Frequently Asked
How Can We Help?
Welcome to the Stuttering and Speech Therapy of Arizona FAQ section! Here, we strive to address your most common and pressing questions so you can gain valuable insights and have clear expectations about our services, resources, and the support we offer to individuals and their families.
If you have additional questions, please reach out using one of the methods on our contact page.
Children often go through a period of stuttering (whole word and syllable repetitions, revisions in speech, and fillers such as “um or uh”) when they are young, especially during a period of rapid language development. If you observe tension during speech in the form of prolongations (prolonging a word “cccccat”) or blocks (stopping the airflow during speech so no sound comes out) this is a sign of stuttering. In addition, accessory behaviors (eye blinks, fist-clenching, etc.), child’s awareness of disfluencies, frustration during speech, or pitch rise in voice all indicate stuttering. When in doubt, contact a speech-language pathologist to discuss your concerns. It is best not to “wait and see” if they grow out of it.
Stuttering is a communication disorder characterized by disfluencies or disruptions in speech. These disruptions can be characterized by repetitions of sounds or words, blocks (feeling stuck), prolongations of sounds, feeling of tension or tightness, and difficulty with airflow. Many people also experience accessory characteristics such as eye closure, body movement, and adding excessive filler words (e.g. “um, like”). Stuttering can negatively impact a person’s life causing anxiety, avoidance of situations or words, frustration, and decreased self-confidence.
We are considered an out of network provider with all insurance companies. Please contact your insurance provider to determine what your cost of speech therapy will be and if it is a covered service. Historically, our clients have received some reimbursement from their insurance companies if they had out of network coverage for speech therapy. Our services are generally able to be applied to your deductible. We are happy to provide you with a detailed statement in order for you to file for possible reimbursement with your insurance carrier. HSA credit cards and similar are accepted at SSTA.
Payment is accepted by cash, check, or charge due at the time of your service. We accept HSA/FSA cards and ESA (Class Wallet) accounts.
- Does my plan have speech therapy benefits? If so, what type of speech therapy diagnoses do they cover (e.g. developmental delays or acute illness or injury)?
- How many therapy sessions does my plan cover?
- How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
- Is approval required from my primary care physician?
Contact us by calling (480) 719-6535 or e-mail us to discuss your therapy needs. Many clients will require an initial evaluation before beginning therapy.
Speech and language therapy sessions are provided at our clinic location in Mesa, Arizona. Online/teletherapy speech therapy is also available for those that are not able to get to the clinic. We do not offer in-home services at this time.
An evaluation seeks to understand your individual needs and will vary from person to person. Evaluations are generally scheduled for 1-1.5 hours. We ask that you arrive 10-15 minutes prior to your scheduled evaluation time to complete initial paperwork and get familiar with the office. During the evaluation the speech-language pathologist will interview the client and/or caregivers, conduct formal assessments, and do informal observations during play, reading, and spontaneous conversation. Feel free to ask questions during the evaluation. Following the evaluation a summary of the findings and recommendations for ongoing therapy will be discussed with you. We are able to conduct evaluations via teletherapy.
Therapy is typically scheduled once or twice a week for either 30 or 50 minute sessions. Therapy frequency may decrease as goals are met and the need for weekly therapy is no longer needed. For example, therapy may decrease to monthly check-ins or a “call us when you need us” frequency. We are flexible at SSTA and will try to accommodate different scheduling needs and individual treatment plans.
We help children through adults of all ages.
It is important for families to be involved in the therapy process and parents are encouraged to be present for sessions. However, every child is different and some do better without parents in the room. This will be discussed with the therapist and family during the evaluation or within the first few therapy sessions.
We ask that you are respectful of your therapist and contact them with at least a 24-hour notice of cancellation. A cancellation with less than 24 hours notice will be charged a cancellation fee and a no show with no notice of cancellation will be charged the full therapy session rate.
A formal evaluation may be waived if you or your child has already completed a speech therapy evaluation for the same diagnosis in the past 6 months. The previous report will be required. An SLP on our team will complete a less formal evaluation that will not consist of another written report. If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.