Speech Therapy

I don't have a recommendation for you but just wanted to let you know that the time frames you are talking about are completely normal. "One hour" does not mean one hour in real time. Speech therapy is typically 45-50 minutes long and the therapist uses the remaining time to write a note. Especially with kids, 30-45 sessions are very typical. I would be more concerned about how well the actual therapy is going than the amount of time spent. Is he/she giving you home exercises? That's important to, depending on the problem.

I take my son to Children's Therapy and Rehabilitation in Lake Zurich on Rand Road. I am very happy with the progress he has made and with the therapist there. Good Luck!

C.

Have you looked into the school district? We are in Palatine and my son will be starting speech therapy through them. It's suppose to be excellent. We were going through the state prior to him turning 3. So I'm not sure what district you are in but you can look into that as they usually take them at 3 years old.

I'm working with a little boy with Down Syndrome right now (I'm a nanny) who has 6 therapists on a regular basis. I've learned that if you are at all unhappy with the therapy your child is recieving, it is your responsibility to speak up and request (or search out) a new therapist. Don't accept anything substandard just because it's all the therapist can offer. The focus should not be the therapists schedule, it should be your son's therapy.

I really like Arlington Peds in A.H. ###-###-#### I don't know where you live, but people come frome all over! Check out the state program. For under three it's called Early Intervention-I don't know what it's called for older kids, but Arl. Peds. will tell you!

Good luck!

Hi D.:

I'm a speech pathologist, however, I only see kids up to 3 years. If you let me know where you live, I can recommend some places to go. North Shore Pediatric therapy is one place. They have therapists in Chicago, Glenview and Highland Park.

J. R.

I work in early childhood special ed, and many of my students have receive speech/language therapy at Arlington Pediatrics. I've heard nothing but great things about that practice.

Hi D.,
We've been really happy with the Speech-Language-Hearing clinic at Elmhurst College. Elmhurst is a little far for us but it's been worth the drive so far. They use speech therapy students for the therapy but is monitored by a professional therapist and the students have been excellent. The cost is $480 per semester, which is 12 weeks, twice a week for 30 minutes each. (So it's only about $20 per half-hour session.) Our insurance covered most of it - for a while anyway! Good luck to you!
I.

My son also receives therapy at Arlington Pediatric Therapies. It's just off of 53 between Rand and Dundee Roads, and they have been terrific. My son also just turned 3 and will start receiving services from the school district after Labor Day as well. Many of the parents I have met through this whole process have their children doing public and private therapy, especially if insurance pays for it.
As for school districts, you may really need to be a pest. I am a teacher in one district, but I live in a very small district, and calling the central administration building speical ed person really turned me off. They gave me no helpful info, and there was no publicly accessible info about the services and programs, etc. until I found the district special ed parent group. They really came through for me, and gave me tips and contacts to get my son evaluated and qualified. I've sat through many IEP meetings for students in multiple districts, and you need to know that YOU need to be the expert and the driving force for your son when it comes to securing public school services for him. Good luck.

Hi D.,
My son is also 3 years old and has issues with physical weakness in one of his legs. We have been going to Arlington Pediatric Therapy in Arlington Heights for 2 years now and everyone there has been wonderful. Except getting weekend and evening appointments are very difficult.
If this is too far to travel you might want to try your local school. Ours has a 2 1/2 hour preschool program that offers speach therapy free if the child qualifies.

I am having the worst time getting my sons insurance to help pay for insurance you are very lucky! Where are you looking I know of a few places but I dont know what area your in?

I am an SLP. I work privately and would be happy to see him in your home(but do not accept insurance). I also work part time at Northwest Pediatric Therapy in Algonquin, and they accept various insurance plans--not sure about yours. I'm not sure how close that is to you. Where do you live?

Also, your son is eligible to receive free speech services from the speech pathologist in his school district. Call your administrative office and ask to talk to the speech department chair or special ed director. You would be able to take him to the school probably one or two half hour sessions a week. SLPs in a school are JUST as qualified as those in a clinic. They all have the same exact training. I have worked in both. If you have further questions, please email me. ____@____.com

We have been going to Arlington Pediatrics in Arlington Heights for about seven months. We love it, he has speech twice a week and OT once a week. We have never had a session cut short, and they are flexible. There may be a waiting list, but they get new patients in pretty fast. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me back. I would love to help. It is important that you are happy with your therapy.
Karen