Please aim to arrive 15 minutes before your child’s first evaluation to ensure we can carry out a comprehensive assessment within the allocated time. When you get here, check in with our front office staff, and they’ll assist you. Your clinician will come get you at the scheduled appointment time. We highly encourage parents to join the evaluation sessions to share valuable background information about your child. Your involvement is crucial to your child’s progress, and we want to make sure we address your main concerns effectively.

Before the initial evaluation, please submit the Case History form for your child’s age (Birth to 3 years or 4 years and older), Intake form and Privacy Policy and Procedure documents. These forms may be either completed online Here or emailed to our office (office@chatterboxpeds.com).

On your first appointment, please bring the following information and documents: 

• Child’s Insurance Card 
• Your Photo ID 
• IEP 
• IFSP 
• Previous evaluations from other medical professionals 
• Hearing and vision screening results 

*If your child is being evaluated for feeding, please bring  

A preferred food (a food your child enjoys and consistently eats)  

• A non-preferred food (a food that your child does not enjoy or is having difficulty eating/chewing/swallowing  
• Any preferred drinks as well as the cup or bottle that your child uses regularly   
• If your child is an infant, please prepare to feed via bottle or breast, whichever method you and your child prefer.   

Chatterbox has a kitchen with microwave, refrigerator, and dishes/utensils if needed, as well as feeding chairs. Shelf stable edibles can also be provided if needed, but food from home is encouraged.   

The evaluation serves as the starting point in our treatment journey. Whether it’s your Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, or Physical Therapist, they’ll use a mix of informal and formal assessments to understand your child’s strengths and areas for improvement. Your insights into your child’s past and present abilities are invaluable. 

Following the evaluation, your therapist will provide guidance on whether therapy is recommended. If ongoing treatment is advised, our friendly staff at the front office will assist you with the next steps. 

Your therapist may also provide you with activities and strategies for home use, addressing specific concerns beyond the clinic setting. 

In cases where treatment is not immediately recommended, your therapist might suggest a watchful waiting approach, with a reevaluation in six months to a year if concerns persist. 

Post-evaluation, your therapist will carefully review the results and compile an evaluation report within ten days. Once completed, the report will be forwarded to the referring physician for approval. Some insurance providers may require additional steps, such as a signed plan of care or prior authorization, which could extend the process by 2-3 weeks. 

Rest assured, our office will keep you informed about when your child can begin therapy. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions during this phase. 

During your child’s inaugural therapy session, your therapist will discuss their findings and, if necessary, propose a treatment plan. This is an opportune moment to address any queries you may have. 

Parents are encouraged to attend therapy sessions, but you also have the option to allow your child some independence. The last 5 minutes of each session are reserved for reviewing progress, discussing goals, and providing home activities to reinforce skills beyond the therapy room. 

It’s important to note that family involvement in therapy goals is vital to your child’s success. Some insurances may require documentation of family compliance with Home Exercise Programs for continued coverage. 

Your child will undergo reevaluation every 6 months or annually, depending on your insurance requirements. During these assessments, your therapist will review progress and adjust goals and objectives as needed. 

Your therapist will communicate your child’s progress at each session and discuss a discharge plan when appropriate. Discharge from therapy may occur when goals are met, expected outcomes achieved, the family decides skilled therapy is no longer needed, therapy no longer results in functional changes, or the child frequently misses scheduled sessions. 

At Chatterbox, we consider you and your child part of our extended family, caring about your well-being from the first appointment through discharge and beyond. We’re here for you, ready to be your therapy partner for any future needs. 

Feeding therapy helps children learn how to eat or how to eat better.  Feeding therapists provide feeding therapy and are usually occupational therapists (OT) or speech language pathologists (SLP).  

No matter what their background, it is important to note that “feeding” is a specialty within a specialty. Not all OT’s and SLP’S are trained in pediatric practice, and not all pediatric therapists have advanced feeding therapy education and practice either (Grogan, 2023).  

• A preferred food (a food your child enjoys and consistently eats)  
• A non-preferred food (a food that your child does not enjoy or is having difficulty eating/chewing/swallowing  
• Any preferred drinks as well as the cup or bottle that your child uses regularly   
• If your child is an infant, please prepare to feed via bottle or breast, whichever method you and your child prefer.   

Chatterbox has a kitchen with microwave, refrigerator, and dishes/utensils if needed, as well as feeding chairs. Shelf stable edibles can also be provided if needed, but food from home is encouraged.   

To maximize your child’s progress and a team-based approach with parent involvement, we ask that the parent or caregiver bring foods and liquids to therapy. Your therapist will help you plan a weekly menu for what to bring to your child’s treatment sessions, depending on your child’s needs and therapy plan. Bringing your own food and drink will ensure therapy is conducted according to your family’s culture and lifestyle. 

Most often, time is spent during feeding therapy teaching your child how to eat new foods (if they have a very limited diet) or how to eat or drink (if they don’t know how to manage food/liquid in their mouth). But, depending on the child’s underlying challenges, you may see your child participating in sensory integration activities or completing exercises to strengthen oral motor skills and the muscles they need for eating (Grogan, 2023).  

