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For babies, kids & teens
Speech therapy helps kids be understood, and understand others — finding words, saying them clearly, following what’s said to them, and using their mouth muscles to eat.
You don’t need a diagnosis to call.
In plain words
Speech therapy is about communication — being understood, and understanding other people. That’s more than saying sounds clearly. It covers finding the right words, following directions, taking a turn in a conversation, and using the muscles of the mouth to eat safely.
A session is one-on-one with a licensed speech therapist, and most of it looks like play. Books, games, toys, and back-and-forth turns, all set up so your child practices one skill at a time without it feeling like a test.
We’ve offered speech therapy here since 2016, alongside the occupational therapy we’ve provided since 2001. We see babies through teens — in our clinic, at your home, or at their childcare, preschool, or private school.
What we help with
Most kids we see need help in one or two of these. After the evaluation, your therapist will tell you which ones, and why.
Late talkers, and kids who use fewer words than others their age. That’s called expressive language — getting your ideas out.
The other half is receptive language — taking ideas in. We help kids who have trouble following directions or answering questions.
Articulation is how sounds are made. We help kids whose words are hard to understand, even for family.
We also work with childhood apraxia of speech, where the brain has trouble telling the mouth how to move, and with stuttering — getting stuck on sounds or words, sometimes called fluency.
Social communication is the unwritten part of talking: taking turns, staying on topic, reading faces, knowing when someone is joking.
We practice it in play with your child, so it’s useful on the playground and not just at a table.
The same muscles used for talking are used for eating. We work on oral motor skills — how the lips, jaw, and tongue move to handle food.
For kids who refuse foods because of how they feel, smell, or look, we use sensory feeding approaches and go at your child’s pace.
Some kids need another way to get their message across while their speech is coming along. That’s called AAC, short for augmentative and alternative communication.
It can be picture boards, sign language, or a speech device that talks for them. We help pick one and teach your family to use it.
Kids who are deaf or hard of hearing can work with us on listening and talking. That work is called aural rehabilitation.
We work alongside your child’s audiologist — the specialist who tests hearing and manages hearing aids or implants.
Signs it might help
None of these mean something is wrong. They’re just the things families tell us about when they call.
You don’t need a diagnosis to call.
Kids talk on their own timelines, and plenty of late talkers catch up on their own. We’re not going to tell you otherwise.
But you don’t have to sit with the question. Calling costs nothing, and an evaluation gives you a clear answer either way — including “your child is doing fine.”
Training
Our speech therapists have training in each of these. Which ones your child sees, if any, depends on what the evaluation shows.
Therapy that starts on the floor with what your child is already interested in, and builds communication out of that play.
Coaching for parents, so the back-and-forth practice keeps going in everyday moments at home.
A structured, visual way of setting up tasks and routines, developed in North Carolina for autistic children.
A system where a child hands over a picture to ask for something, as a way to communicate without words.
Programs built for childhood apraxia of speech, with lots of repeated practice of the mouth movements for each sound.
A step-by-step way to help picky and resistant eaters get comfortable with new foods.
Hands-on exercises for the lips, jaw, and tongue, used to support speech sounds and feeding.
Signs a child and family can use to communicate, on their own or alongside spoken words.
Where therapy happens
Quiet rooms on Capital Drive set up for listening and talking, with games, books, and mirrors for practicing sounds.
Talking happens at snack time, bath time, and in the car. Working at home means you see exactly how to keep it going.
We work with children at preschools and private schools, where they can practice with the classmates they talk to every day.
Common questions
No age is too young. We work with babies, toddlers, kids, and teens. A baby doesn’t have to be talking yet for speech therapy to help — early work is often about feeding, sounds, and back-and-forth play.
You don’t have to wait to ask. Kids do talk on their own timelines, and plenty catch up. But a phone call costs nothing, and an evaluation gives you a clear picture instead of a worry.
A doctor’s order is required for services billed through insurance. You don’t need one to call us, though — ring us first and we’ll tell you exactly what to ask your child’s doctor for. You don’t need a diagnosis either.
We accept most major insurance plans. Call and we'll verify your child's benefits before the first visit.
It depends on your child. After the evaluation, your therapist goes over what they found and how often they’d like to see your child. You’ll always know the plan, and we go back over it with you as your child changes.
Yes. Our speech therapists and occupational therapists work down the hall from each other and plan together, so you’re not sent across town for the second one. Read about occupational therapy.
Ready when you are
Call 910-313-2111 and talk it through with a real person. You can ask a question without committing to anything, and we’ll check your insurance for you.
We accept most major insurance plans. Call and we'll verify your child's benefits before the first visit.