First Words
Communication Checkup

It is an online screening tool created for parents and legal guardians living in Ottawa and Renfrew County, Ontario.  

Screen your child’s speech and language milestones and their global development in about 10-15 minutes.  If your child needs support for their development, you can start a referral online from our tool. 

The tool is available in English and French for the following ages:

6 months                                      

9 months

12 months (1 year)

18 months

24 months (2 years)

30 months

36 months (3 years)

42 months

48 months (4 years)

What if my child is between the milestones listed? 

If your child is between the ages listed, you will get the screening questions for the “younger age”. We encourage you to come back when your child meets the next screening age. 

What if my child was born premature (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy)? 

We will adjust the screening questions to your child’s developmental age until their 2nd birthday. 

Is your child in Senior Kindergarten (SK)? 

Talk with their teacher, principal and their Primary Health Care Provider (doctor, nurse). Tell them about your concerns and they will direct you to a service to help your child.

The tool will ask you questions about your child’s global development. 

Speech and Language: 

• Receptive language: how they hear and understand information
• Expressive language: how they express themselves with words and gestures. This also includes the quality of the sounds they make.

Social Communication and Behaviour: how they communicate and interact with others

Fine Motor Skills: smaller movements that occur in the wrists, hands, fingers, feet and toes

Gross Motor Skills: movement and coordination of the arms, legs, and other large body parts

Other Signs: signs that your child may be developing differently

The tool was created for parents and legal guardians living in Ottawa and Renfrew County, Ontario. 

Primary Health Care Providers (doctors, nurses), Educators and Child Care Providers can also use the tool to:

• Help a family complete a screening and start the referral for services for their child. 
• Screen a child in their care.
• Generate results about the child’s development to: Discuss with the parent or legal guardian, and to inform their program planning. 

Who can start a referral to First Words?

• Parents or legal guardians
• Primary Health Care Providers (doctors, nurses)
• Community educators (if consent was given by the family)

You can give your child the best start in life when we identify a challenge early. Young brains learn quickly. Give your child the support they need to build their communication skills.

After completing your child’s screening, you will:

• Get instant results and see how your child is developing. Make sure to save, print or email yourself the results. Share them with your child’s Primary Health Care Provider or a trusted educator for support.
• Know which skills your child needs help with. 
• Have specific next steps to take to support your child’s development. 
• Be directed to the most appropriate service for your child’s development. 
• OPTIONAL: Complete your child’s referral online. This sends a copy their screening results to the agency listed. This is important information that helps them learn how your child is growing.

Timed session (30 minutes)

We have added a timer (30 minutes) to help protect your privacy in case you need to step away from the screening.  If the program closes, your information will be lost. Don’t worry, we will let you know when you get close to timing out.  You can add time to the clock as many times as you need to. 

Completing the screening

1. We ask you few questions about your child so that we can generate the correct question for your child's age. Make sure to let us know if your child was born premature (before 37 weeks of pregnancy).  This helps us adjust the questions to your child’s corrected age.
2. Answer each question with a “Yes” or “No”. If you are not sure how to answer a question, think about how your child is doing the skill today. Have you seen this skill more than once?
3. Once you receive your results, make sure to save, print or email yourself a copy. 
4. Any expected skills that your child is not currently doing are highlighted.  Discuss these areas of concern with your child’s Primary Health Care Provider or a trusted educator in your community. 

Starting your referral for services

1. Online referral (recommended): Provide your personal information to complete your child’s referral to the recommended agency listed in your results. Your results and your intake forms will be sent to the agency listed in your results.
2. Telephone referral: If you are not comfortable completing your referral online, follow the instructions listed in your results/next steps.  This will ensure that you are accessing the most appropriate service for your child’s development. 

*Intake forms must be completed (online or by paper) and received at the regional Intake office before your child’s name is place on the waiting list for an assessment. 

No. Completing the First Words Communication Checkup is optional. However, we require intake forms to be able to process your child’s referral. If you use the FWCCU, you can screen and complete the intake forms in one single visit to refer your child immediately.

If you do not want to complete the FWCCU, call our Intake Office to refer your child to our program. You can ask us for paper forms to be mailed to you. *

Ottawa: CHEO Access Team at 613-737-2757

Renfrew County: First Words Intake office at 1- 613-732-7007, ext. 5905

*Your child's results help us understand how your child is developing. They also help to ensure you are waiting for the most suitable service for your child's development needs. Include a copy of your child's results (if available) when completing the intake forms in paper form.

Your privacy is important to us. Privacy laws (PHIPA) are in place to protect your Personal Health Information (PHI). 

When you complete your referral online, your information will be shared with First Words’ partner agencies.  These agencies are directly responsible for providing you with the services you are requesting. 

We will never share your information with anyone outside of the First Words’ partner agencies without your consent or unless we are required by law. 

Your results and next steps are calculated using the answers you have provided us and referral criteria from programs in your region. 

1A – Your child is meeting their speech and language milestones. Come back at your child’s next milestone to complete a new screening to make sure your child is on track.

1B – Your child is meeting their speech and language milestones. We recommend that you set up an appointment with your child’s Primary Health Care Provider (doctor, nurse) to discuss the areas of development highlighted on your screening results.

2A - Your child needs a speech and language assessment. To support your child, you are being referred to the First Words Ottawa & Renfrew County Preschool Speech and Language Program. 

2B - Your child needs a speech and language assessment. To support your child, you are being referred to the First Words Ottawa & Renfrew County Preschool Speech and Language Program. 

We also recommend that you set up an appointment with your child’s Primary Health Care Provider (doctor, nurse) to discuss the areas of development highlighted on your screening results.

2C: Your child needs a speech and language assessment. Due to your child’s age, First Words is unable to provide your child with any speech and language services. Contact your child’s teacher and school to inform them of your child’s screening results and to discuss the need for an assessment. 

We recommend that you set up an appointment with your child’s primary health care provider (doctor, nurse) to discuss the areas of development highlighted on your screening results.

3 – Your child may need a developmental assessment. First Words is a partnership between Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre, the Champlain LHIN and CHEO. We work together to provide the best service as quickly as possible. 

To support you and your child, you may be referred to the Children’s Treatment Centre (CTC) services at CHEO. CTC services at CHEO is a leader in providing specialized care for children with multiple needs. Services may include speech and language, physical, developmental and associated behavioral needs. Services are offered in Ottawa and in Renfrew County. 

Once your Intake Forms are received by us, your child’s name is placed on the waiting list for an assessment. There will be a waiting period for this service. Watch our webinars for tips and strategies to support your child while you wait.

The results are calculated based on how you answer the screening questions. The milestones listed for each age are within the normal range for child development in Ontario.

We recommend that you talk to your child’s Primary Health Care Provider (doctor, nurse) about their development.