Common Questions about Speech Therapy

We accept insurance based on your plan benefits in-network and out-of-network. Some insurance companies/plans do not reimburse parents for "developmental articulation disorders" or "developmental language disorders," limiting coverage to rehabilitative speech therapy (e.g., due to traumatic brain injury, or to treat congenitally related speech problems, such as cleft palate). Children with diagnoses such as autism are sometimes covered. Speech therapy coverage is different for each person, please check with your insurance provider for your plan benefit. We are happy to bill for service based upon insurance verification. If we do not accept your insurance carrier, we can provide you with itemized receipts for your personal tax filings or to submit to your insurance company or HSA reimbursement.

Due to patient need after the COVID-19 shutdowns there have been waiting lists in the Speech Therapy community. We have active availability and always work to schedule you or your child for the earliest appointment available. Our inital phone contact typically takes place within 24-48 hours of referral or contact need. Please call us today for any other information or to schedule.

This depends on what you are noticing in the home. A young child (9 months) who is not responding to sounds, alerting to his/her name, showing comprehension of simple words, or pointing to call attention to interesting objects, may be showing early signs of a hearing loss or language disorder. Other general guidelines

• First Words by 12-15 months
• Two-Word Combinations heard by 21-24 months
• Three-Word Combinations heard by 36 months
• Intelligible speech in conversation 90% of the time by age 4 years
• Grammatically complete sentences most of the time by kindergarten age

While it is true children show some variation in when they achieve early language milestones, it also is true that a skilled speech-language pathologist can usually identify children who are more at risk for persistent delays, or who are showing signs of more deviant speech language development (sometimes associated with other developmental disorders, such as autism). The earlier these children are identified, the sooner they can take advantage of intensive early intervention programs, often at no cost to families. Thus, it is better to rule out a more serious problem at a young age.

Possibly. While there is no direct causal link between chronic ear infections and speech/language delay, children are generally thought to be more at risk for developing communication impairments with this medical history and should be closely monitored.

Generally speaking, understanding your child's current communication level (preverbal, single word communicator, phrase or sentence level communicator, etc.) is very important in terms of what to model at home. Try not to overuse questions to get your young child to talk, but rather model comments about events as they are unfolding. Try to avoid rapid and lengthy speaking turns and encourage turn-taking. Praise your child's efforts to communicate using all possible means: gestures, pointing, gaze, and verbal attempts.

YES or NO. Children with recent testing (within the past 6 months) and with speech therapy objectives already in place can often proceed directly to scheduling treatment, provided a copy of recent reports is available. In any event, a consultation will be scheduled to meet with you, your child, and to review reports provided (usually lasting at least an hour). At that time, we will determine whether additional testing is needed, and what course of treatment is recommended.

This depends on many factors such as: severity of the disorder, student cooperation, motivation, and readiness to learn. Family involvement in implementing home practice is another significant factor. In general, children with receptive language problems (difficulty understanding language) tend to require longer courses of treatment, as do children with underlying neurocognitive impairments such as autism.

Most children are seen in our clinic one to two times per week, whether or not he/she is receiving school-based therapy, depending on the severity of the disorder, or what type of intervention program is recommended. More intensive schedules are occasionally implemented as needed.

Sessions are usually scheduled for 30 to 60 minutes of direct contact depending on the treatment plan outlined.

Parents are encouraged to observe therapy sessions, either periodically by accompanying children into the therapy room at least briefly. Many children perform best when working separately from parents. For those children, parents may be included in treatment sessions for the last 5-10 minutes in order to understand current objectives and home program ideas.

Written progress reports are generated upon parent request and are charged for at our hourly rate. Progress can also be discussed verbally via face-to-face meetings or teleconferencing (also charged at our hourly rate.)

POSSIBLY. Some children are in need of individual therapy to establish readiness skills for group interaction, e.g., basic receptive/expressive language competence, turn-taking, and ability to process language efficiently in order to maintain conversational topics. Others may be placed in appropriate group therapy settings. In any event, Tongue Twisters performs consultations before making a recommendation for or against group therapy.

Do you have any of the following?

• Do you have an open mouth posture (at rest) or mouth breathe?
• Does your tongue rest against your teeth?
• Have your teeth moved after orthodontic treatment?
• Do you have headaches often?
• Does your jaw or neck hurt often?
• Do you chew your food with your mouth open?
• Do you drool or have bloating or stomach distress after eating?
• Are you a stomach or side sleeper?
• Do you have oral habits such as nail biting, pen chewing, lip licking, or thumb sucking?
• Do you have a forward head posture?
• Do you have a lisp at times when saying the "s" sound?
• Do you feel that your tongue comes forward when you swallow?

If you are still unsure, give us a call and we can help!