If you don’t have time to read the whole blog: Lot’s of people don’t have insurance coverage for developmental speech therapy (anything that isn’t autism, childhood apraxia of speech, or traumatic injury related). But, there are ways to get therapy through government programs for free, shop for a great price, and get a speech language pathologist that will give you great progress in less time (which saves you money too.) So check out your schools, investigate government programs and clinics with sliding scales, look for prompt pay and package discounts, and find a speech language pathologist that gets you in on the sessions and equipped to keep the progress going in between visits with parent coaching or even “anytime” access.

Not Covered? Have high deductibles? Let’s talk about how to get speech therapy when you don't have insurance coverage.

Are you sure you need speech therapy?

Many speech language pathologists offer a free consultation or a free screening prior to investing in the evaluation fee. This can be great for you and the speech language pathologist, because you can find out if you are a good fit AND if your child is likely to need help talking or speaking clearly. The average child is in speech therapy for 16 hours of speech therapy to make “meaningful gains” towards clear speech sounds (Jacoby et al, 2002) so you want to be sure you like your speech language pathologist. A good bond can be a boost to collaboration and progress! What to do: check websites, search for local events, call up your school, early intervention program, or local private practices.

Child under 3 years old?

Search for your early intervention program (a free state-by-state list is available in the Homeschool Parent’s Guide to Speech Therapy: 50 State Starter Kit. Homeschooling not required!) and contact them about how to schedule an evaluation.

Pros

• Can be subsidized by government programs to be no cost or based on your income
• They usually come to your home. Save gas and time!
• Usually highly focused on parent training. Use the tools they give you between visits!

Cons

• If it’s based on your income and the provider assigned to you is out of network… it can be expensive even with insurance (like $200+ a visit… I have stories).
• You don’t always get to pick your speech language pathologist.
• There can be terrible waiting lists.

Is your child 3-18 years old?

How about looking at your local school? If your child is school aged already, it can be so very convenient! And one thing is for sure. Services through your school do NOT come directly out of your pocket (Tax dollars at work!). Call the school and ask for the speech language pathologist. They have 10 instructional days to get back to you about whether or not they think your child needs an evaluation for special education to see if they qualify under a speech or language eligibility.

 Pros

• No out of pocket cost.
• Local
• You get a team with speech language pathologist collaborating with teachers to lessen the impact of your child’s speech and language concerns.

Cons

• If your school SLP has a high caseload, it can impact how much progress is made. There are only so many hours in the school day and large group therapy isn’t always a great fit.
• If your child is doing well academically, they may not qualify for services. In the schools, speech language pathologists have to prove the child needs help with their speech or language AND that it is hurting them academically.
• Your school speech language pathologist might be really good at working on an area that your child doesn’t need help in and might be untrained or rusty in the area that your child needs work. You might benefit from a specialist if your goal is faster progress.
• It’s harder to get involved as a parent.

Don’t Use Your Insurance to Pay for Speech Therapy IF…

It costs more. I know, it sounds obvious, but I have met so many families that didn’t check and ended up getting a better deal paying privately at another… or even the same provider. The saddest stories are the ones I mentioned up above with early intervention. I worked with a family that was handed an unexpected “out of network” coinsurance bill from their insurance of over $2,000 for 6 weekly visits of speech and occupational therapy. They had so many other private pay options that would have been 25-50% of the price of early intervention for them! Lesson learned. Check first.

Ask for Discounts for Speech Therapy

Prompt Pay, veteran, first responders, sliding scale, package deals. Who knew there were discounts for speech therapy too! Consider the whole cost of speech therapy. If the evaluation is more expensive, but the therapy sessions are cheaper… it may be less expensive in the long run. For example a $250 dollar evaluation and $60 sessions would be cheaper in two months than a $200 dollar evaluation and $65 therapy sessions.

Check for Added Value for Speech Therapy

Some speech language pathologists encourage you to get inside the session and train you what to do in between visits giving you serious bang for your buck. Ask about “parent coaching”, home programs, and whether or not you can watch the session BEFORE you schedule the evaluation. Some SLPs offer video coaching between sessions, where you take videos of you doing the homework during the week and give you feedback on what’s going well and how to keep improving. There is some interesting research that suggests you get more progress (less therapy!) when parents are doing the therapy with an SLP guiding them.

Get Started Early in Speech Therapy

Getting started early can sometimes save you money in the long run because younger children often “catch up” faster. So, wherever you go, consider getting help now instead of later. From my own experience working in the schools and in early intervention, I often met kids in school speech therapy programs that would take years to meet goals that I could have helped in half (or less) of the time when they were younger and the parents participated in therapy.

So…What can I do NEXT?

• Talk to your insurance provider and see what’s covered and search for someone in network. Compare those prices to private pay, which may have discounts that make it the same or less than what you’d pay using insurance.
• Talk to your school, see what they offer. Be involved!
• Look into your early intervention program (A list by state HERE) and ask about costs for your specific situation.

Whatever you do, make sure to get the progress you need your child to make. That’s the long term value!

While you are looking, join the free support group Speech Therapy at Home Community and ask fellow moms how they got their best value.

Check out the FREE Speech Therapy at Home Community support group!

In Indiana? Need a speech language pathologist that equips and trains families of late talkers as her favorite thing? Check Ms. Manda out at www.illuminatecommunicate.com

This blog post does not constitute medical advice. It’s always the recommendation of Illuminate Communicate, LLC and it’s writers to seek out a licensed speech & language professional if you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development. A speech language pathologist has specific training and experience working with speech and language, that even your pediatrician may not have. You can find a Speech Language Pathologist in your state by searching ASHA’s PROFIND LINK, contacting your local school, or early intervention program for your family’s best fit.