Choose Skills For Speech Therapy

Example: Patient may know what they want to to say but can't get the word out. Patient may have difficulty naming everyday objects (I.... thirsty... cold cubes.)  instead of I'm thirsty, I want water with ice.

Test:

1. Point to 10 common objects around the room.
2. Can the patient speak the right word for all 10 in 1 minute?
3. Can they spell out with pencil (or letter tiles, if easier) all 10 in 5 minutes?
4. Any difficulty with either task suggests possible word-retrieval difficulty.

Example: The patient has difficulty speaking in complete, grammatical sentences. Might speak in telegraphic speech ("I hungry. Go store. Eat.")

Test: Point to a picture of some action (maybe a man throwing a ball) and see if they can describe it in a complete sentence.) Ask them a question ("What did you eat today?") and have them answer in a complete sentence (" I ate waffles this morning")?

Example: May have difficulty clearly speaking the word for common objects (spoon, fork, glass). They might even have difficulty reading words aloud, or repeating the word back after you say it.

Test:

1. Point to about 10 everyday objects around the room and ask the patient to speak the name of each.
   You could also show them the written word if that's easier, but do not give any other assistance.
2. Can they say  them clearly enough that a stranger would understand what they mean from just listening?
3. If not,  this program would be good for them.

Example: Speech might be slurred. May "run out of" breath while speaking, or speak too softly.

Test: If you can make them speak more slowly (maybe one word at a time), is it easier to understand them?

Test: Have them read aloud some numbers such as:
3468 or $2,345.52 or a phone number (540) 951-0623. Try this 5 times. If they get any digit wrong, they need help with this.

Example: Difficulty with controlling pitch or loudness of their voice.

Example: Difficulty matching written words to pictures

1. Write down the words for 10 objects around the room.
2. Point to one object at a time and ask them to point to the word in your list.
3. If they miss any of these, you could try another 10. If they still miss any, they should work on this.

Example: Difficulty understanding written sentences.

Test: You could write a sentence describing 10 objects around the room ( or just the questions below).
If they miss more than one they should probably work on this.

1. Are you breathing right now?
2. Are you wearing a red shirt?
3.  Are you wearing  pants?
4. Are you wearing socks and shoes?
5. Are you asleep right now?
6. Should you bake a cake before putting the frosting on it?
7. Can you send a letter without a postage stamp?
8. Touch your nose with your thumb
9. Blink your eyes twice.
10. Point to the ceiling, not at the floor.

Example: Give them a paragraph to read with a written question and several written answers. Try that 4 or 5 times. If they get the right answer every time they are probably reading at that level fairly well. Try at higher levels (multiple paragraphs and then maybe a full story from a newspaper).

Test: Have them read the paragraph and questions below and select the correct answers.

Paul and Mary are traveling to visit their niece, Barbara. She just graduated from college and is looking for a job. Hopefully one in marketing. She hopes to buy a home one day. During the visit she will take them to some of the local sites, including the Zoo and the worlds largest ball of twine.  Paul and Mary are looking forward to eating out because Barbara lives near a lot of restaurants.  They especially like Indian restaurants because they like spicy food.  But they don't like Mexican food or fast food. They can't stay very long because Mary only has 1 week of time off from work.

1. Does Barbara have a job?     YES   NO    NOT SURE
2. Where do you think Pau and Mary would like to eat?   
   El Mariachi Tex-Mex     India Garden   McDonalds  Not Sure
3. Does Mary have a job?    YES   NO    NOT SURE
4. What did Paul's niece  recently do?  
   Went to the  Zoo     Saw the word's larges ball of Twine    Finished College   Worked at MicDonalds
5. Where would Paul's niece like to work?     
   ZOO     RESTAURANT     MARKETING FIRM       UNIVERSITY

Example: They may have trouble understanding what you say. Might have difficulty comprehending and following spoken instructions.

Test: As them these questions

1. Are you asleep right now?
2. Close both of your eyes for two seconds then open them and blink one time.
3. Can you blow out a burning candle?  Y
4. Can you make a raincoat from a piece of paper?  N
5. Can you drive a car with gasoline in the tank?   Y
6. Can you eat polyester?   N

Example: Need to work on understanding someone saying "Put the large square to the left of the small green circle" (or something harder: 2 or 3 step instructions, or easier "Select the square").

Test: Ask them to point to several objects around the room in order: "Point to the floor, then the ceiling, then me, then my head".

Example: If you ask them to put the glass on the table and get a napkin out of the drawer, they have difficulty completing that task.

Example: They might not realize which word doesn't belong in the following:
Egg, Cheese, Rock, Ice-cream.
Or, if you give them a group:  Horse, chicken, mule,
they might have difficulty naming the category (farm animals))