Before your appointment

If your child has seen a specialist outside of CHOP, please send a copy of:

• previous speech-language evaluation reports
• hearing test results
• current or previous Individualized Education Programs (IEP)/Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP)
• neuropsychological or educational testing
• developmental evaluations
• other relevant information

Submit documents via:

• Fax: 267-425-8460
• Email: CCCSupportStaff@chop.edu (email is the fastest but may not be secure. Please use a scanner or scanning app to create a PDF. Do not email photos of your forms, as we may not be able to read these.)
• MyCHOP
• Mail: Attn. Dept. of Speech-Language Pathology, 3500 Civic Center Blvd, 5th Floor, Buerger Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (mail can take up to 4 weeks to receive)

Day of appointment

• Arrive at least 15 minutes before your appointment time to check in. Please allow 90 minutes for the evaluation.
• If you are running late, call 800-551-5480 to determine if you need to reschedule.
• If you need to cancel or reschedule, call 800-551-5480. You may also be able to cancel the appointment via MyCHOP.
• Siblings should not attend the appointment. This will help us get the best assessment of your child’s skills.

What to expect

A speech-language evaluation is a comprehensive assessment of your child’s ability to:

• understand language
• use language to communicate
• produce age-appropriate speech sounds
• use their voice to speak clearly and fluently

After the evaluation, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) will give you information about your child’s speech and language abilities. The SLP will provide medical, educational, and community resources based on your child’s needs. They will also share ideas for home practice. If the SLP recommends therapy, they will discuss therapy goals. A report will be available within two weeks after the appointment in MyCHOP.

Therapy

CHOP’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology is primarily a diagnostic center. This means that our focus is on providing high-quality, comprehensive evaluations.

• Not all children evaluated need or receive speech-language therapy at CHOP.
• We often refer children to their county program, school district, or another community provider for ongoing therapy.
• CHOP does not provide long-term speech-language therapy.

In some cases, the evaluating SLP will recommend short-term outpatient speech-language therapy. There may be a waiting period between the initial evaluation and the start of weekly therapy. This depends on the demand at each site. We appreciate your patience as we want to provide our families with the highest quality of care.
Your SLP will tailor therapy activities to your child’s age, developmental level, interests, and needs. They will also give you activities for home practice. The family is required to participate in the therapy process for the best possible outcomes.

We are committed to creating an inclusive therapeutic environment. We strive to use pictures and materials that reflect the world we live in and the families we serve. We encourage you to share cultural considerations with your SLP to ensure your child's identity and culture are reflected in therapy materials.

Insurance

Coverage for your child’s speech-language evaluation or therapy is dependent upon your specific insurance plan. You must call your insurance carrier to determine if anything is needed before the evaluation or therapy. Your insurance plan may require:

• a referral, prescription, co-pay, deductible, co-insurance, and /or pre-certification for a certain number of visits each calendar or contract year.
• that you receive services at a provider other than CHOP (i.e., capitation).
• coverage to be “diagnosis driven.” This means that coverage for the evaluation will depend on your child’s diagnosis (e.g., language delay, articulation disorder, stuttering, etc.).

If the evaluating SLP recommends therapy at CHOP, our Financial Clearance team will verify your insurance. The team will also get pre-authorization if necessary. Additionally, we recommend that you ask your insurance company about any plan exclusions related to speech-language therapy or certain diagnosis codes (provided by the SLP after the evaluation). Co-pays will be collected at the visit. Learn more about billing and insurance.

CHOP requires all patients coming for speech-language therapy to have a prescription. The prescription comes from your child’s pediatrician. It must say, “Speech and language evaluate and treat.” The prescription can be submitted electronically or faxed to 215-590-5461.