For Clients
How do I know if my child needs an informal intake or a formal assessment?
An informal intake meeting is recommended when a child has had an evaluation completed by an ASHA Certified Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) within the last 18 months. During the meeting, therapists will:
- Review the completed intake form with caregivers and ask follow up questions
- Review previous speech therapy goals and progress
- Informally assess the child’s communication through age appropriate tasks
Following the intake, if a therapist believes a more thorough examination with data, such as normative scores or other clinical measures, are needed about the child’s communication skills, a formal speech and language evaluation may be recommended.
A formal speech and language evaluation is a comprehensive and detailed work-up of one or more areas of communication in order to provide the most accurate possible conclusions about the nature and degree of the communication difficulty. Evaluations may include the use of standardized assessments within areas of concern. Standardized tests are supplemented by clinical observations, consideration of the child’s history and other clinical measures. This information is used to develop a treatment plan and guide evidenced-based intervention approaches.
Speachy Learning Center recommends following up with your insurance provider if you plan to seek reimbursement for an evaluation and/or treatment. Some insurance providers will not authorize therapy without a formal evaluation with a report.
A formal evaluation is recommended if your child:
- Has not had a formal assessment of their speech and language skills within the last 18 months
- Demonstrates difficulty with multiple domains of communication
- Is very difficult to understand
- Does not have at least 50 words by 18 months
- Is significantly behind peers in any aspect of communication
What is a Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA)?
SLPAs are trained and licensed professionals within the field of Speech-Language Pathology. Like SLPs, SLPAs must adhere to all applicable state laws, rules and ethics regulating the practice of speech-language pathology. Under the guidance of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), SLPAs are qualified to:
- Provide direct therapy services addressing treatment goals developed by the supervising SLP to meet the needs of the student, patient, client, and family
- Adjust and document the amount and type of support or scaffolding provided to the student, patient, or client in treatment to facilitate progress
- Develop and implement activities and materials for teaching and practice of skills to address the goals of the student, patient, client, and family per the plan of care developed by the supervising SLP
- Administer and score screenings for clinical interpretation by the SLP
- Administer and score assessment tools that (a) the SLPA meets the examiner requirements specified in the examiner’s manual and (b) the supervising SLP uses to verify the SLPA’s competence in administration, for clinical interpretation by the SLP
- Document student, patient, or client performance (e.g., collecting data and calculating percentages for the SLP to use, etc) and report this information to the supervising SLP in a timely manner
- Provide services via telepractice to students, patients, and clients who are selected by the supervising SLP
- Provide caregiver coaching (e.g., model and teach communication strategies, provide feedback regarding caregiver-child interactions) for facilitation and carryover of skills
- Program augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices.
- Provide training and technical assistance to students, patients, clients, and families in the use of AAC devices
All Speachy SLPAs are licensed by the California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board and supervised by our lead SLP and owner/founder, Mayra. For more information and licensing requirements, please visit the ASHA’s Statement on the Scope of Practice for SLPAs and the Qualifications for Registration as an SLPA in California.
See our forms page for more information on practices and policies.
What is the difference between PlayGroup or the Social Skills groups and Group Speech therapy?
PlayGroup primarily focuses on social interactions and using language with other peers. Speech and language group sessions target a client’s individualized speech and language goals with the added benefit of using those speech and language skills with others who are also working on similar goals.
Questions from Parents:
Start Date:
What is the earliest that we can start? (My child has not had any previous evaluations done for speech)
It sounds like an evaluation would be the best thing to schedule-this is testing with the report. Once you fill out the forms, someone in the office will email you some days and times that are open.
Evaluation:
Will Evaluation be the first step before any therapy is provided?
Yes-we need to start there BUT-if therapy is warranted, we will know at the time of the evaluation and will recommend length and frequency of weekly sessions and you can start therapy before the report is completed and delivered.
How long (Days/Sessions) will the Evaluation take to be completed?
We take about 3 weeks to analyze our data and write the report.
Will the evaluator be the same person as the therapist (eventually)?
Not necessarily. We are a very collaborative and open team here at Speachy. We discuss kids weekly and most kids will work with more than one therapist. This is great for brainstorming and more rapid generalization of skills for the children.
