Congratulations. you’ve found a speech therapist and managed to book in, but what should you expect in your first speech session? Do you need to bring anything? And more importantly what do speech pathologists even do?

Let’s start of with an easy one,

What do Speech Pathologists even do?

Speech pathologist, speech therapist, speech language pathologist, or simply “speechie’s” work across a range of areas including:

Speech that’s how clearly words are said
Language think vocabulary, grammar, understanding others
Social this is how we make and maintain relationships
Feeding how we eat and the variety of foods
Stuttering this may be if we repeat words or sentences or get ‘stuck’ on certain sounds
Literacy this is how we are able to read and write
Voice this involves the quality and loudness of our voice.

Speech Pathologists also work with people of any age from babies to older adults. It’s important to remember that with so many different areas to work in speechies often specialise and it’s important that you find a speech pathologist that helps support your specific needs, often websites will advertise what they work on, or you can ask reception when you call them.

Learn about what areas Speech Pathologist at Moi Clinic Rowville support

Having a clear idea of why your child needs a speech pathologist is an important first step in finding a speech pathologist that will meet your needs.

So now that we know what a speech pathologist does onto the second question…

What do I need to do before the first session?

Some clinics send out case history forms to families to complete before their first session, it’s important that you complete this along with any other paperwork that the clinic has sent you. This helps make sure that sessions can be set up and billed as smoothly as possible. Things that need to be sent ahead of time typically include:

GP referral letters
NDIS plans
Private health insurance information

You may also need to find and send any additional information to the clinic this could include:

Audiology reports
Observation from preschool field officers
Medical records
Green books (or any document showing milestones)

If you think the speech pathologist may be interested in something, feel free to send it or bring it to the first session!

If there’s any sensitive information that you would like to disclose to the speech pathologist ask to set up a separate parent session prior to the clinic session, this can be done over the phone or via telehealth.

You can also ask to set up a sperate parent session if you feel like there’s a lot of case history or complex medical information you want to go over with your speech pathologist.

If you’re ever unsure of what you need to bring to a speech session always feel free to call or email the clinic and ask!

So now that we’ve got everything we need.

What should I expect from my first speech session?

The first speech pathology session usually lasts between 50-80 minutes depending on the complexity of the situation. During this time the speech pathologist will ask further questions about case history to better understand your concerns.

The first therapy session looks different depending on what your situation.

For speech or language-based concerns a speech pathologists will typically listen to your child in conversation and may conduct a short screener.
For social concerns a speech pathologist will play games or pretend and may complete a questionnaire/rating scale of their behaviour.
For clients with feeding concerns clinicians will likely ask you to bring some food into session.
For stuttering a speech pathologist will try and listen to a sample of their conversation observing and rating the severity of the stutter and any behaviours occurring with the stutter.
For literacy concerns a speech pathologist may conduct spelling test/assessments to understand where your child is struggling.

Every first session will look a little different but regardless of what your concern is a speech pathologist will work with you to develop and plan realistic goals. Having a clear goal makes sure everyone is working towards the same thing.

Speech Pathologists will then work to discuss treatment options and discuss home practice/strategies. It’s important to be realistic about what you’re able to commit to so that a plan can be developed that fits into your day-to-day life. Some treatment options, particularly for chronic conditions likes stuttering or apraxia, may require more intense at home supports.

If you feel like you’re unable to commit to a treatment plan, it’s important to discuss this with your speech pathologist to determine if there are options or strategies to better support your situation.

Now what?

Now that all the excitement of the first session is over what do you do? Well first is to make sure you have more sessions booked in and you’ve set a reminder for them. If you have home practice or homework from the session you can work on completing that and report back to your speech pathologist about how things are going at home.

If you ever have questions or feel like sessions aren’t offering you the support you need talk it through with your speech pathologist, it’s important to remember that everyone’s on the same team and working towards the same goals.