Understanding Child Development

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Language samples help identify children’s communication needs and guide therapy.

Time demands can keep speech-language pathologists from collecting language samples.

Engaging, child-led play can encourage children to talk and share stories.

Standardized tests may miss how a child communicates in everyday life.

Understanding how a child communicates takes time. Sadly, a recent study suggests that time is a major obstacle for experts seeking to assess and assist children. In a survey of 337 U.S. speech-language pathologists (SLPs), only 60% reported using language sample analysis during the previous year, and 74% (of those who had not) identified limited time as a barrier (Wilder & Redmond, 2024).

This means many students are not getting properly assessed and—without a thorough understanding of students' challenges and needs—adults are hindered in their efforts to provide well-informed support.

Amid such challenges, how can we properly hear what children’s everyday communication reveals? To better understand the answer to that question and more, I chatted with Yvonne Johansen, a pediatric SLP trained at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the founder of SmartFelt Toys. Johansen's 35-year career has spanned Head Start programs, public schools, private practice, consulting for California's Regional Centers, and serving as Clinical Director of Pathways to Speech. I spoke with Johansen about the challenges of........

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