My child is not her most 'natural' self in locations outside of home/away from parents, will the Evaluation (done outside of home) be representative/accurate of her typical responses?
We find that most children get comfortable pretty quickly and we like to see what we see- this is always telling. The questionnaire and information you provide gives us a sense of what children are like most commonly. Although sometimes children actually do more with non-parent adults for a variety of reasons-caregiver familiarity and predictability etc.
Approach:
What is your approach to therapy? (I have a shy child who takes a long time to open up to new people)
Our therapists are specially trained in various therapeutic techniques that we incorporate throughout session such as Floortime, The SCERTS® Model, oral motor, DTTC, but at it’s core Speachy uses a fun, play-based, naturalistic, combination teacher and child led, social-interpersonal communication approach.
Will parents be advised on how we may continue to help our child at home once therapy begins?
Yes, you will be trained throughout, and detailed information will be given at each session in written and verbal form.
Do you ever see children in their daycares or preschools?
No, we only do center-based therapy at Speachy and teletherapy if the child is a good candidate.
Will my child be expected to miss a day of school every week, once therapy begins? How often will they have therapy?
Frequency of sessions is determined at intake/evaluation, and it depends on the individual needs of the client as to how many sessions and how long each should be. We do not expect children to miss school to come to therapy and do our best to accommodate individual schedules.
Will we be able to reach out to my child’s therapist on the phone for any important/urgent questions, should they arise during the therapy?
Your therapist will debrief you and train you during your child’s scheduled session time. We ask that you email any questions to your therapist, and they respond at their available times allotted for paperwork and planning.
Can I accompany my child to therapy sessions (initially) until she gets comfortable with her therapist?
Yes, you can accompany your child until he/she feels comfortable or if you or your therapist feels you could benefit from hands on training you might be asked to join at the end (usually) of sessions. Many children open up more and progress more quickly when they work alone with the therapist for the majority of the session and caregivers join at the end.
Other Services:
My child just enrolled in a preschool but does not really mix around with other children very much, (perhaps Speech and language is a big blocker)-how do I know if she needs more than just speech therapy?
We often recommend that children work with a peer in a speech therapy group or join one of our less structured PlayGroups for social practice and interactions. This can be something we recommend either at the intake or a few sessions after getting started with 1 on 1.
Taking a Break:
We are planning a 2-month trip sometime in the summer, what are our options to pause therapy?
Yes, many parents travel-we cannot guarantee that you will be given the same therapist or time when you return, however. You are given priority once you are an enrolled client so will not likely lose a slot.
Do we have the same appointment time every week and can you send me reminders?
We do not send appointment reminders. You agree to a weekly set schedule that repeats unless you or we must cancel for illness or other reasons. If we cancel, we try to offer another day/time with your therapist or offer that you work with an available substitute therapist that is covering.
What happens if my therapist is sick?
We work with kids, so do get sick ourselves. Seeing another therapist on occasion is beneficial for your child and ourselves as we brainstorm weekly about all our clients on how to get them to their goals quickly and optimally. Having more eyes, ears, and brains working collaboratively helps us and working with other skilled teachers helps with generalizing skills.
How long will my child need speech therapy?
Several factors determine how long a child will need speech therapy. The answer is as individualistic as each person however these factors have an influence on how long your child will need therapy and how quickly you can start seeing results: The severity of the speech disorder; co-existing disorders; how long the child has been making a sound speech error; how much practice are you doing outside of therapy; how motivated is your child to correct the error sounds or practice; how quickly is your child generalizing or carrying over what they are doing in therapy to other environments. For OMT-only clients, you should see results within 10 weeks and can often move to a monitor or as-needed check-in model after that.
Can my child get speech at school and come to Speachy?
Yes, many children receive services through the school district and privately through Speachy. We pride ourselves on our professional collaboration with other therapists in moving the children as quickly and effectively as possible towards their goals and discharge.
How do we know we are finished with therapy?
Children typically end services when they are at age level in their communication skills and have met all their goals, seek services elsewhere for various reasons such as a move or getting services at school, or we cannot make our schedule work with theirs. Your therapist will have given you impressions, advice, and recommendations throughout your working together so you will know if your child no longer needs services and is ready to be discharged ahead of time.