Speech therapy is provided by a speech-language pathologist and primarily focuses on improving communication through language and pronunciation. Speech therapy also includes fluency, feeding & swallowing, oral motor, voice, social communication, literacy, and cognition. 

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is a licensed professional who specializes in the assessment and treatment of communication disorders. SLPs work with people of all ages, from infants to adults. Speech-language pathologists are often referred to as speech therapists. 

SLPs treat 9 different areas:

• Articulation 
• Language
• Fluency 
• Social communication
• Voice and Resonance
• Hearing 
• Feeding and Swallowing 
• Cognition
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

If you are unsure whether your child needs speech therapy services, the best thing to do is to speak with an SLP and determine next steps which may include an evaluation. Recommendations for speech therapy would be determined at the time of the evaluation. 

The goal of speech therapy is to help your child improve their communication skills. Goals would include improving your child’s clarity of speech or increasing expressive language.

Each speech therapy session is different, as it is tailored to meet the specific needs of the child. In general, sessions will target goals, created by your child’s SLP based on the results of the evaluation. The SLP will use toys, games, books/stories and/or sensory experiences throughout the session. 

Therapy can be provided in the home, private school, or daycare. The location depends on the family’s needs.

This is hard for us to know and varies by child. There are several factors that affect how long a child will be in therapy including the type of disorder, the severity, medical diagnoses, consistency in therapy, caregiver involvement and generalization of skills into their natural environment. Your therapist will recommend the therapy frequency and duration for a six-month period and will monitor your child’s progress on a weekly basis. Your child will be discharged from therapy if your child meets their goals prior to the re-evaluation. Otherwise, therapy will continue until goals have been met. 

Presently, we are only working with children.

We currently do not accept insurance and are private pay only. When requested, we can provide families with a superbill to submit to their insurance provider for reimbursement. 

Please note: The provision of a superbill does not guarantee reimbursement. Please check with your insurance provider prior to scheduling your sessions for applicability. We can provide you with the necessary paperwork but families are fully responsible to submit and communicate with the insurance company.

We also accept the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA; formerly known as the Gardiner Scholarship). For more information on whether your family is eligible for this program, please visit www.stepupforstudents.org. Please note, your child DOES NOT have to have a medical diagnosis in order to receive funds. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me at Stephanie@speechinthesun.com