How long do sessions last?
- Treatment sessions are typically 30-45 minutes in length and include intervention for goals that are set in the plan of care, parent education, and problem solving for any issues with implementing strategies taught in session at home.
- Evaluation times varies depending on the complexity of the case and can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours with most being in the 1 to 1.5 hour range.
Do you take my insurance?
- Room to Talk Speech Therapy is no longer accepting insurance and is private-pay only.
How often will my child be seen?
- Treatment is typically completed once per week or twice per week. This will be determined when formulating the plan of care based on what is found in the evaluation and in collaboration with you.
What is a plan of care?
- A plan of care is made at the end of an evaluation. It includes the recommended frequency and duration of therapy (usually once per week or twice per week for 6 months) and the long and short term goals that will help your child reach a level of functioning that is needed for them to be able to have their wants and needs met, be safe, and communicate all of their beautiful thoughts at an age-appropriate level. These goals are created with your input to ensure what is focused on in therapy is what is needed and not assumed to be needed.
I want to learn more about neurodiversity affirming care. Where can I find out more?
- Therapist Neurodiversity Collective – while made for professionals, this site still contains excellent overviews of what neurodiversity affirming practices look like
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network – a national grassroots disability rights organization for the autistic community
Why are you against ABA/behavioral intervention methods?
- There are a multitude of reasons, but I will just name a few of what I feel are the most important reasons:
- ABA is linked to post-traumatic stress disorder for those who undergo it Kupferstein, H. (2018).
- Therapy should never focus on masking behaviors, and ABA often does such as with eye contact goals, adopting affects that are unnatural for the person, etc. Masking, while useful in some situations, should not be expected. It is linked with increased suicide risk later in life Cassidy, S., Bradley, L., Shaw, R. et al. (2018).
- ABA often requires a child attend therapy for extreme hours, sometimes 20-40 hours per week. Even if play is incorporated into therapy, therapeutic play is not the same as free-play that allows for decompression of stress, and therapy for that long is stressful. Looking as though one is enjoying themselves does not always mean that they are.
- ABA focuses on compliance. Therapy should be about developing a child’s ability to do things on their own, not conform to an adult’s expectations. Forcing them to comply to what is expected of them teaches them that they must do what they are told; they cannot say no. For many, this lesson becomes internalized and leads to dangerous situations later in life when faced with someone saying they must do X, Y, or Z?
- ABA often does not presume competence and will require a child have X skill before being allowed access to try Y tool which wastes precious time and resources and blocks people from possible solutions that could be the most functional for them. An example would be requiring mastery of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) before being allowed to try a high-tech alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) device.
- And lastly, ABA is no more effective than other interventions which do not carry the same amount of risk to long-term mental health, and keep in mind that all therapies come with risk!
Room to Talk Speech Therapy 