Assessment and diagnosis

Our assessment process

Our speech and language therapists are able to assess all aspects of an individual’s speech, language and communication.

Our speech and language therapists will carry out an initial assessment to help determine what areas of the patient’s speech, language and communication have been affected and to determine the severity of the patient’s problems.

We offer a range of assessments to assess all areas of speech, language and communication. Assessment can be both formal and informal and will be selected specifically to accommodate the patient’s needs and abilities.

Formal assessments are available to compare the patient’s speech and language abilities to the rest of the population. Formal assessment can provide age-equivalent and standardised scores in helping to determine the severity of a specific speech, language and communication problem in comparison to the rest of the population.

Informal assessments are not standardised on the rest of the population. Informal assessments allow the therapist to tailor the assessment to the patient’s specific abilities and needs, which formal assessments sometimes fail to do.

An initial assessment at SLT UK will involve:

• An initial discussion about the patient’s speech, language and communication problems and any concerns they or their parent or carers may have.
• A case history including medical and family history.
• A general observation of the patient’s speech, language and interaction skills.
• A more detailed assessment of the patient’s speech, language and communication abilities.
• A discussion about the assessment results and whether the patient will need an individualised therapy plan.

Assessment results will help to decide on an appropriate treatment plan for the patient which may involve discharge, individual therapy, group therapy, advice and support or a home or education programme.

Diagnosis

Assessment results can help to confirm a diagnosis of a speech, language and communication disorder and also the severity of the difficulty. The speech and language therapist may also work closely with other professionals in contributing to a diagnosis of more complex conditions or disorders.

If you feel you may benefit from speech and language therapy or would like any more information on our services please email office@slt.co.uk or call 0330 088 5643.