Conquer the High Cost of Speech Therapy

Financial Resources
Healthcare Cartoon

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Families with a speech disordered child often face a financial burden due to the high cost of speech therapy and other needed treatments. In fact, a survey published in Public Health Reports found that 40% of American families with children with special needs report feeling the strain of the financial toll that those healthcare needs cause. The survey further reported that children with disabilities are more likely to grow up in single-parent households, and that those parents often hold lower-paying jobs.

As you can undoubtedly attest to, the mere cost of speech therapy isn’t the only factor in the equation. You’ve probably had to take time off of work numerous times to take your child to speech therapy sessions and other treatment sessions. And you probably spend much of the rest of your time researching new at-home speech therapy techniques and working on articulation practice with your child. In fact, you probably spend your nights in realistic, lucid dreams rehearsing speech therapy techniques. But that’s vastly preferable to dreaming about speech therapy bills and denied insurance forms. And after developing a financial plan of attack with our tips, you may be able to reduce the nightmarishly high cost of speech therapy.

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Speech Delays in Children: Could it Be Neurofibromatosis?

Speech Disorders
Hypochondriac Cartoon

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If you’ve spent any amount of time researching disorders and speech delays in children, you probably already know how easy it is to acquire a slight case of hypochondria. And if you’re a parent, you may know just how easy it is to become a hypochondriac by proxy. You want the best for your child, so you do some in-depth investigating on WebMD or the Mayo Clinic’s website into every sniffle and sneeze. But sometimes a seemingly innocuous issue like a communication problem really can be a sign of a more serious medical condition. Speech delays in children should be evaluated by a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP). If your child has speech and language problems, and also has other symptoms like multiple birthmarks and skeletal abnormalities, he may also need to be evaluated for neurofibromatosis.

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Does Your Child Need Voice Therapy for Spasmodic Dysphonia?

Speech Disorders
Unusual Noises from Car Cartoon

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Unless you don’t drive, unusual noises from your car are probably high up on your list of “Things You Don’t Want to Deal With.” Especially when they are the types of noises that only occur when you’re the one driving it and never when your mechanic checks it out. Just because a problem is intermittent doesn’t mean that you’re imagining it, and the same holds true for voice disorders like spasmodic dysphonia. If your child has spasmodic dysphonia, you may only notice irregular vocalizations occasionally. It’s always best to have a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) evaluate your child if you think there might be a problem. Voice therapy and other treatment methods can help your child if he has spasmodic dysphonia.

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Reading with Children: Books & Techniques

Language Development
Reading with Kids Cartoon

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Laura Bush said it best when she noted that, “Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.” We all know that reading is essential for education, but do you know why? Some of the many benefits of reading with children include speech and language development and improving listening skills. Exposure to various experiences, emotional development, and improved cognitive function are some of the other perks. Your child will learn new sounds and the rules of language just by listening to you read. And besides, reading with children is fun! It’s an opportunity to share a special time with your child and to watch the joy on his face as he hears his favorite story.

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Speech Therapy for Paradoxical Vocal Fold Movement (PVFM)

Speech Disorders
Baby with Cellphone Cartoon

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Communication is so vital for navigating the world around us. These days, pretty much everybody has their own cellphone (or two…) and you can’t walk down the street without bumping into somebody texting or yammering away into their Bluetooth headset. But what if you found yourself suddenly unable to speak? Even worse, what if you could barely breathe? If you had paradoxical vocal fold movement (PVFM), this scenario would be commonplace for you. Fortunately, speech therapy can help.

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