What is the difference between Private Therapy vs School Speech therapy

Private and school speech therapists are licensed professionals. They receive the same education, training, and certification. 

• In schools, criteria for services are the presence of an educational and/or social impact on the child. For example, if a child is not producing consonant r, is below the age of 8, and doing well academically and socially, they would not be considered for testing.
• Schools are mandated by specific qualifying criteria, the district’s eligibility guidelines, and state and federal laws. A child who receives a score below 1.5-2 standard deviations on a given assessment would qualify for services (qualifying criteria can differ between school districts). Some districts allow clinical judgment to qualify a child for services if they don’t meet qualifying criteria.  Thus service time and frequency are determined by a calculating tool.
• Services are provided during school hours and the school year.
• Families do not pay for school speech therapy services.
• Families may not have the opportunity to get feedback or homework/recommendations, because services are provided in school.
• In contrast, private-based services are not mandated by district standards and state and federal laws to qualify a child for speech therapy services.
• For example, the child who is not producing consonant r by 8 would receive private speech therapy based on developmental standards (most children acquire all speech sounds by 5 years of age) or intelligibility (is the child understood by others) measures.
• If a child scored above 1.5 standard deviations on a test, a private speech therapist would be able to accept a child for services.
• Service time and frequency are determined by the clinician, taking into account the results of testing and the child’s needs. Services are provided during the day, after school, and on weekends; year-round.
• Private speech therapy services are covered by insurance (policies may differ) or the families pay out of pocket.
• Families attend therapy sessions in a private setting and/or are given feedback and homework/recommendations to support progress.
• Some children receive private speech therapy and in school. This is not uncommon and helpful for many children. Private and school speech therapists will often communicate about a child’s goals to assist with progress.

If you would like your child to receive private speech therapy, contact your pediatrician for a referral and/or the clinic or speech therapist directly.  Even though some insurances do not require a referral for an evaluation therapy our policy prefers to have a referral on file from your pedestrian.  

If you have any questions or would like a free speech therapy screening, please contact via email.