FAQs

If you would like to speak with a speech therapist about your concerns, you can book a free consultation. This free consultation consists of a 5-10 minute phone call where you speak with a speech therapist about your concerns for your child. The therapist will ask questions about your child’s development, address your concerns, and provide recommendations for your child. In just a few minutes, you can learn whether your child requires a full evaluation.

Our speech therapists work with children in five main areas: articulation (producing individual speech sounds), language (understanding and using language), pragmatics (social skills),  fluency (stuttering), and executive functioning (mental flexibility, problem-solving, planning, organizing, self-monitoring).

Language therapy is a component of speech therapy. Speech therapists assess and treat receptive language (a child’s understanding of language) and expressive language (a child’s language use).

Speech intelligibility is defined as the percentage of words a person uses that others can clearly understand. 

By age 2 years, children should be 26-50% intelligible.

By age 2 years, 6 months, children should be 51-70% intelligible.

By age 3 years, children should be 71-80% intelligible.

It is important to note that there is considerable individual variation between children. If, as a parent, you are in doubt about your own child's speech sound development or speech clarity, an assessment by a speech-language pathologist will quickly tell you if your child is developing in a typical fashion.

Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy serves families in the West Valley of Phoenix, Arizona. Cities within our service area include: 

• Surprise, AZ
• Litchfield Park, AZ
• Avondale, AZ
• Goodyear, AZ
• Buckeye, AZ

Services are provided in homes, daycare centers, private schools, community settings, or at our office in Avondale, AZ.

Yes, Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy is in-network with the following plans

• Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Arizona: Indemnity, PPO, & HMO
• Aetna: Open Access , Choice, POS, POS II, HMO, & Banner plans
• Oscar: Exclusive Provider Network plans

We also submit courtesy claims for out-of-network insurance companies such as:

• United Healthcare
• Cigna
• Tricare Select

At this time, we do not have a contract with Medicaid/AHCCCS or DDD plans.

Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy helps with this! We will call your insurance company to check coverage and benefits before we schedule your first visit. We share that information with you before scheduling your first appointment. This helps families make informed decisions about possible out-of-pocket expenses. Because the insurance company only quotes benefits, the actual costs will be confirmed after the insurance claims are processed.

During the evaluation session, the Speech-Language Pathologist will arrive at the agreed upon location (in your home, your child’s daycare center, private school, or at our office). We supply all necessary materials such as standardized evaluation forms, toys, and games. 

During the 45-60 minute session, the speech-language pathologist will assess your child’s speech and language development. This assessment may consist of: a standardized test, play observation, interview, parent interview, and review of medical history. Usually, all of the above are used. At the end of the evaluation, the speech-language pathologist will determine if skilled treatment is necessary and give a treatment recommendation.

Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy accepts all private insurance, all major credit cards including Care Credit, health savings accounts, and Empowerment Scholarship Funds.

Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy is available Monday – Friday from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy is available to provide group screenings to children at daycare centers, private schools, religious preschool programs, or our office. 

Screenings are abbreviated evaluations to determine if a child could benefit from further evaluation. If your child is found to have mild difficulties yet a full evaluation is not recommended, at-home activities will be discussed so parents can lead these skills at home. If an area of concern is identified, a full evaluation will be recommended.

Yes. Once an evaluation has been scheduled, our office will provide you with a link to a series of documents that Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy needs to be completed prior to your child’s evaluation. 

We request that all paperwork be completed in full and returned to us at least 48 hours in advance. This helps us to plan for the evaluation session. If there is a delay in filling out the paperwork, your appointment may have to be rescheduled to a more convenient time.

We provide pediatric services for children from 0 to 18.

Yes. Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy believes that a collaborative and multidisciplinary effort between the child, his/her family and his/her other support networks help to achieve results and reach the highest level of success. Treatment of children with autism and working closely with their families is one of our specialties.

Yes. Parents are a very important part of treatment at Speaking of Speech and Language Therapy. Parents are often invited to stay during the treatment session to observe and interact with therapists during sessions. At-home activities are also provided to the parent to encourage the child to use skills learned in therapy while at home or within the community.

You can obtain an email copy of our privacy practices by requesting it from the management team or by clicking here.