Frequently Asked Questions
General
Straight Talk Speech Pathology is a private clinic and fees are charged for services. All therapists are registered with Medicare and Private Health Funds.
You might be able to access the following fee help options:
Do I need a referral from my GP?
No referral is necessary. We will be happy to arrange your appointment. Your child may be eligible for partial Medicare rebates, in which case a GP referral is required.
How long will I have to wait for an appointment or report?
The wait time for your child’s first appointment may vary from a few weeks to a few months. There are lots of factors that influence this including: therapist availability; urgency within our triage system; your flexibility for clinic location, dates and times, and; the number of referrals we have received.
After your assessment has been completed, written reports are generally completed within 2 weeks of us assessing your child and receiving back all of the information we require.
How long are sessions?
Therapy sessions are generally 45 or 60 minutes in length depending on the age of your child and the purpose of the session.
Assessments and review appointments take longer than average therapy sessions.
How often will I need to come?
The frequency and duration of therapy will depend on the nature of the difficulty and the level of concern. Specific details can be provided after we have met with your child and completed their assessment.
Typically, children benefit from attending weekly (or fortnightly) sessions. Regular sessions help to develop a relationship between your child and the therapist. They also allow the best opportunity for your child to learn new skills as well as to establish good routines within the clinic and at home for practicing goals.
How long will therapy take?
It can be difficult to predict treatment length since there are many influencing factors that can impact on a child’s success during therapy. Depending on the nature and severity of your child’s difficulty, therapy could last a few weeks to months or years.
What does an assessment involve?
We plan our assessments around the concerns you or your child’s teacher have for your child. Depending on the age of your child and your concerns assessments will typically look like this:
- Early Communication Assessments are typically all about play! Assessment tasks are disguised in play. Its really important that a main caregiver/s are present as we will ask lots of questions and observe how your child interacts, talks and listens to you.
- School Age Assessments are a bit more formal although we still like to have fun! Assessment with this age group typically involves doing activities with iPads and books.
- Feeding Assessments involve gaining an understanding of the child’s history of eating and drinking. The therapist will look in the child’s mouth and observe them eating and drinking.
Can I bring siblings?
Family life is never simple! If you are able to find alternative arrangements for siblings for the assessment appointment this allows your child to concentrate better and for our focus to be on finding out about that child’s strengths and weaknesses. Please talk to us if this is going to be difficult.
For therapy appointments, you will need to determine what is best for you and your child. There are many factors to consider including your child and their sibling’s temperament and distractibility.
Funding
Straight Talk Speech Pathology is a private clinic and fees are charged for services. All therapists are registered with Medicare and Private Health Funds.
You might be able to access the following fee help options:
Private Health Insurance
If you have private health insurance call your fund to check if your child is covered for Speech Pathology and what the rebate will be. The following are our most commonly used item codes for private insurance claims:
320 Initial Assessment 46- 90 minutes
310 Initial Assessment up to 45 minutes
340 Therapy sessions up to 45 minutes
501 Online (Telehealth) Assessment
502 Online (Telehealth) Therapy
Both clinics are equipped with HICAPS facilities which means we can assist you in making an insurance claim on the spot.
Medicare
Your child may be eligible for a Medicare rebate if your GP refers them to us under a Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDMP)/Enhanced Primary Care Plan (EPC). This type of Care Plan allows you to claim a rebate from Medicare for up to 5 sessions each year.
Please note that we are not a bulk billing service.
NDIS
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports people with disabilities and their caregivers to access the help they need to reach goals and participate in the community. Children with developmental delay and disabilities may be eligible to access the Early Intervention part of this scheme also. Find out more here https://www.ndis.gov.au/
We can see children who have an NDIS plan with funds that are either managed by a plan manager or self managed. Get in touch to see how we can help.
Autism
Children who have an Autism diagnosis can be referred by their Paediatrician under a Helping Children With Autism referral. This allows you to claim a rebate on up to 20 therapy sessions before the child turns 15. See this website for more information. https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/autism-children This referral cannot be used once a child has NDIS funding in place.
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