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Early Words

Making a Referral

Getting Help Early Can…

Help your child learn to be an effective communicator
Improve your child’s chances of success at school
Help your child get along with other children and adults
Reduce any worries you may have about your child’s communication
Put you in touch with the correct help and support as soon as possible
It is never too early to call. Even very young children can be helped to improve their communication skills.

Eligibility for Services

Early Words accepts referrals and provides service to young children prior to school entry living in the city of Hamilton.

Who Can Refer

Referrals are accepted from parents/legal guardians, and from community professionals with parent/legal guardian consent.

Making a Referral

To make a referral for a young child, please contact Early Words at (905) 381-2828 ext. 224
Intake will go through a brief questionnaire to gather relevant information and contact information
A hearing assessment may be scheduled
An appointment with a Speech Language Pathologist is scheduled. The Speech Language Pathologist will work with you to determine the best way to address your concerns and meet the needs of your child.
The appointment with the Speech Language Pathologist must be completed before services for your child can be accessed. If you need to change this appointment for any reason prior to the scheduled date and time, please contact Early words at (905) 381-2828 ext. 224 to reschedule. These appointments are in great demand, and rescheduling may require that you wait for the next available appointment.

How does your child get his/her message across?

Many children are very good communicators without using even one word! If your child is not using any words (or just a few words), describe what your child does to let you know what he/she wants or needs. Try to record as many different gestures, sounds, part-words, or actions that your child uses. Remember! A mispronounced word still counts as a word that your child uses!

If your child uses more words, listen and write down the words, phrases or sentences that you hear. Be sure to write them down the same way that you hear them (i.e. if your child uses grammatical or pronunciation errors, try your best to write the errors down too. Many children use gestures and body language in addition to sentences to help get their message across. Try to make note of this kind of information too.

How easy is it for you to understand your child's speech?

The Speech Language Pathologist will ask some questions to get a sense of how your child uses speech sounds. Write down some examples to have ready for your conversation with the Speech Language Pathologist. The following questions will help you to prepare:

• Does your child replace some sounds with other sounds (eg. he/she say "Tan I doe" for "Can I Go?")?
• Does your child drop any sounds from words (eg. he/she says "daw" for "dog" or "ock" for "sock")?
• What percentage of your child's speech do you understand? What about people who are less familiar with your child?
• How often do you have to ask your child to repeat what he/she has said? Do you usually understand the second time?

How are your child's comprehension skills?

Try asking your child to perform the following tasks before the appointment with the Speech Language Pathologist. These tasks will help you prepare for the questions about your child's comprehension skills. Ask your child to follow the directions listed below, and make a note of how your child responds. Write down anything you did to make things easier for your child. For example, did you add any gestures such as pointing? Did you repeat your instruction? How many times did you repeat yourself?

Ask your child to:

• Point to a few different body parts
• Go to another room to get a familiar object (eg. a book, a ball, etc.)
• Follow a one-step instruction (eg. "Give me the book")
• Follow a two-step instruction (eg. "Go get your cup and give it to Gramma")
• Go look under the couch
• Look behind him/herself
• Identify some colours (eg. "Show me blue", etc.)

Do not be concerned if your child cannot follow all the directions suggested above. Some of these tasks may not be appropriate for someone of your child's age. Do not push your child to respond if he/she is not interested. Your child may not follow through on the task for many possible reasons. Try giving the instructions on a different day.