Speech therapy?

Doubletrouble12 · June 2014

My twins are almost 21 months and only clearly say about 6-7 words. They understand

much more than that. We had them evaluated through the state funded Birth-3 program but they

did not qualify. I feel like they would benefit from speech therapy but am not sure what to do next.

At birth they both had an IVH which got better on it's own. I do recall the specialist saying developmental

delays could be caused from that, so that's always in the back of my mind.

Does anyone know if speech therapy is usually covered at all through insurance?

Should I start now with therapy or wait a few more months?

cmuslp10 · June 2014

Second twin question in a week! You are not alone! If you feel like the evaluation didn't meet your needs and didn't touch on all your concerns, you can get a medical speech/language evaluation. Most insurances cover a certain amount of visits/year but require a referral. Definitely talk to tour doc.
Also, another option is to look at SLP graduate programs at local universities. My grad school had an amazing clinic and the cost was on a sliding scale. $5/hr for therapy-can't beat that. A lot of them have summer programming as well.

cmuslp10 · June 2014

Also, feel free to shoot me a pm if you have more specific questions. I'm a speech pathologist and specialize in birth-five.

Holly_1007 · June 2014

We went through something similar with my older son recently. We had him evaluated by the public school system(he was too old for early intervention) he barely passed. We looked into private programs but couldn't afford it. We will have him re evaluated in another year. I'm not sure I would rush our S12 babies in for a second opinion just yet. Give it 4-6 months and then re evaluate? They are still changing, learning and growing so much every day.

Holly_1007 · June 2014

harti09 said:

Putting this out as a general PSA for others since OP and I have already spoken...

Going through developmental pediatrics for an evaluation is almost guaranteed to include months of waiting list time. So, waiting 4-6 months to pursue something can very easily turn into 8-9 months before any real action happens. Clinics are over crowded across the country.

I vote talk with a pediatrician for a referral and cancel down the line if progress is made before then.

We were referred in April. Kids don't have an appointment until August. Therapy won't likely start until September. Absolutely no real progress has been made from my original concerns. I'm very glad I pushed to look into things early.

wow, I guess I didn't think of that, good call @harti09‌ glad you pushed to get your kids looked at!

BeebopandBuddy · June 2014

harti09 said:

Putting this out as a general PSA for others since OP and I have already spoken...

Going through developmental pediatrics for an evaluation is almost guaranteed to include months of waiting list time. So, waiting 4-6 months to pursue something can very easily turn into 8-9 months before any real action happens. Clinics are over crowded across the country.

I vote talk with a pediatrician for a referral and cancel down the line if progress is made before then.

We were referred in April. Kids don't have an appointment until August. Therapy won't likely start until September. Absolutely no real progress has been made from my original concerns. I'm very glad I pushed to look into things early.

Wow, I'm shocked by this. In NJ they have 6 weeks to get your evaluation completed and then another 4 to begin your therapy if you qualify. They were supposed to do Maya's eval and I had to cancel because I was pregnant with Ethan and having complications. They were up my ass to reschedule so that they could make their deadline.

Speech therapy?

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