What Does A Speech Session Look Like?
Great questions! Here is a video to answer this question in brief. Scroll down for more information. When this video was published, RST offered mainly teletherapy, we now offer both in-person and remote options. The video and this blog post apply to both.
TLDR/Short Summary:
You’ll start with an initial consultation via phone.
You’ll then complete a comprehensive evaluation, or an informal evaluation and skills assessment depending on the provider and setting.
Typical session format: Check In, Review, Main Activity and Goals Practice, Wrap Up and Homework
A quick plug: Check out our other resources while you’re here - we have a blog full of reading lists, fun activities for sound practice, and even a few recipes. :)
Now, let’s dive in.
Initial Consultation and Evaluation
You’ll start with a free phone consultation to see whether speech therapy and the specific speech therapist or private practice you are talking to is the right fit for you and your family.
Then, you’ll move on to a comprehensive evaluation addressing the areas of concern, or an initial visit that will include an informal evaluation and skills assessment. How this looks will depend on your child’s age and potential areas of concern (e.g., speech sound assessment, stuttering evaluation, receptive and expressive language evaluation, parent questionnaire and early language skills evaluation). At Reach Speech Therapy, we accept outside evaluation reports and will complete an intake form and interview, and a skills assessment for our therapy and tutoring clients.
Before that visit you’ll need to fill out the required forms for that private practice or your specific setting, often things such as an intake form and family history, privacy policy, clinic policies, etc.
A Typical Session
Here is a look at how I, Hailey at Reach Speech Therapy, typically break down my sessions. Many of my fellow speech-language pathologists approach sessions similarly. However, speech therapy is not a one-size-fits-all process and speech therapy sessions will vary based on client, goals and therapists’ professional backgrounds, treatment recommendations and preferences.
Session Breakdown:
Check In: We see how things have been going at home and if you have any questions. This takes just a few minutes.
Review: We review what we worked on last time, and talk about the specific skill or goal.
Main Activity and Goals Practice: We introduce new concepts, or practice with our established concepts. We focus on your child’s specific goals, and often embed this practice in fun activities and games. We are focused on shaping sounds, building skills and independence, practicing and getting as many effective and accurate repetitions as we can in a given session.
Wrap Up: We review what we worked on, and often end with a fun activity or game. We update you on what we worked on, or answer any questions you have if you (the parent) stayed in the session. Parents can choose if they would like to stay in the room, or sit/walk around and come back at the end.
Homework: We give you something to work on at home for the week and show you how to help with that specific skill at home.
Our sessions are typically 30-minutes long, and we prefer parents to be present and active participants in the therapy process. Sessions at Reach Speech Therapy also include a weekly check in, not on your therapy day, via text or email to see how practice at home has been going. We also encourage you to utilize our blog and resources for additional at home practice, if you so desire.
Homework
I am adding a special note here on homework. In private practice settings, and I would argue most settings, your speech therapist should be providing you with updates as your child progresses in therapy. They should also be letting you know what sort of practice would be appropriate at home and how you can encourage your child’s communication development and progress toward their goals. This at-home practice is essential. You see and interact with your child more than we ever could, and what you do at home does make a difference. At your therapists discretion, begin practicing specific sounds and words at home.
Here are a few of our universal strategies and practice ideas for parents:
Read with your kids! Even if they are old enough to read by themselves. Throw on an audiobook in the car, carve out a family read aloud time, read picture books and chapter books with young AND older kids. Let them participate in picking the books, and don’t make it homework or a chore, try to make it a fun family time. Model reading at home. If you expect them to read but you don’t read, the expectation might not have the same impact. Check out this blog post for more.
Don’t know what to read? Explore some of our book lists.
Play with your kids. We are all about enrichment activities and adventures here. You’ll find recipes, travel ideas, at-home adventures, writing prompts, nature walks, and more. Enjoy it, and choose things that are fun for you and your kids.
Sing, talk, tell stories, remember and recall family events, act things out. Likely, what you are already doing to interact with your kids and support their general development is helping more than you know, keep it up. :)