What to Expect in Your Child’s Speech Pathology Sessions

Before you and your child start speech therapy you may have lots of questions on what these sessions could look like. What does an assessment look like? Will my child just play? How will they learn to talk more clearly?

Assessment Sessions

At Cooee our therapy journey begins with our Client Journey Planning session where you have discussed your child’s background, skills and your goals for therapy. In this first session a Speech Pathologist will give you a plan for the assessment phase, which is individualised for your child’s needs.

But what do assessment sessions look like? Assessment sessions are chosen to be flexible to your child’s needs but these sessions may include: 

• Standardised test or assessments – we may ask your child to follow directions with some toys during play or if they are older to sit at a desk and complete different tasks like pointing at images or creating stories 
• Informal observations – we may make observations on your child’s use of language, understanding of language and the sounds they make during play and conversations in a more natural setting 
• Parent reports – we may ask you questions about your child’s communication to develop a deeper understanding of their skills beyond the clinic 
• Questionnaires, or parent/other stakeholder interviews or observations
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Once you have finished the assessment sessions your speech pathologist will analyse the results and write an assessment report. These results will then be discussed with you in a feedback session where we can set our goals for therapy. 

Face to Face Therapy Sessions

Now that you have set your goals for ongoing therapy the sessions begin. Speech pathologists can help with many areas of communication which you can read more about here: https://www.cooeespeech.com.au/2025/06/what-do-speech-pathologists-do

Face to face sessions are designed to be child led, play based and functional.  That means we want to use toys, resources and set up the clinic room in a way that the child feels comfortable, familiar and can learn new skills in a safe & encouraging way.  Each session is planned in advance, resources are prepared, and documentation is completed recording the outcomes of that session.

Telehealth Sessions 

Sometimes face to face sessions are challenging to attend for a variety of reasons. During the feedback session you and your speech pathologist can discuss if telehealth sessions work for your child & their current goals. The sessions will be online with activities targeting your child’s goals in an engaging and effective way. 

Home Practice and Parent/Carer Involvement

Before your session is over your speech pathologist may provide you with some activities targeting our goals at home. Home practice is important when targeting goals to have consistency over environments. If you have more questions on the strategies used in sessions you can book in a session with your speech pathologist for some parent advice, education and/or coaching sessions. 

Non Face to Face Services

Outside of the our Face to Face services, Speech Pathologists provide a wide range of other services that benefit children & help them move towards their goals.  Each face to face session requires careful planning, preparation & documentation.  Speech Pathologists also provide a range of Indirect Services like report writing, consultative parent coaching advice, stakeholder meetings & consultation and home programming, to name a few.  The need for & benefit of these services depends on the child & family.

Every Child is Unique

Each child’s therapy sessions may look different as our aim is to collaborate with you to develop goals that best support your child. Progress can look different from week to week which is why we allow time for our goal review sessions to reflect on our therapy term and collaborate on the next term. If you have any concerns, your speech pathologist is there to support you and your child on their therapy journey. 

Speech Pathology is a Journey

Establishing a baseline, setting goals, delivering intervention & then evaluating progress is all part of a cycle of therapy.  Families and children may undergo multiple cycles of therapy, and at Cooee Speech Pathology we are here to support families to set goals, reach goals and finish positively with our service when support is no longer needed.

Author – Chloe Norman, Speech Pathologist July 2025