04/14/2026
We've said it once and we'll say it again...children do NOT need certain skills before they can begin speech therapy.
In early intervention, speech-language pathologists support the foundations of communication — including engagement, shared attention, play skills, understanding language, social communication, and early speech development.
Your child does not need to:
• Sit at a table
• Maintain eye contact
• Follow directions consistently
• Use sounds or words
• Imitate actions
Those are often the very skills therapy is designed to support.
In very specific situations, certain emerging abilities may be helpful, but if your child is not meeting milestones, you’re having difficulty gaining their attention, daily routines feel hard, or communication feels frustrating — that IS reason enough to connect with a speech-language pathologist!
Early support matters. And you don’t have to wait.