Questions You May Want to Ask Your Child’s 
Speech-Language Pathologist


Name of Speech-Language Pathologist:

Phone:

Appointment Date:

Next Appointment Date:



A speech-language pathologist (SLP), sometimes called a speech therapist, is a person who is trained to test and work with people with speech and language disorders.


If your child has a hearing loss, you will likely work with a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The SLP, sometimes called a speech therapist, will help your family decide the best therapy approach for your child. The therapy approaches used with a child who does not hear sound differ from those used with a child who hears but has difficulty with speech and/or language. Some SLPs focus on spoken language only, while others focus on spoken language and sign language.

The SLP will work with your family and a team of professionals, such as an audiologist,  an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT), an early intervention specialist, and a teacher of the deaf to provide you and your child with the services you need. Please see our other tip cards for information about some of these professionals.

The SLP who has training and experience to test and work with infants and young
children with hearing loss will offer the best care for your child.


Questions about speech and language therapy services for my/our child:


1. What kind of training and experience do you have working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing? What age group of children have you worked with?  





2. What communication option(s) do you use in therapy (for example:Signing Exact English (SEE), American Sign Language (ASL), Cued Speech, Auditory-Verbal, etc.)?  What is your experience and comfort level using these communication options?




3. How will you test the progress of my child's speech and language development? How often will you test my child’s progress? What test(s) will you use?




4. How will I participate in my child's therapy sessions?




5. How do you decide how much time my child will spend on speech production, language (spoken or signed), and auditory (hearing) training?




6. What are my costs for the different types of therapies?  What resources are available to help me with these costs?




7. Can I observe a speech therapy session with another child who has hearing loss?  





Questions to help our family and child at home/school:

1. Can you tell me about other ways I can learn about the different types of communication options - books, videotapes, films, websites, and courses?




2. What suggestions do you have for supporting my child's use of communication at home (i.e., spoken and/or sign language)?




3. How should I work with my child's team of professionals (such as my child's audiologist and school teachers) to ensure that all of our efforts are coordinated?




4. What other resources do you offer?  Can you suggest any other resources in the community for our family?