying to put objects into a container, the child leaves the objects in the container and keeps flicking them with his fingers, lining up toys, spinning wheels excessively)
  • Fixating on objects that spin or turn (i.e. See 'n Say, toy cars, etc.)
  • Trying to spin things that are not normally spun just to watch them spin

Oral Motor Red Flags

  • Difficulty biting or chewing food during mealtime
  • Prolonged period of time to chew and/or swallow
  • Coughing/choking during or after eating on a regular basis
  • Demonstrating a change in vocal quality during/after eating (i.e. they sound gurgled or hoarse when speaking/making sounds)
  • Significant difficulty transitioning between different food stages
  • Not feeding him/herself finger foods by 14 months of age
  • Not attempting to use a spoon by 15 months of age
  • Not picking up and drinking from a regular open cup by 15 months of age

Literacy Red Flags

Pre-K
  • Cannot pronounce words that rhyme
  • Cannot verbally divide words into syllables and sentences into words
  • Cannot auditorily discriminate rhyming words
  • Does not recognize phonemes within words.
Kindergarten
  • Cannot write words or sentences 
  • Cannot blend sounds together
  • Cannot decode nonsense words
  • Cannot divide words into syllables,
  • Cannot identify sounds and letters.
  • Not able to identify sight words common to their environment 
  • Only able to sound out the first letter or syllable and makes up different endings 
Early Elementary 
  • Can sound out words but not comprehend the meaning of a sentence 
  • Inattention during reading
  • Reads out loud laboriously, with lots of guessing and word substitution 
  • Poor spelling
  • Poor recall of words
  • Poor comprehension of reading material
  • Not interested and resists reading​
Middle School
  • Cannot decode new words quickly
  • Reads very slowly
  • Sound out all words phonetically
  • Cannot recognize words with non-phonetic spellings.

Cognitive Red Flags

  • Showing difficulty learning new activities
  • ​Having a hard time calming themselves down appropriately​
  • Having significant difficulty attending to tasks
  • Having a difficult time with transitions between activity or location
  • Overly upset with change in routine

Other Considerations...

Possible visual problems may exist if...
  • Limited eye contact with others or holds objects closer than 3-4 inches from one or both eyes
  • Does not reach for an object that is nearby
Ask your physician for a vision assessment with a pediatric ophthalmologist

Possible hearing problems may exist if...
  • There is no or infrequent response to sounds or to the voices of familiar people
  • Limited attention to bells or other sound-producing objects
  • Does not respond appropriately to loud sounds
  • No babbling
Have the child evaluated by an audiologist for a hearing assessment immediately. Language delays are inevitable in children who with unidentified hearing loss.

What Causes Speech & Language Delays?

Location

What Our Clients Are Saying

I’ve had such a wonderful experience with Cove Speech Language And Feeding Therapy. They helped my son go from not wanting to put any solid foods even close to his mouth, to trying all sorts of new foods in just a few months. The therapists worked with him on his sensory issues, on self-feeding, and on learning to chew. They were patient and friendly, and through play, made it a very enjoyable experience for my son. I highly recommend this practice to anyone who needs speech and/or feeding therapy. I will never forget how much they helped my son and I am forever grateful to them." -Sheena R.

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  • 516-669-0434
  • Our Services
    • Social Language
    • Safe and Sound Protocol
    • Foodology Feeding Therapy
    • Speaking & Verbal Expression >
      • Articulation
      • Late Talker Early Intervention Long Island
      • AAC
    • Reading and Literacy
  • About Us
    • Insurance and Payment For Speech Therapy
  • Shop
  • FAQ, Normal Development, and Red Flags
    • Normal Developmental Milestones >
      • 9-12 Months Old
      • 12-18 Months Old
      • 18-24 Months Old
      • 2-2.5 Years Old
      • 2.5-3 Years Old
      • 3-4 Years Old
      • 4-5 Years Old
      • 5-6 Years Old
      • 6-7 Years Old
    • Red Flags
    • What Causes Speech and Language Delay?
    • What is 'Normal' Speech and Language Development?
  • Our Community
  • Resources
    • How To Use Toys For Language Development 0-3
    • Recommended Products