Language Assessments for Children & Young People

Speech is about the sounds we use when we talk and how clearly those sounds are produced. A child may have difficulty producing particular sounds, use different sounds in words, or be difficult for other people to understand.

Language is about understanding and communicating meaning. It includes understanding words, sentences, questions and instructions, as well as using vocabulary, grammar and sentences to express thoughts and ideas.

A child can have differences in speech, language, or both.

If your main concern is how clearly your child speaks, a lisp, or the sounds they use, you don’t necessarily need to book a formal Language Assessment. You can simply Get Started with Speech Pathology, and your Speech Pathologist can assess their speech as part of understanding what’s happening and planning support.

If you’re not sure whether what you’re noticing relates to speech, language or both, that’s okay — you don’t need to work this out before booking.

You don’t need to know for certain before you book.

A Language Assessment may be helpful if you or someone else in your child’s life has noticed difficulties with understanding instructions or questions, learning or finding words, putting sentences together, using grammar, explaining ideas, telling stories or managing increasingly complex language.

Sometimes a teacher, kinder educator or another professional will recommend assessment. Other times, families simply notice that something about their child’s communication seems harder than expected.

Your first appointment is with a parent/carer, so we can talk through what you’re noticing and work out what assessment is likely to be useful.

Yes. The amount a child talks doesn’t necessarily tell us how easily they understand or use language.

A child may be very talkative and have a large vocabulary while still finding it difficult to understand complex language, organise their ideas, use grammar, find particular words, explain events clearly or tell a story that someone else can follow.

A Language Assessment allows us to look at these individual skills in more detail.

Yes. Understanding language and expressing language are closely connected, but they don’t always develop in exactly the same way.

A Language Assessment looks at both receptive language — what your child understands — and expressive language — how they communicate their own thoughts and ideas. This helps us understand the broader pattern rather than looking only at how much your child talks.

The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) and Preschool Language Scales (PLS) are standardised assessments used by Speech Pathologists to explore different aspects of a child’s language.

Which assessment we use will depend on your child’s age, communication and the questions we’re exploring. Your Speech Pathologist will work this out with you — you don’t need to know which assessment your child needs when you book.

A written report is generally included as part of our formal Language Assessment pathway.

Your Speech Pathologist will bring together the assessment results with the other information gathered and explain what the findings mean for your child, including recommendations for support.

Shorter screeners or informal assessment completed as part of ongoing Speech Pathology are different and don’t automatically include a comprehensive written report.

We recommend that children have their hearing assessed when there are concerns about speech or language, if this hasn’t already been done.

Hearing can affect a child’s access to spoken language, so it’s important information when we’re trying to understand their communication.

You don’t need to delay your first appointment while organising this. Your Speech Pathologist can discuss it with you and recommend a hearing assessment if needed.

Where it would add useful information, yes.

With your consent, we can gather information from your child’s teacher or kinder educator about how they understand and use language in that environment.

This can be particularly helpful when the language demands at school or kinder are part of the reason for assessment, or when your child’s communication looks different across settings.

Yes, where this is relevant.

Sometimes we need to understand not only a child’s receptive and expressive language, but also how they understand and use communication in interactions with other people.

Depending on the assessment question, we may explore social communication through observations, information from parents and educators, a pragmatics profile or questionnaires such as the Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC).

If this raises broader developmental questions, we’ll discuss whether any additional assessment may be helpful.

Language and social communication can form part of a child’s broader developmental profile, but a Language Assessment is not the same as an Autism Assessment.

If information gathered during assessment suggests there are broader areas worth exploring, your Speech Pathologist will discuss this with you.

Playology also provides comprehensive Autism Assessments, and our Speech Pathologists and Psychologists can work together where appropriate so that relevant information already gathered can contribute to the broader picture.

Language and learning are closely connected. Children use language to understand instructions, learn new concepts, read for meaning, organise ideas and communicate what they know.

If your child’s Language Assessment raises questions about their broader learning or academic skills, we can discuss whether further assessment would be useful.

Playology also provides Learning and Cognitive Assessments through Psychology, so our teams can work together where understanding both language and learning would provide a more complete picture.

Yes — and we encourage you to send them through.

Previous Speech Pathology, Psychology, Occupational Therapy, audiology or other relevant reports can help us understand what has already been explored and avoid unnecessary duplication.

School reports, learning plans and other information from kinder or school can also be useful depending on the reason for assessment.

No. Families can book a Language Assessment directly with Playology.

If your child has been referred by another professional, please send us the referral or any information about what they would like assessed. This helps us make sure the assessment addresses the questions being asked.

Medicare rebates may be available for some Speech Pathology services under particular referral pathways. Whether a rebate applies depends on the referral, the service being provided and your child’s circumstances.

If you have a Medicare referral, please send it to our Client Care team before the assessment so we can check what may be eligible.

You don’t need a Medicare referral to book privately.

Depending on your child’s plan and how their funding is managed, Speech Pathology assessment may be able to be funded through the NDIS.

If you’re completing the assessment specifically to provide NDIS evidence, please tell us when you book and let us know what information you’ve been asked to provide. NDIS evidence requirements can change, so we can help you work out whether the proposed assessment is likely to address what has been requested.

This depends on your child’s age, communication and the questions we’re exploring.

Your assessment may involve a parent/carer appointment, assessment with your child, information from school or kinder where relevant, scoring and interpretation, and report writing.

At your first appointment, we’ll talk through what is recommended for your child so you understand the assessment process before proceeding.