Insurance Options

At the core of our mission is the desire to work with families to access all the needed services for their child. At Associated Speech Pathologists Taryn, our office manager is highly skilled at navigating the insurance maze for Speech and Occupational therapy services.

Prior to any family beginning therapy at our San Marcos office, Taryn will contact your insurance company to find out all the coverage and financial information. We provide you with all the information, so you understand your health plan.

We are in-network for most PPO insurance plans for Speech and Occupational therapy including Anthem, Blue Shield of California, Blue Card (out of state Blue Shield plans), Aetna, Cigna, United HealthCare, Healthnet, TriCare Federal Services, Optium, UMR, and Kaiser Permanente and others.

We are San Diego Regional Center Speech and Occupational vendors for children birth through three, providing early intervention services.

While most insurance companies do have coverage for Speech and Occupational therapy services, some do not. We also accept private pay and are able to provide statements to families for reimbursement from their Health Saving Plans.

Therapy Services

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists work with children to assist in learning and improving upon the foundational skills needed to maximize their independence in their daily activities. A child’s “occupation” is to build upon these skills to achieve success in play, self-care, academics, community integration and safety.

Occupational therapists evaluate children and formulate individualized treatment plans to target the needed skills. The following are areas that Occupational therapists provide intervention in:

• Fine motor coordination and visual motor skills
• Self-care including feeding, grooming and dressing
• Play and Social skills
• Self-regulation skills
• Sensory processing
• Handwriting
• Body Awareness, strength and endurance
• Motor planning
• Increasing hand strength and coordination in order to cut, color, button and write
• Increasing attention and completion of tasks (Executive Functioning)

Associated Speech Pathologists provides developmental occupational therapy services for children birth through adolescence in a family focused and friendly environment. We work with a variety of diagnoses including Autism, Developmental Delays, Cerebral Palsy, ADHD, attention issues, Downs Syndrome, Learning Disabilities, Prematurity and other Neurological issues. Other areas that are addressed are self-regulation , sensory processing and sensitivities, picky eaters, difficulty chewing ,and sensitivities to food textures. Our therapists provide creative and fun activities to engage each child in achieving their goals, as well as provide family support and communication for carryover in all environments.

The following “red flags” may indicate your child is at risk and may benefit from an Occupational Therapy evaluation. If you have any concerns in these areas or are not sure and would like to know more, please contact us.

  • Delayed or skipped developmental milestones such as rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, running, jumping or climbing stairs. Decreased balance – trips easily or can’t stand on one foot or has trouble catching or kicking a ball.
  • Trouble with activities requiring muscles in the hands such as playing with toys with small pieces, poor handwriting, difficulty self-feeding with utensils.
  • Feeding problems including difficulty chewing or swallowing, picky or messy eaters, taking an excessive time to finish a meal.
  • Sensory differences including responding too much or too little to sounds, touching, being touched, clothing, food textures, movement
  • Difficulty paying attention in school or to a conversation, may have trouble sitting still or has trouble remembering things
  • May seem clumsy, run into thing often or break things, they may appear disheveled with shoes untied, clothing not adjusted properly, unaware of food on face.
  • Difficulty with self-care including dressing, feeding, grooming and hygiene
  • Difficulty copying information from the board at school, solve to find hidden objects in a pictures or words in a word search
  • Trouble with puzzles or copying shapes designs

Speech & Language Therapy

We provide family centered, developmental pediatric speech-language therapy services for children ages birth through adolescence, with a variety of diagnoses including Developmental Disorders, Genetic Disorders, and Neurological Disorders such as, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, Hearing Impairment and Cerebral Palsy.

Many children have no medical diagnosis, and the primary concern is their lack of speech or difficulty with being understood by others. Other children are not using their language as expected when compared to other children their age.

Communication is a foundational skill needed for success in social relationships, academics and vocational goals. Early intervention is critical when young children are not meeting their developmental milestones. Speech Pathologists identify and provide therapy for children who are not talking at expected ages or are not understood by family and friends. Many children who are unable to communicate become frustrated and this can lead to behavioral issues which may impact their ability to engage with their family. Some children demonstrate challenges interacting with their peers and benefit from social language intervention.

