How to use the language observation grid for child development

What is the language observation grid?

Whether you are an educator, speech therapist, or a parent, you can use this language observation grid (available in French and English for free) to guide you in your questions about your child's language development from 0 to 5 years old.

This grid is a good starting point for identifying a child's needs, for parents or educators who have questions about a child's language development. Of course, this grid is a guide and not an assessment, and provides benchmarks to help decide whether a speech therapy referral is recommended at each age level.

Go to the free tools area to download the grid! →

In general, if several points in the age range below the child's age are not acquired, or if there is any parental concern, it is always recommended to consult a speech therapist.

You can also find a section at the end for bilingual children of all ages to distinguish the manifestations commonly observed in children acquiring a second language, as well as risk indicators. This chart is in no way a substitute for a speech-language pathology assessment or follow-up.

However, what happens next?

What should we do with this information?

If you are a speech-language pathologist who follows the "traditional" intervention model, and you're not quite reaching the "generalization" phase, or if you're wondering how to involve families after initial concerns arise, as in this tool, then I suggest incorporating parental support. To learn more about this, Here is a short video I filmed on this topic.