Speech and Language Checklist for Early Intervention

Record whether the child uses gestures, vocalizations, single words, signs, picture symbols, or AAC during meals, play, transitions, and caregiving routines. This baseline supports measurable communication goals such as requesting, protesting, or commenting in natural environments.

Note whether the child looks between an adult and object, points to share interest, or follows another person's gaze. Joint attention is a core predictor of later language growth and is often addressed in IFSP or IEP goals for children with autism or developmental delay.

Collect data on whether the child responds when called and follows one-step directions with or without visual supports. This helps determine receptive language needs and appropriate accommodations such as gestures, modeling, or object cues.

Confirm recent hearing screening results and note sensitivities to sound, movement, or environmental stimulation that may interfere with language learning. This is especially important for children with hearing impairment, autism, or multiple disabilities under IDEA categories.

List high-interest toys, songs, sensory materials, and social games the child seeks out. Preferred activities can be embedded into intervention to increase initiations and support evidence-based naturalistic developmental behavioral strategies.

Observe whether the child repeats, gestures, changes words, or gives up when not understood. These patterns inform goals for functional communication repair and pragmatic language support.

Look for requesting, rejecting, greeting, labeling, commenting, asking for help, and gaining attention during everyday activities. Functional communication goals should move beyond requesting alone, especially for children receiving Early Intervention speech services.

Track words or symbols the child understands and uses during snack, dressing, outdoor play, cleanup, and book sharing. Use family input to ensure goals reflect words that are useful across home and classroom settings.

Observe whether the child understands concepts such as in, on, big, little, more, all done, and simple pronouns or action words. These targets often appear in receptive language goals and can be taught with modeling and visual supports.

Document whether the child uses single words, two-word combinations, or short sentences during natural play. This helps determine next-step goals for mean length of utterance, grammar development, and language expansion strategies.

Imitation is an evidence-based stepping stone for early language learning and social engagement. Track whether the child imitates in songs, movement games, pretend play, and adult-led routines with prompting faded over time.

Assess responses to questions such as 'what's that?', 'where is it?', and yes or no questions within context. Question answering should be supported with visuals, choices, or object cues when needed as accommodations.

Document which sounds are emerging, which are consistently in error, and how well familiar and unfamiliar listeners understand the child. This helps distinguish developmental speech patterns from articulation or phonological concerns needing targeted intervention.

Identify whether errors occur in the beginning, middle, or end of words and whether they vary by context. Consistent data supports accurate goal writing for speech sound production and progress monitoring.

Watch for drooling, open-mouth posture, limited lip closure, or difficulty coordinating breathing and vocalization, while staying within your professional role and referring as appropriate. Related service collaboration may be needed when oral structures or motor planning impact communication.

Listen for hoarseness, nasal quality, unusual pitch, stuttering-like behaviors, or strain during speaking or vocal play. These concerns should be documented clearly and discussed with the speech-language pathologist and family.

Track whether the child produces simple combinations like CV, VC, CVCV, or varied babble patterns. Early speech goals often target expanding sound inventory and syllable shapes during motivating routines such as songs and movement play.

Count vocalizations, approximations, and intentional attempts rather than waiting for perfect word production. This supports strength-based documentation and aligns with developmentally appropriate expectations in Early Intervention settings.

Look for the child's ability to wait, anticipate, and participate in back-and-forth interactions like rolling a ball, peek-a-boo, or pretend feeding. Turn-taking is an essential early pragmatic skill often targeted through embedded intervention.

Document spontaneous bids such as looking, handing items, calling out, or approaching another person to start play. Initiation data is especially important for children with autism, social communication delays, or significant language impairments.

Observe whether the child uses objects representationally, acts out routines, or assigns roles in play. Pretend play is closely linked to language development and can inform goals for sequencing, vocabulary, and social communication.

Note whether the child points, waves, nods, reaches, or uses eye contact and facial affect to communicate. These nonverbal skills are critical supports for children who are emerging communicators or using AAC.

Check how the child joins circle time, music, cleanup, and snack conversations with supports like visual schedules, first-then language, or peer modeling. Participation goals should include accommodations that increase access, not just compliance.

Observe whether the child can protest appropriately, ask for help, request more time, or use a calming script. Functional communication training is an evidence-based practice that can reduce challenging behavior while increasing expressive language.

Ask caregivers what communication challenges matter most, such as requesting food, reducing tantrums, participating in story time, or talking with siblings. Family priorities should guide IFSP outcomes and increase carryover across routines.

Model a specific evidence-based strategy such as wait time, expansions, environmental arrangement, or offering choices, then coach the family to practice it in a familiar routine. Focused coaching improves implementation and prevents overwhelm.

Plan intervention during meals, bath time, dressing, car rides, book reading, and play instead of relying only on tabletop tasks. Routine-based instruction supports generalization and aligns with Early Intervention best practice.

Provide multiple means of engagement and expression through visuals, gestures, objects, songs, movement, and AAC options. UDL-aligned supports help children with varied developmental profiles participate meaningfully in communication activities.

Use brief counts, checklists, or routine-based notes to document how often the child initiates, imitates, follows directions, or uses target words. Progress data should be objective, easy to maintain, and suitable for service notes and team reviews.

Confirm that visual cues, reduced language load, positioning supports, sensory accommodations, AAC access, or peer supports are available across providers and settings. Consistency is essential for legal compliance and meaningful skill acquisition.

Share communication targets with occupational therapists, physical therapists, early childhood teachers, and family members so strategies are embedded across the day. Collaborative planning strengthens generalization and keeps services aligned with documented goals.