The Speech Pathologists at Associated Speech Pathologists are highly skilled at conducting comprehensive speech and language evaluations utilizing a variety of the most current standardized and non-standardized tools. We also utilized play-based observations, parent interview as part of the assessment process.

Following the assessment, if therapy is indicated, a treatment plan is developed. This includes the area(s) of need, goals to target, as well as the recommended frequency for therapy. Typically, speech therapy sessions range from 30 minute to one hour.

Our pediatric therapists specialize in the following areas:

• Speech and Language Delays
• Articulation and Phonological Disorders
• Expressive and/or Receptive Language Delays/Disorders
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Social Communication /Skills
• Pragmatic Language Difficulties

• Motor Speech Disorders including Childhood Apraxia of Speech and Dysarthria
• Auditory Processing Disorders
• Cognitive Communication Disorders
• Fluency Disorders
• Voice Disorders
• Hearing Impairment
• Cleft Palate

Reasons for referral:

 If by age 18 months, the child is:

  • Not using words to communicate
  • Not imitating words
  • Unable to recognize names of familiar objects, family and pets

If by age of two, the child is:

  • Not speaking in 2 word sentences
  • Unable to follow two-part commands
  • Unintelligible to his/her family

If by age three, the child is:

  • Unable to answer or ask “what” and “who” questions
  • Not consistently using 3 to 4 word sentences
  • Unintelligible to strangers

If at any age, the child:

  • Uses immature grammar and sentence structure
  • Has slurred or difficult to understand speech
  • Speaks with a hoarse or unclear voice
  • Shows signs of stuttering
  • Has problems in school with reading, spelling or writing
  • Is embarrassed about talking or withdraws from speaking


These behaviors might signal a social language challenge:

  • Lack of eye contact during conversations.
  • Inappropriate facial expressions for the situation.
  • Unable to interpret body language.
  • Does not recognize appropriate physical space between self and another person.
  • Does not understand or use metaphors or sarcasm.
  • Cannot take another person’s perspective.
  • Cannot let go of an argument.
  • Does not speak with appropriate tone and volume.
  • Jumps from subject to subject when in a conversation.
  • Unable to relay information in a organized and concise manner.
  • Speaks in long monologues.
  • Interrupts others.
  • Limited understanding and use of multiple meanings, inference, idioms and slang.
  • Difficulty initiating conversations.
  • Misinterprets other’s intended message.
  • Difficulty participating in peer groups.
  • Unaware of social rules.

Teletherapy

Since March 2020, when COVID-19 forced all of us to remain home to stay safe, our therapists have been providing our Speech and Occupational therapy via videoconferencing. Due to the nationwide need for such services, insurance companies have expanded their coverage for Speech and Occupational therapy services provided through this platform.

Many families are curious as to what we do and how we provide our services virtually. Simply put we use the video platform to provide many of the same kinds of activities we introduce during our in-person sessions. As with our in-person sessions, parent involvement is essential to the therapy process. With our youngest clients, we provide parent coaching, in addition to interacting with the children. We also provide follow-up activities/homework as we do in our in-person sessions.

As our communities are opening up again, many families are opting to continue their Speech and Occupational therapy services virtually. We are happy to discuss this therapy option with you and discuss your specific needs.

Speech and Language Screenings

 

Are you wondering if your child is on track with their speech and language development?

Have family members, friends or your Physician voiced a concern about your child?

As part of our community outreach, we are happy to offer Speech and Language Screenings at no charge. During a 30-minute consultation with you and your child, we will use screening tools to determine whether your child would benefit from an in-depth evaluation. In addition we will provide you with information about therapy at our clinic as well as the services that are provided at your school district.

WONDERING IF YOUR CHILD’S FINE MOTOR OR FEEDING SKILLS ARE ON TRACK…

Although children develop their fine motor, feeding and self-help skills at different rates, we want to help you feel confident they are on track.