“How Long Will Speech Therapy Take?” And Other Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s get into some FAQs!
Realizing your child may need a little support with their development brings about scary unknowns, of the 3am insomniatic variety. They might be questions like:
Will he ever sound like the other kids?
Why isn’t she talking yet? We’re doing all the right things!
Are they going to be okay and make friends in school?
What if this never gets better?
Worries about your child’s development are destabilizing and unsettling. But if you are here reading this, you are not far from a support system. At Brooklyn Speech Therapy, our home programs are designed to help children overcome the communication challenges at the heart of your concerns, but to also be an emotional support system for you in the process.
These bigger questions are easiest to address during our initial chats and play sessions (That you can book here). So for now let’s take another load off of your mind and explore some of the FAQ’s about speech therapy basics.
Is Speech Therapy Even Necessary, or Am I Overreacting?
I have never had a phone call with a parent who was overreacting, but many who feel that they are. Sometimes society and other family members send conflicting messages about what is concerning or what warrants intervention. Oftentimes a parent(s) call to say: Everyone is saying it is fine (“I didn’t talk until I was 5!”), but I just can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. In 90% of these scenarios, the parent is correctly identifying a need for support to help their child through a tricky developmental phase.
My advice is to trust your instincts. A free 30 minute chat with a professional doesn’t hurt!
Is My Child Too Young for Speech Therapy?
Technically, no, pediatric speech therapists work with children sometimes as early as a NICU stay. However, speech therapy in the initial weeks of infancy is typically only necessary if your child was born premature, or has medical and developmental complications identified at birth.
That being said, a trained eye can detect the signs of a speech, language or cognitive delay well before the milestones of first words (at roughly 12 months of age). If your baby isn’t smiling, enjoying physical comfort, visually attending to toys, or reacting to sounds before 6 months; or if your 9 month old isn’t beginning to imitate gestures and facial expressions, or babble with increasing complexity: Have a chat with a speech therapist.
For children 12 months and older, speech therapy is always a good idea if you are noticing them to be behind their peers or siblings.
Why Did My Pediatrician Tell Us to “Wait and See” Before Contacting a Speech Therapist?
Pediatricians have different ways of practicing, and different specialties. Not all of them consider development as centrally as others. Will they make sure your baby is meeting weight, height, and general health milestones? Absolutely. Will they guide you through vaccines and colic? Yes. However, they are medical professionals, and some are not very well versed in the nuances of holistic development. And some well intentioned doctors do not want to cause new parents alarm. Anecdotally I have been hearing of many more pediatricians advising parents to reach out to professionals like us for children as young as 14-18 months. We love to see it!
A general tip: If you are expressing repeated concerns to your doctor and feel that you are being dismissed, find a new doctor.
Other Family Members Can’t Understand My Toddler. Do We Need Speech Therapy?
If your child is 3 years and older, then chances are you might. By age 3, the majority of children should be at least 70% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener. This means their extended family members, daycare providers, other children, the dads at the park etc.
Could My Child Have Gotten Their Stutter/Language Delay/Lisp etc. From Me?
Possibly, yes. Just as they have inherited their laugh, personality or dance moves from you. There is work to be done regarding genetic mapping of communication development, but speech/language delays or idiosyncrasies tend to run in families. Our aim is not to dwell in the why but focus on helping the families working with us to overcome, and celebrate their individuality.
How Long Are Speech Therapy Sessions?
All sessions are 60 minutes. Direct play therapy with your child is 50 minutes, with 10 minutes set aside afterward to update you on progress and give you strategies to support your child outside of sessions.
How Often Do We Need to Do Sessions?
Weekly to begin. Frequency of speech therapy sessions is dependent upon our area of focus, or the degree of challenges present. However, generally speaking the more often therapy occurs the better. Here in the real world with our packed schedules, we most often work at a cadence of 1x/week.
My Child Has Difficult Time Focusing. Will They Be Able to Participate in Sessions?
Yes! It is our job to make sure that your child can sustain focus for speech therapy sessions. Sessions are designed with your child’s age, attention, and interests in mind so that they are engaged and having fun throughout. It is often the case that children working with us in speech therapy do not even realize they are “working” or “learning”, because all goals are targeted in play. If your child struggles with attention, or regulation we incorporate specialized techniques to meet their learning style.
Do I Need to Be Present for Sessions?
It is best that you connect in a meaningful way with your therapist for each session. Our approach involves a considerable degree of caregiver training and education. We want you to feel fully informed about the speech therapy process, and be able to support your child in the right ways, so if that means you are listening in nearby during sessions- great! But if it is only possible to connect via email, or on a call after the session then that works too.
What Kind of Space Do We Need for Speech Therapy Sessions at Home?
Whatever space you have that your child enjoys is where we will come! We do home speech therapy because it is where your child is doing most of their communicating. Depending on your child’s goals we may make suggestions about types of toys, or ways to set-up their play space that could maximize their progress.
My Other Kids Are Around the House: Will They Be a Distraction?
We love a sibling participant, and frankly siblings are often our biggest fans (A grown-up with their own toys to come over and play?!). Focused attention on your child who needs support is of primary importance though, so we will work with you to make sure to balance sibling fun with quiet one-on-one therapy time.
How Many Therapy Sessions Will We Need?
This is the trickiest question to answer before knowing, and working with a child. Factors such as the reason for a communication delay, responsiveness to intervention, a child’s attention levels, social-emotional world, behavioral patterns, and caregiver involvement for carry-over all influence the pace of progress in therapy.
We are a chatty and collaborative bunch, so we like to keep our families closely informed of our progress impressions each session. Things will feel more clear as we go.
Do You Do Sessions in Schools?
Sometimes, depending upon the location of your child’s school, their daily schedule and the school’s openness to welcoming outside private providers. If we are working at school, we collaborate closely with staff to support your child, and send you a detailed summary email after each session.
Do You Accept Insurance?
No, we are out of network. However, we help our families with the necessary paperwork to receive reimbursement from their insurance companies.
Do You Service RSAs, or Provide Early Intervention Services for the Department of Education?
We do not work directly with the department of education, so we cannot legally satisfy the mandates of your child’s IEP, or IFSP. If you are open to private therapy to support that which your child is receiving through the state (or their school), then we are happy to work in collaboration with that therapist.
For any other burning questions about starting a speech therapy program for your child, or to start tackling those 3am worries, reach out to schedule a complimentary phone consultation with us.
