Frequently Asked Questions

First, check out an article on our blog called Does My Child Need Speech Therapy? There, you will have access to a list of reliable warning signs determined by your child’s age.  We’ve also made communication screeners available, which parents of younger children can use to determine if further evaluation is warranted.

• Ages & Stages Questionnaire (3rd party)
• Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales 

Also, be sure to review developmental norms to garner a complete picture of the expressive and receptive language skills your child should demonstrate.

There is no substitute for a formal speech and/or language evaluation performed by a certified Speech-Language Pathologist. A full evaluation is always the best choice for the most accurate depiction of skills.

We are in-network with:

• Aetna
• AmBetter
• BCBS
• Coventry
• Friday Health
• Medicaid (evaluation only)
• Amerigroup (evaluation only)
• Peach State (evaluation only)
• CareSource (evaluation only)
• Tricare (preferred provider)

For insurances where evaluation only is provided, we offer a complimentary consultation to help you access free therapy services available to your child within your unique community. 

We accept all other insurances when the plan includes out-of-network benefits. Once we receive your intake form and an appointment is scheduled, we will contact your commercial/private insurance carrier and provide you with a detailed report of your insurance coverage, as it specifically relates to speech therapy. This report will outline what your insurance will cover and what you will be expected to pay based on your policy and is sent after your appointment is scheduled.

We encourage you to be familiar with your plan and coverage. Read 10 Questions to Ask When Contacting Insurance About Speech Therapy Coverage.

A prompt-pay discount is offered when insurance does not provide coverage for therapy or if there is a deductible higher than $5000.

Coverage depends on your chosen insurance plan. No two plans are the same, even when issued by the same insurance company. Many commercial/ private insurance carriers exclude developmental diagnoses (i.e. articulation disorder, developmental delay, etc). Plans often cover services due to an accident or injury (i.e. stroke, traumatic brain injury, etc.).

When insurance does not cover services needed, we can offer a prompt pay discounted rate for evaluation and/or therapy.

Medicaid plans cover evaluation and treatment based on medical necessity.

To ensure we can use our time efficiently, we require the following information prior to evaluation:

• Prescription from your primary care physician for evaluation and treatment. Fax to 888.975.7556
• Submit Intake form 
• Upload a copy of your insurance card to the intake form.
• Upload previous evaluations (speech-language, audiological, psychological, etc.), if applicable
• Responsible party’s identification card
• An appointment deposit of $35 is collected

Once all these items are received, we will contact you to schedule your initial visit within 48 hours.

If you fail to complete your file, per HIPAA, your information will be deleted from the system after 14 days if your initial visit has not been scheduled. To continue the process, you will need to submit all information again via the paper version of the intake, which must be snail mailed to the office. 

To provide the quality of service synonymous with Atlanta Speech Therapy, there is a great deal of work that occurs behind the scenes and leads up to the day of your first visit. We provide families with a wealth of information here on our website and over the phone via the free phone consultation. You can use this information to pursue services with us or with another provider.

If you choose us as your provider, we want to ensure your initial visit runs smoothly from the time you step foot in our doors until your insurance claim is processed. The non-refundable deposit is our effort to ensure that our clients are aware of and considerate of the time we spend in preparing for their appointment.

Families can choose where and who will provide the services they may need. If you decide not to pursue therapeutic intervention with Atlanta Speech Therapy, you should be aware that another facility may require its own evaluation, though our evaluation is valid and can be used by another clinician for at least 6 months.

There is currently no wait for evaluations, though there is a wait for therapy.

Unfortunately, the length of time families remain on the waiting list depends on current clients and the waiting client’s flexibility. The more flexible your schedule, the easier scheduling will be once an appointment becomes available. Families have been on our waiting list as short as 1 month and others much longer.

We also direct families on accessing public resources based on their child’s present levels. 

The length of time needed to achieve speech and language goals depends on many factors, including the severity of the disorder, concomitant diagnoses, intensity of intervention, and parent involvement. Therapy requires weekly appointments (usually twice per week) for three to six months at a time. At the end of that period, depending on your insurance, a re-evaluation may be required to determine progress and justify the continuation of therapy.

Depending on the insurance carrier, there may be some limitations to receiving private therapy and services in school.

If your child receives services at school and has Medicaid, the school may request to bill your child’s insurance, and you can refuse. Refusing will not affect the services your child receives at school. If you give your child’s school permission to bill your child’s Medicaid insurance, it will affect private services. In those cases, the private therapist will no longer be allowed to bill your child’s Medicaid. You will have the option to continue receiving services by paying privately.

Additionally, private services differ from the school setting. Read School Therapy vs Private Therapy.

We provide services in our Roswell office and online for client’s physically located in GA at the time of appointment.

Due to the nature of how appointments are scheduled, we are unable to travel to clients at this time.

Take a peek inside our therapy rooms by visiting us on Instagram.