Here are some questions we Speech Language Pathologists are asked, and hopefully some helpful answers!

 

Where are you located?
KidSpeak therapy offers speech therapy for children in Orlando Florida.  Her home office is located in the southwest area of Orlando in Windermere.

Communication disorders and speech development

How often will my child need to come to speech therapy?
How often a child comes to speech therapy depends on what type of problem he or she is experiencing, as well as how severe the difficulty is. Typically, children come once or twice a week for individual 30 minute sessions.

What causes speech and language problems and is it my fault?
We don't know for sure what causes speech and language problems. It could be as simple as having a lot of ear infections when young or the speech/language problems could be a symptom of a larger problem. It is not your fault.

How do I know if my child has a speech-language delay?
If your child doesn't talk as much as children his/her own age, the problem may be a speech-language delay. Your doctor or teacher may be concerned about a speech-language delay if your child does NOT do the following: Say simple words clearly or unclearly at 12-15 months, understand words like "no" or "stop" by 18 months of age, talk in short sentences by 3 years of age, or tell a simple story at 4-5 years of age.
 

Please review the chart of Developmental Speech & Language Milestones below. 
If your child is demonstrating difficulty with any of those skills, they may need speech and/or language therapy.  Children develop speech/language skills at different rates.  Sometimes siblings within the same family develop speech and language skills at a different rate than their brothers and sisters.  This does not mean that there is a problem, but a screening of your child's skills can determine if further evaluation is needed.

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Developmental Speech & Language Milestones

Hearing and Understanding	Talking
1-2 Years Points to a few body parts when asked. Follows simple commands and understands simple questions ("Roll the ball," "Kiss the baby," "Where's your shoe?"). Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes. Points to pictures in a book when named.	1-2 Years Says more words every month. Uses some 1-2 word questions ("Where kitty?" "Go bye-bye?" "What's that?"). Puts 2 words together ("more cookie," "no juice," "mommy book"). Uses many different consonant sounds of the beginning of words.
2-3 Years Understands differences in meaning ("go-stop," "in-on," "big-little," "up-down"). Follows two requests ("Get the book and put it on the table."). Identifies several body parts Understands most things said to him/her	2-3 Years Uses 2-3 word "sentences" to talk about and ask for things. Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time (50-70% intelligible). Often asks for or directs attention to objects by naming them. "Explosion of vocabulary"; 50-250 spoken words
3-4 Years Hears you when call from another room. Vocabulary of approximately 1200-2000 words. Understands simple, "who?" "what?," "where?" questions. Follows simple 2-3 step directions	3-4 Years Talks about activities at school or at friends' homes. People outside family usually understand child's speech. Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words. Asks many questions. Vocabulary of 800-1500 spoken words
4-5 Years Pays attention to a short story and answers simple questions about it. Hears and understands most of what is said at home and in school. Understands numbers to 3. Understands simple prepositions (under, inside). Vocabulary of 2800 or more words.	4-5 years Uses sentences that give lots of details (e.g. "I like to read my books"). Tells stories that stick to topic. Communicates easily with other children and adults. Says most sounds correctly except a few like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th. Uses the same grammar as the rest of the family.
5-6 Years Understands some time concepts (first, last, before) Identifies 6 basic colors and 3 basic shapes. Begins to identify when words rhyme. Uses simple, phonetic spelling (PTE= pretty) Identifies several alphabet letters and numbers.	5-6 Years Asks questions with "how?" Names simple opposites (big/little, hot/cold). Counts to 30 Tells nursery rhymes and simple poems Names several alphabet letters

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Pediatric Speech Therapy
What ages do you serve?

Birth - toddlers -through elementary age, generally.

What are the areas of difficulty?

There are several areas that a speech-language pathologist will explore/evaluate:

• Speech mechanism. The mouth, tongue, nose, breathing and how they are co-ordinated and operated by muscles
• Phonology. The sounds that make up language.
• Syntax and grammar. The way that words and parts of words combine in phrases or sentences.
• Semantics. The meaning of sentences words and bits of words.
• Pragmatics. How language is used in different situations and how feelings are conveyed.
• Intonation and stress. The rhythm and music of the way we speak.

Will my insurance company pay for speech therapy?
Yes, some insurance plans will cover therapy. We are in-network providers for some plans, but not all. We can provide you with a "superbill" billing statement with applicable procedure and diagnosis codes for you to submit to your insurance plan for reimbursement. Every insurance plan is different, and some plans may reimburse a certain number of visits. You may also be able to see us as an out-of-network provider. Please check with your specific plan to obtain additional information about reimbursement.
 

What other options are available to help with payment of services?
You may be able to arrange coverage through an employee “cafeteria” plan. Under such plans, some employers offer the option to select a benefit other than traditional health insurance to reimburse additional medical expenses not usually covered by insurance, such as out of pocket expenses and deductibles. Reimbursement may be determined by IRS guidelines.

You may also be able to use a “Health Savings Account”, or HSA, in which you pay into a family savings account using pre-tax income, for items not covered by traditional insurance, and then receive reimbursement after filing the receipts or invoices. Please check with your employer about the plans available to you.
 

Since 2005, the IRS has allowed a deduction for medical expenses. In Publication 502 (Medical and Dental Expenses), under the topic “Special Education”, it states, “You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a doctor’s recommendation for a child’s tutoring by a teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with children who have learning disabilities caused by mental or physical impairments, including nervous system disorders.” For this deduction, you need a doctor’s recommendation and the fees (which can be combined with other medical expenses) must total more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
 

Tax laws often change, so please check the current IRS regulations. The information provided above is NOT intended as professional or legal advice, but it is worth looking into! For more information visit: www.irs.gov
 

When do I pay for therapy services?
We require payment at the time of service. In some instances, we may provide you with invoices to be paid weekly or monthly. These arrangements must be made in advance.
 

What types of payment do you accept?
We currently accept cash, check, Square payments or PayPal. There is a small surcharge for PayPal payments to allow for that site’s usage fees.