Frequently Asked Questions
Speech by the Beach is now offering teletherapy services for speech, language, and occupational therapy! Take advantage of this time at home and set up teletherapy appointments from the comfort of your home!
Does Speech by the Beach accept insurance?
Yes, our therapists are credentialed and in-network with BCBS, Tricare, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare. For those insurances we are not in-network with, services can be billed out-of-network. For services billed out-of-network, payment is due at the time of the visit.
Coverage, copay/co-insurance, and visit limit vary by insurance plan.
How do I know if my child needs services?
If you, your child’s pediatrician, or another member of your child’s care (i.e., teacher, nanny, etc.) question if your child needs speech, language therapy, or occupational therapy, it is always best to have an evaluation to determine if intervention is warranted. Our clinicians are not of the “wait and see” mindset as research supports how imperative early intervention is to a child’s life and future success.
What is the difference between a Speech Therapist and a Speech-Language Pathologist?
Nothing, we are one in the same. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) prefers the title speech-language pathologist to explain (credit) our profession treats language in addition to speech.
My child gets services in school, can we do private services too?
If eligible based on clinical evaluation, yes, your child can receive private speech, language, or occupational therapy services at Speech by the Beach, in addition to school services. It is highly recommended you include the staff at your child’s school on our disclosure form. By signing this form, you grant your therapist at Speech by the Beach permission to talk to the professionals involved in your child’s care at school. It is to your child’s benefit to have professionals collaborate in treatment planning.
My child gets Early Intervention (EI), can we do private services too?
If eligible based on clinical evaluation, yes, your child can receive private speech, language, or occupational therapy services at Speech by the Beach, in addition to EI.
What is the difference between speech and language?
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association:
Speech is how we say sounds and words. Speech includes:
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Articulation - How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. For example, we need to be able to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit.”
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Voice - How we use our vocal folds and breath to make sounds. Our voice can be loud or soft or high- or low-pitched. We can hurt our voice by talking too much, yelling, or coughing a lot.
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Fluency - This is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat sounds or pause while talking. People who do this a lot may stutter.
Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want. Language includes:
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What words mean. Some words have more than one meaning. For example, “star” can be a bright object in the sky or someone famous.
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How to make new words. For example, we can say “friend,” “friendly,” or “unfriendly” and mean something different.
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How to put words together. For example, in English, we say, “Peg walked to the new store” instead of “Peg walk store new.”
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What we should say at different times. For example, we might be polite and say, “Would you mind moving your foot?” But, if the person does not move, we may say, “Get off my foot!”
https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/language_speech/