Common Parent Q’s

If you have more questions we encourage you to contact us directly or
visit our Speech Blog for additional tips and information.

What is speech? What is language?

Speech refers to the verbal means of communication including articulation (how we produce sounds), voice (the vocal quality), and fluency (how rhythmically we speak).

Language refers to the way in which we understand and express our ideas including 3 main aspects: form (the word structure and order), content (the meaning), and use (the functional and social application).

A child can have trouble with speech production skills, language skills, or a combination of both.

How young can a child be to enroll at S&L Therapy?

We begin working with children at 12 months of age. There are certainly cases where a child may need intervention prior to this age, but we do not offer therapy for this age group at our practice. Once a child has reached their 1st birthday, there are a number of critical communication benchmarks that are expected and can serve as a framework for intervention moving forward.

My child is enrolled in school-based services. Can we still enroll at S&L?

Yes, absolutely. It’s very common for a family to enroll their child at S&L Therapy to supplement school-based services. Our therapy plan, goals and objectives will be developed independent of what the school services provide. Once a plan is in place, we welcome consultation and collaboration with school-based speech-language pathologists in order to coordinate services. We periodically schedule check-ins with school-based providers and find it to be mutually beneficial.
 

How often will my child need therapy? Does the frequency matter?

The frequency of treatment will depend on a number of factors including; the nature of the communication disorder, rate of progress, and schedule availability. Children can attend therapy sessions between 1 and 6 times per week. In a majority of cases 1-3 times per week is an appropriate frequency to make effective progress toward meeting set goals and objectives. The more often a child attends therapy, the more optimal the progress.
 

When will we receive homework?

Homework is assigned to each client as the therapist sees fit. As a general rule, homework is meant to serve as a review or practice exercise for skills that are already at a mastery level. This means that homework will not be assigned before a client demonstrates proficiency (or a high degree of accuracy and/ or consistent use) of a given skill to the therapist’s specifications within therapy sessions. This guideline serves two general purposes: 1. It ensures that a child is practicing the right skill at home, and 2. It ensures that the parent does not work as the therapist. When a client is given home practice assignments they are done in order to increase the frequency of engaging in a newly learned, correct behavior. The more your child practices, the better they will get, but if they are at home experimenting with how to say something correctly and incorrect productions are repeated, a child will run the risk of reinforcing an old behavior, stalling progress, or creating regression. As is the case with learning most new motor skills, practice of the correct behaviors is very helpful, but practice of incorrect behaviors is not.    To learn more, you can read our blog about speech homework here.

Are speech therapy services covered by insurance?

We are currently contracted providers with Cigna, AllWays Health Partners, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MA (Click here for benefits), and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (Click here for benefits). If approved, speech and language services can be covered with these companies. If you carry another insurance company’s coverage, we offer a private payment plan for evaluations and therapy. You may seek "out of network" coverage with your insurance company directly if reimbursement through your plan is available.

Are you looking for additional information about insurance plan options?
Here are benefits for speech/language/hearing compiled by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
 

What can I do to help my child carry over skills learned in therapy?

For our youngest clients, we encourage parents to participate in each and every session so that we may equip you with the tools needed to maximize language learning opportunities at home and in the community. You and your therapist will review the specific techniques that work best for your child and how and when to utilize them outside of therapy.

For our older and more independent clients, parents and/or caregivers are always invited into the treatment room at the end of the session to discuss the highlights from our time together. Home practice ideas and carry over strategies will be discussed with your therapist. Typically, parents are able to provide support and accountability to ensure that you both take time each day (or within assigned times) to complete home assignments.

Check out the blog "Enhance your home" for more suggestions.

 

If there are specific questions regarding therapy goals and objectives, we encourage you to contact us directly. Check out our Speech Blog for additional tips.