Attention & Listening

• Disrupts other children and loses interest easily

• Easily distracted/short attention span

• Moves quickly from one activity to the next

• Fidgety (i.e., difficulty sitting still during circle time or in her/his desk)

• Difficulty following classroom instructions (i.e., requires repetition, requires visual cues, relies heavily on peers)

• Difficulty recalling what others say

• Frequently requests repetition

 

Comprehension/Understanding

• Difficulty following simple instructions

• Difficulty understanding yes/no questions

• Difficulty following abstract instructions and/or instructions of increased length and complexity

• Difficulty understanding what is said to her/him 

• Difficulty learning new concepts (i.e., science concepts, math concepts)

• Difficulty understanding/responding to questions

• Difficulty understanding what she or he has read

• Difficulty understanding word problems

 

Expressive Language

• Poor vocabulary

• Difficulty providing sufficient details when expressing ideas

• Difficulty using appropriate vocabulary to express thoughts/ideas

• Difficulty using new words

• Difficulty asking simple questions

• Poor grammar/lacks grammatical structures (i.e., negatives - can’t, regular plurals - ducks, pronouns -he/she him/her, past/present/future tense, conjunctions - because, to, then)

• Difficulty using correct word order (syntax)

• Difficulty finding the words they want to use (i.e., talks around a subject, uses related words rather than actual words, pauses frequently during speech)

• Difficulty retelling stories or recounting events in a sequential order

• Difficulty providing sufficient details when recounting events

• Uses short phrases

• Difficulty getting to the point when speaking

• Difficulty rephrasing things when someone does not understand

 

Social Skills

• Difficulty making eye contact

• Difficulty understanding emotions

• Difficulty turn-taking

• Difficulty sharing with peers

• Plays alone and does not play interactively with other children

• Does not initiate interaction

• Difficulty following game rules

• Difficulty understanding spatial boundaries

• Difficulty understanding how to gain attention appropriately

 

Conversational Skills

• Difficulty staying on topic

• Difficulty maintaining a conversation

• Difficulty initiating a conversation

• Difficulty making relevant comments during conversation

• Difficulty joining a group activity or conversation

 

Higher Level Language

• Difficulty grasping the “big picture”

• Difficulty drawing inferences from written text or visual scenarios

• Difficulty understanding figurative language (i.e., jokes, idioms, words with multiple meanings)

• Difficulty understanding, interpreting, or explaining emotions

• Difficulty providing logical solutions when given certain scenarios

• Difficulty engaging in reasoning tasks (i.e., identifying items that do not belong, describing how items are or are not related, identifying/verbalizing absurdities)

 

Reading

• Difficulty decoding sounds

• Difficulty understanding what has been read

• Difficulty applying previously learned strategies to facilitate reading

 

Writing

• Difficulty transferring spoken thoughts onto paper

• Difficulty writing thoughts in an organized manner

• Difficulty with spelling

• Difficulty writing grammatically correct sentences

 

 

Disclaimer: Speech-language therapy encompasses a variety of communication difficulties. This chart is meant merely as a guide. It is not a comprehensive list of red flags. This content is for informational purposes only. Users of this content should always seek the advice of a qualified allied health professional for diagnosis and management.

 

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