Answering Clinical Questions
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What is the difference between speech and language?
What is the difference between speech and language?
Language is made up of socially shared rules that include the following:
- What words mean (e.g., “duck” can refer to an animal or an action)
- How to make new words (e.g., friend, friendly, unfriendly)
- How to put words together (e.g., “Carlos walked to the green park” rather than “Carlos walk park green”)
- What word combinations are best in what situations (“Would you mind moving your foot?” could quickly change to “Get off my foot, please!” if the first request did not produce the desired results)
Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of the following:
- Articulation
How speech sounds are made (e.g., children must learn how to produce the “r” sound in order to say “robot” instead of “wobot”). - Voice
Use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound (e.g., the voice can be abused from overuse or misuse and can lead to hoarseness or loss of voice). - Fluency
The rhythm of speech (e.g., hesitations or stuttering can affect fluency).
When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder.
Language and speech disorders can exist together or by themselves. The problem can be mild or severe. In any case, a comprehensive evaluation by a Speech-Language Pathologist is the first step to improving language and speech problems.
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What ages do you serve?
What ages do you serve?
We serve all ages. Our clinicians are well trained and enthusiastic about providing speech and language therapy services to both children and adults in their homes.
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When should I become concerned that my child is not communicating?
When should I become concerned that my child is not communicating?
Communication develops very early on; from babbling, to jargon, to use of single words, short phrases, and then full conversations. We strongly believe in a proactive approach to speech and language disorders and rarely condone the “wait and see” approach.
Some basic milestones include the use of several single words by 12 months of age, approximately 50 words by 18 months of age, and the emergence of two and three-word sentences by two years of age. A typical two-year old should be >50% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener and a three-year olds’ intelligibility should exceed 75%. We are happy to discuss your child’s development and address any specific concerns you may have.
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My child receives therapy through Early Intervention or the school district. Is it appropriate to request additional speech and language therapy?
My child receives therapy through Early Intervention or the school district. Is it appropriate to request additional speech and language therapy?
Absolutely! It is common for children to receive private therapy in addition to speech therapy through the agencies listed above. Qualified Speech and Language Pathologists will work in concert with any other professionals involved in your child’s care.
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Is speech and language therapy covered by insurance?
Is speech and language therapy covered by insurance?
Speech and language therapy is a covered benefit for most insurance carriers. As each insurance is different, we encourage all clients to confirm their covered benefits. We are happy to help you with this step and will request prior authorization for services if necessary. We accept and contract with many major insurances. Please contact us for a more complete list of all insurances accepted. We also gladly accept private pay clients.
* Select information sourced from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
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