Many of our new/potential clients wonder what their first visit to Interact will look like. Unless your child has a recent evaluation for speech therapy or occupational therapy, your child’s therapist will need to complete assessments to evaluate their current developmental stage for the therapy that you are seeking.
Prior to your child’s first visit, our office will send you important documents to complete. Filling out and submitting these forms before the appointment reduces the amount of time you are in the office on the day of the evaluation. During the evaluation the therapist will ask the parent or caregiver questions to assist with obtaining a proper diagnosis. It is important that the person escorting the child to the appointment has a good understanding of the child’s medical history and current needs. The therapist will choose and perform a test that is appropriate for your child’s age and current developmental level. These tests take between 45-60 minutes depending on the child’s ability to cooperate with the examiner. Our therapists make these assessments as fun as possible so that the child is more willing to cooperate. You may ask “Why does my child need to complete an assessment?” The assessments allow the therapist to obtain scores to justify the child’s need for therapy to insurance companies. Another question you may ask is, “What if my child will not cooperate and complete the assessment?” In this case the therapist will utilize a play based observation approach. The therapist will observe the child during play activities and interactions with their caregiver to obtain a diagnosis. If the therapist is unable to complete the assessment in one session they will schedule a second session to finish the assessment. From this assessment, your therapist will determine if your child qualifies for therapy and how often they should come for therapy.
Speech therapy is primarily twice a week for 30 minutes and occupational therapy is primarily once a week for 60 minutes however speech can be one time a week and OT can be twice a week depending on the child’s need. Speech therapy visits are never more than 30 minutes. It typically takes 1-2 weeks to complete the report.
If it is determined that your child needs therapy our office will request orders from your child’s doctor and will obtain authorization from insurance. Depending on the type of insurance this process can take approximately 2-3 weeks. Once our office has everything we need for your child to begin therapy the therapist or our front office will contact you to set up regularly scheduled tx appointments. Our appointments are typically the same day of the week at the same time of day every week.
Our front office will be happy to answer any further questions you may have. We can’t wait to meet you!
