FAQs
I know that choosing a therapist can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. That’s why I want you to be rest assured that you’ve chosen well. Below you’ll find answers to some of my clients’ frequently asked questions. I’ve been able to cover quite a few topics, but if there’s something I haven’t touched on, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
When should I refer my child to a Speech Pathologist?
Parents and caregivers should refer a child to a Speech Pathologist if they are concerned that their child has difficulties in any of the following areas:
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Articulation (e.g. unclear speech, difficulty with certain speech sounds, not being understood by others).
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Using expressive language (e.g. poor vocabulary, asking and answering questions, incorrect grammar, formulating clear sentences, putting words together to communicate effectively, difficulty retelling stories).
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Understanding language (e.g. understanding concepts, following instructions, understanding a range of questions, not being able to follow a story).
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Fluency (e.g stuttering; repeating, prolonging sounds or experiencing blocks in speech).
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Voice (e.g. hoarse voice quality, inappropriate volume, pitch or intonation).
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Literacy: reading, writing & spelling – language in print (e.g. mispronouncing letters or words, difficulty distinguishing between similar sounds sounds, skipping over words, inability to decode sounds in words, guessing a word based on the first sound they see, writing unrelated/made up words to those they were thinking of.
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Phonological Awareness - early reading and writing skills (e.g. inability to understand that words are made up of sounds and difficulty manipulating these sounds within words. This includes breaking words into sounds, syllables, identifying and producing rhymes, identifying initial and final sounds and blending sounds together. These skills are necessary as they serve as foundational skills in the development of reading and writing).
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Social Skills (e.g. poor eye contact, difficulty taking turns, poor joint attention, initiating and maintaining conversations, making and maintaining friendships, pretend and imaginative play).
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Social Behaviour (e.g. poor play skills, difficulty taking turns, prefers to be alone, is aggressive or domineering, poor conversation skills, difficulty dealing with change, difficulty understanding emotions or communicating their feelings, difficulty with greetings and general social manners).
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Attention and Listening (e.g. poor concentration, daydreaming, fidgeting, being easily distracted).
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Behaviour (e.g. Difficult to manage, frequent tantrums, repetitive behaviours, increased sensitivity to or fascination with, smells, taste, noise, touch, visual input such as, lights, spinning toys).
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** For more information, please view our links to communication milestones for children aged 0 – 5 years, available from the Speech Pathology Australia website www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
What can I expect at my initial Speech Pathology appointment?
Tara Taylor Speech Pathology offers comprehensive initial consultations and assessments for families. Speech Pathology assessment appointments range from 45 minutes to 3 hours and the number of assessment sessions will depend on your child’s age, compliance, skills and area(s) of concern. The Speech Pathologist may also recommend conducting a school or preschool visit as part of the assessment process.
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For younger children, the assessment may be predominately play-based and involve observations of the child interacting with their parents and / or peers while also gaining detailed case history information regarding your concerns and your child’s development. For older children and adolescents, speech pathology assessments may involve examining a range of skills, such as speech, language, literacy and social communication skills.
After a period of intervention, the Speech Pathologist may recommend a re-assessment of your child’s skills and a report will be provided. This is to measure their progress and establish new therapy goals for future intervention.
Where will therapy take place? How long are appointments and for how often?
Therapy sessions are 30, 45 or 60 minutes in duration. The length of the therapy session recommended will be discussed with you regarding the results of your child’s assessment outcomes. Goals are set discussed with the family at the initial appointment and discussed with other relevant health/ education professionals.
Weekly therapy is usually recommended which can take place at the child’s home, school or preschool. Home practice activities are provided for families to maximise your child’s learning of the new skills.
What are the benefits of mobile speech therapy?
Clients are often more comfortable in their home environment. As a result, therapists travelling to clients homes, often build rapport and form positive relationships with children and their parents quicker.
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The Speech Pathologist can observe the child’s communication skills and interactions with others within their natural environment and plan therapy accordingly. Children often present with a range of communication skills or difficulties as a result of their communication difficulties, such as social, emotional, physical and academic development. The Speech Pathologist will also refer the child to other appropriate services, as necessary.
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There is no travel time for families. This can be extremely convenient for busy families.
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Research suggests that therapy in the home, school or preschool environment results in an improved generalisation of communication goals. The Speech Pathologist can teach and demonstrate to the child how to use their new communication skills in their natural environment as opposed to in a clinic environment.
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Parents and caregivers can see how to best work with their child in the home environment. The Speech Pathologist will show you how to utilise therapy techniques and goals into your everyday life, in your home, preschool or school environment.
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The Speech Pathologist can work closely with other professionals, such as teachers to ensure that goal setting is achieved in collaboration with all professionals working with the child. They will also be able to suggest changes within the classroom setting that will benefit the child’s communication skills.
How can parents help?
The Speech Pathologist will discuss ways that you can assist your child’s communication development in their everyday environment. This may be through specific homework tasks or through less structured tasks that can be implemented for busy families. Homework (structured and unstructured) tasks will be provided at the end of each session so your child can work on their therapy goals between sessions.
This is a fundamental part of the therapy process, as it helps children strengthen and transfer their newly learnt skills to their everyday environment. Parental feedback and discussion are also a vital aspect towards a child’s progress in therapy, therefore, 5 minutes of the allocated appointment time will be dedicated towards providing feedback and allowing for discussion with parents.
How much will the assessment & therapy sessions cost?
This will depend on your child's age and individual needs. Please contact us for our fee schedule with detailed pricing information.
What rebates are available for Speech Pathology?
A referral is not essential to see a Speech Pathologist. You also do not require a referral to obtain a rebate from your private health fund. However, to obtain the Medicare Rebate, you will initially require a referral from your GP. Please see below for more information regarding rebates.
Medicare
If your General Practitioner (GP) finds that your child is eligible, they may provide a Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Plan for your child’s treatment, which is registered with Medicare. This will enable you to claim a rebate of $54.60, for 5 visits per year. If you receive a CDM plan from your GP, please provide a copy of the plan to the Speech Pathologist so that details can be added to the invoice and your rebate can be obtained. The speech pathologist will then send a report to the referring GP after your child’s first and fifth intervention sessions.
Private Health Funds
Most Private Health Funds provide a rebate for Speech Pathology services. Please contact your health fund to determine the amount that you are eligible to claim as this depends upon your private health find provider and your level of cover.
Once the invoice has been settled following the speech pathology appointment, clients can then take their invoice and receipt to Medicare or their private health insurance company, to obtain the rebate.