How to Choose Your Speech Language Pathologist (SLP): Communication
Part 6 in our series How to Choose Your SLP.
The final factor!
You've learned about Setting, Location, Philosophy, Price, and Knowledge. We hope you are learning everything you need to know about choosing the SLP who will be the best fit for your child. If you haven't read the other posts yet, check out the links above to see our related posts!
Now, we will delve into our sixth and final factor: COMMUNICATION
Communication Experts
Speech pathologists are experts on communication, but this time, we don't mean your child's communication. In this blog post we are talking about professional communication between the therapist and you, the parents.
This factor isn't as robust as the others we have discussed, but it is no less important. The communication between you and the therapist is what will make or break your relationship. Clear, consistent, frequent communication from your therapist is important for your child's progress in speech therapy!
Here are areas to consider when choosing your speech pathologist:
Do they provide robust written evaluation reports? Reports from an SLP should include scores and observations from all the areas tested. They should provide clinical assessment and analysis, followed by their clinical recommendations.
Do they offer a phone call or zoom call to go over the results of the evaluation? Evaluation reports have a lot of information. Some of that information is for parents while other parts are for other professionals. By going over the evaluation with families, the speech pathologist can clarify anything that was confusing and explain the findings in more colloquial terms.
Are they punctual in their communication? Do they give you realistic expectations for when to expect paperwork and reports? Do they respond to emails within a reasonable length of time? Or do you feel like you are always trying to get a hold of them?
Do they listen to you? When you bring up your concerns, fear, worries, or problems, does your speech therapist listen and work with you. Or do they become defensive or dismissive?
How do they monitor progress? Do they provide a short written report every few months (i.e. progress note, treatment summary)? Do they provide verbal feedback only? How do they adjust their objectives to fit your child's needs?
As you search for an SLP, their communication might be apparent right off the bat. Do they respond to your emails promptly? Do they explain things well? Do they listen to you? But if you need to, ask them more questions to find out if their communication style is right for you.
Ready, Set, Talk Time
So let's see how Time Boston fits into the Communication category.
Talk Time provides robust written evaluation reports and a call to go over the results of the evaluation to walk families through results.
Talk Time understands how important it is to be punctual with communication. Parents receive evaluation reports within 15 business days (but often earlier!) We also check our emails all the time -- so you never feel like you can't get a hold of us.
At Talk Time, we listen to our clients. Our clients and their families are part of our team, and when you have concerns, we work with you to find how to make things work.
Talk Time provides progress notes about every 3 months. This is a short written report that documents how your child is doing across all of their objectives. This is also a great time to make changes when things aren't working or when new challenges arise.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Check out our services and our intake process on our website here.
And, if private practice is the right fit for your family, please reach out to us:
Email us directly at info@talktimeboston.com
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