Welcome to Getting started.

This is a video in our Get Ready for Successful Speech Therapy video series.

Here, we'll talk about those first few sessions with your child's speech therapist.

My name's Nancy.

I'm an Alberta Health Services pediatric speech-language pathologist, also known as speech therapist.

Knowing what to expect and how to get started will help you feel more comfortable in those first few sessions with your child's speech therapist.

Your first visit might be a phone call, video call, or an in-person appointment with your speech therapist.

Sometimes your first contact might not be a speech therapist.

It might be a therapy assistant, social worker, or clerk, and they'll pass on information to your speech therapist.

During your first few visits you'll be asked questions about your child's speech.

The therapist or team members will also talk to, play, or do activities with your child.

Some of the questions you may be asked are:

Why are you accessing speech therapy at this time?

How is this affecting you and your child?

Does your child have trouble with certain sounds or do people have difficulty understanding them?

Does your child have any health conditions or developmental concerns?

What languages do you speak at home?

Does your child go to daycare or school?

How is your child's hearing?

These questions will help your speech therapist understand your needs and what you're worried about.

Then, they can recommend what may suit you and your child.

This is a good time to ask any questions you may have.

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Besides asking questions, your speech therapist will interact with your child.

They often do this through play, having a conversation, or asking them questions.

They might ask questions about pictures.

Your therapist will also watch how your child's mouth moves when they're talking and may look into their mouth.

Don't worry if your child doesn't respond or act the way they do at home.

Talk to your speech therapist about the differences you're seeing. 

After your speech therapist gathers the information they need, they'll talk to you about what they've seen.

Your speech therapist will talk to you about what they recommend and your options for speech therapy.

Now, you can make a decision if you want to move forward with speech therapy.

This is your decision.

You can decide if this is right for you and your family and if now is the right time.

If it's not, that's OK.

When deciding if speech therapy is right for you, you may want to consider:

How you'll attend appointments or sessions.

How information will be shared with the people who need to know.

How you'll make time to practice at home.

Talk about your questions and concerns with your family.

Talk to the speech therapist as well.

They may have ideas or suggestions that will help meet your needs.

Every situation is unique.

It's OK to tell us if there is something that makes you uncomfortable or if there's something you'd like to change.

Some parents and caregivers find that it helps their child handle new situations if they talk about them before they happen.

You can do this before your child's first visit with their speech therapist.

Talk to them about where they're going and what they might do.

Tell them they might play, look at pictures, and talk with a speech therapist.

Reassure them that you'll be with them.

Your child could bring along a favorite toy if that would help them feel more comfortable.

Don't worry about what happens during the appointment, stay calm.

There's no pressure for your child to complete things or do things in any specific way.

The speech therapist will gather information as they can.

Thank you for watching this video.

We hoped it provided some information about those first few sessions with your child's speech therapist.

Continue watching this video series to learn more.​​​