Using a Chronological Age Calculator for Speech Evaluations: What You Need to Know

If you’re an SLP (or a graduate student in Speech-Language Pathology), you need to become familiar with calculating chronological ages for your students or patients. If you’re new to this, it can feel overwhelming. This article explains why we need to figure out a chronological age for speech evaluations, what a chronological age even is, and how to quickly calculate to find the correct numbers. And of course, we recommend a chronological age calculator to use. Keep reading!

Why You’ll Want To Know Your Student’s Chronological Age for Speech Evaluations

As a Speech-Language Pathologist, you’ve become an expert at juggling things.

Watching the clock.

Quickly coming up with a therapy plan.

Attending IEP meetings and writing goals.

And screening and assessing students.

It’s no wonder that SLPs need to have data at their fingertips, and fast.

We need to know chronological ages so we can get an accurate standardized score.

I also always like to include chronological ages in my report writing.

A chronological age score provides the benchmark that we need when comparing our student against typical development for that age range. It can help us identify when a delay is present, write the best goals possible, and even choose the most appropriate assessment.

So, being able to calculate chronological age is a necessity for SLPs.

How To Calculate the Chronological Age for Speech Evaluations

When we’re calculating the chronological age for speech evaluations, it is helpful to understand the basic math behind it (even if we’re not going to do this by hand- I promise).

To find the chronological age, we subtract the date of birth from the testing date.

We convert those results into years, months, and days.

To do this, we first must align all of the dates correctly.

We would borrow the months or days when needed.

Finally, we achieve a final age that reflects the exact amount of time that has passed.

Why Calculating the Chronological Age Can Be Tricky

I’m going to assume that when you’re calculating chronological age, you’re in the middle of a giant heap of multitasking. And you’re probably running 10 minutes behind. And you’re more worried about how to juggle all of the parts and pieces of the PLS-5 and that creepy bear, so you just kind of need the math figured out now, thank you very much.

This can also get to be a little tricky because calendar months vary in length. Plus, leap years can impact calculations.

So while it’s helpful for us to know and understand the math, there’s nothing wrong with reaching for a helpful tool. Because this is a number you need to get right for accurate scores, and because doing this by hand on eval days adds to unnecessary cognitive load.

So yes, you can do this by hand… but you don’t need to.

Using the Free Chronological Age Calculator for Speech Evaluations

First, you’ll need to gather the information needed.

Look up your student’s date of birth.

If you’re using today’s date, enter that in the testing date section.

If not, make sure to change the testing date to the date you tested (perhaps earlier in the week).

Head over to the speech therapy tools page.

Enter all of the data in the chronological age calculator provided on that page.

You’ll love using the free chronological age calculator because it’s quick, easy, and takes the guesswork out of calculating chronological age.

And don’t forget: you can use this free tool whenever you need it.

Bookmark the tools page and return as often as required.

When You’ll Need The Chronological Age Calculator for Speech Therapy

You’ll find yourself using this tool often.

Not just for screenings and evaluations, but also for report writing and goal writing.

When you get last-minute referrals, transfer students, or during those crazy back-to-back days with testing thrown in the mix.

Make sure to bookmark the chronological age calculator– because you’ll likely be using it multiple times a week.

More Must-Have Speech Therapy Tools to Try

I’ve already mentioned several times how essential the chronological age calculator is going to be for any SLP.

But there are several additional free speech therapy tools you’d also love.

In this article, I explain how to use each tool– and why you’ll need them during your day as a school SLP.

The speech therapy tools can become a “hub” that you use throughout your day.

If you’re collecting data, about to administer a test, or trying to manage transitions during a mixed group- the speech therapy tools page will become your go-to.

Sure, there are other chronological age calculators available on the web. But why keep separate tabs open when you don’t need to?

The Chronological Age Calculator: A Must-Have Tool for School SLPs

You’ve got enough on your plate.

Evaluations are already mentally demanding- not just administering them, but scoring, analyzing, and writing the report.

Save yourself future stress by bookmarking the speech therapy tools page.

In fact, this may be one tab that you leave open all day at work. You’ll thank yourself later.