If you’ve just scheduled your child’s first speech therapy evaluation, you may be feeling a mix of relief and nerves. Relief because you finally took the step. Nerves because you don’t quite know what to expect. That uncertainty is completely normal — and this post is here to walk you through exactly what happens, so you and your child can walk in feeling prepared.
At Tic-Talk-Toe Speech and Language Therapy in Raleigh, NC, we do everything we can to make evaluations feel warm, low-pressure, and genuinely useful for families. Here’s what you should know before your appointment.
Why a Speech-Language Evaluation Matters
An evaluation isn’t a test your child can pass or fail. It’s a professional look at how your child communicates — what’s going well, what needs support, and what kind of therapy (if any) would help the most.
The goal is information. A good evaluation gives you a clear picture of where your child is today, how that compares to typical development for their age, and what the next steps look like. Many parents tell us it’s one of the most helpful appointments they’ve ever attended.
Before the Evaluation: What We Ask of You
Most of the prep work happens before you arrive. You’ll typically receive intake forms to complete, which ask about:
- Pregnancy and birth history — any complications, prematurity, or early health concerns
- Developmental milestones — when your child first sat, walked, said their first words
- Medical history — ear infections, hearing tests, prior therapies, any diagnoses
- Family history — any relatives with speech, language, or learning differences
- Your concerns — what prompted you to seek an evaluation in the first place
Please don’t stress about filling these out perfectly. Give us your best recollection. Your observations as a parent are genuinely valuable — you know your child in ways a clinician can’t see in a single session.
What Happens During the Evaluation
A speech-language evaluation typically lasts between 60 and 90 minutes. Here’s what that time usually includes:
Parent Interview
The session often begins with a conversation — just the SLP and the parents. This is your chance to share your concerns in your own words, describe what communication looks like at home, and ask any questions that are on your mind. We pay close attention here. What you’ve noticed over months or years of daily life is data we can’t replicate in a clinical setting.
Observation and Play-Based Assessment
For younger children, much of the evaluation looks like play. The SLP will use toys, books, and games to observe how your child communicates naturally — their vocabulary, sentence structure, speech sounds, ability to follow directions, and how they interact socially.
Don’t worry if your child is shy at first, or if they’re acting differently than they do at home. That’s completely normal, and good clinicians account for it.
Standardized Testing
Depending on your child’s age and the reason for referral, the SLP may administer standardized assessments — structured tasks that compare your child’s skills to age-matched peers. These are delivered in child-friendly ways (pointing at pictures, repeating words, answering questions) and never feel like a traditional “test.”
Speech Sound Sample
The SLP will listen carefully to how your child produces sounds — noting which sounds are clear, which are difficult, and whether patterns emerge (like consistently substituting one sound for another). This helps identify whether there’s an articulation disorder, phonological pattern, or something else at play.
What Your Child Should (and Shouldn’t) Do
There’s nothing to prepare your child for, and we strongly recommend not coaching them beforehand. Telling a child to “do their best” or “show the doctor how you talk” often backfires — it creates pressure and can actually make the child less communicative during the session.
Instead, simply let them know they’re going somewhere to play and talk with someone new. That framing is both accurate and reassuring.
Also helpful: schedule the evaluation at a time when your child is usually at their best — not during naptime, not right before lunch when they’re hungry and cranky.
After the Evaluation: What You’ll Receive
Once the evaluation is complete, the SLP will share their findings — usually in the same session or shortly after. You’ll receive:
- A summary of strengths — what your child is doing well communicatively
- Areas of concern — specific skills that fall below age expectations
- A diagnosis (if applicable) — such as expressive language delay, speech sound disorder, or childhood apraxia of speech
- Recommendations — whether therapy is recommended, how often, and what it would focus on
- A written report — for your records and to share with your child’s pediatrician or school
We always leave time for questions. No parent should leave an evaluation feeling more confused than when they arrived.
What If My Child Doesn’t Qualify for Therapy?
Sometimes the evaluation shows that a child’s skills are within normal limits — they don’t need therapy right now. This is genuinely good news, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment. You’ll leave with a clear picture of where your child stands and guidance on what to watch for going forward.
And if therapy is recommended, you’ll have a specific plan — not a vague sense of worry, but a concrete path forward.
Ready to Schedule?
We serve families across the Triangle — Raleigh, Wake Forest, Durham, Cary, and beyond — with evaluations available in-clinic, in-home, at school or daycare, and via teletherapy. Learn more about our evaluation process and pricing, or reach out to schedule your child’s appointment. The first step is often the hardest — and you’ve already taken it by asking questions.