As a vital member of the child’s care team, therapists stay in close contact with the child’s family in between appointments so that the therapy and strategies used can be changed as needed. While the child is learning skills in order to become a better eater, caregivers must learn the skills and strategies they can use at home in order to help the child progress and become a better eater and/or drinker. The child’s caregivers and therapist are a team, working together to make sure the child receives the therapeutic, physical, social and emotional support to improve his or her feeding skills and habits. The caregiver can expect to learn:   

• Feeding strategies and general advice for eating at home.  
• Tactics for addressing negative mealtime behaviors.  
• How to continue encouraging the child to eat the new foods introduced during therapy at home.  
• To keep a food log of what the child eats and how he or she acts at mealtime and reacts to foods (Grogan, 2023).  

  After the eval, the therapist who completed your child’s evaluation will make a recommendation for how often feeding therapy takes place and what the treatment plan will be. Therapy goals are written that guide the direction of therapy. The goals will include parental concerns, as well as therapist concerns for on track development (Grogan, 2023).  

References:  

  Alisha Grogan MOT, OTR/L. (2023, November 7). Everything you need to know about feeding therapy. Your Kid’s Table. https://yourkidstable.com/feeding-therapy/  

When you believe your child may benefit from an evaluation or therapy, please reach out to your child’s pediatrician. Share your concerns and request a prescription and referral to be sent to Chatterbox. Once we receive the referral, our office will promptly get in touch with you to arrange an appointment. If you have any inquiries regarding the referral process, don’t hesitate to contact our office for assistance

When you believe your child may require an evaluation or therapy, please reach out to your child’s pediatrician. Share your concerns and request a prescription and referral to be sent to Chatterbox. After we receive the referral, we will promptly get in touch with you to arrange an appointment. If you have any queries regarding the referral process, feel free to contact our office. 

Every child’s diagnosis and severity are unique, which means there’s no one-size-fits-all treatment duration. During the initial evaluation, your therapist will assess your child’s needs and determine both the frequency (sessions per week) and duration (in months) of their therapy. 

For insurance billing purposes, the treatment duration may also be influenced by the authorization periods set by your insurance provider. Once these authorization periods conclude, insurance may require a re-evaluation or progress update before approving further visits.” 

If your child is already receiving therapy at school, that’s wonderful! It’s important to note that receiving therapy at school doesn’t preclude them from receiving additional therapy outside of the school setting. In fact, combining both school-based and external therapy can often be highly beneficial. The more therapy your child receives, the more opportunities they have to practice and make progress, potentially leading to quicker improvements. 

Additionally, the private practice setting offers unique advantages that may not be available in a school setting. These benefits include: 

• One-on-One Therapy: Your child receives undivided attention from the therapist, allowing for more focused practice and repetition. 
• Immediate Evaluation and Treatment: Children can typically be evaluated and treated promptly, subject to insurance approval. 
• No Missed Class Time: Unlike school therapy, our clinic offers appointment scheduling options before or after school hours, ensuring that no academic class time is missed. 
• Immediate Feedback: Therapists provide feedback and progress updates immediately after sessions. 
• Comprehensive Care: We can accommodate children with a wide range of severities, from mild to profound, and various diagnoses. 
• Flexible Justification: Therapy can be tailored to address any observed need in the child, not limited to academic concerns. 
• Continuity of Care: Our clinic is open all year long. Your child will not experience long gaps in therapy during holiday breaks or over the summer. The consistency of therapy helps to facilitate faster progress towards reaching therapy goals and prevents regression of skills previously acquired.   

The cost of therapy is contingent upon your insurance coverage. We highly recommend reaching out to your insurance company to gain clarity on your specific benefits. During the intake process, we will engage in a discussion about your benefits and provide you with an estimated therapy cost. In addition to insurance, we offer private pay options and can provide information about alternative funding sources to help offset some of the financial burden when needed.  

We encourage you to get in touch with your insurance provider for plan specifics. Our clinic is dedicated to offering private pay alternatives and exploring alternative funding options for our valued families 

Have any billing questions? Ask us HERE! 

We are in network with most commercial and many government insurance plans. Below are plans we are in network. If you do not see your plan listed, please give us a call and we will be happy to help! 

• Georgia Medicaid 
• Cigna 

• Care Source 
• Tri-Care 
• Amerigroup 
• Blue Cross Blue Shield 
• Aetna (Speech Therapy only) 

Regrettably, insurance coverage varies greatly from one company to another and even within individual plans. Determining whether your insurance will cover therapy costs, partially or in full, is contingent upon your specific insurance plan and diagnosis. To get precise information about your coverage, we recommend reaching out directly to your insurance company for verification. 

Self-Pay Discount: 

For those who must cover the costs out-of-pocket, we offer a discounted rate to make therapy more accessible. Please contact our billing department for assistance. 

We will do our best to work with families to make payment arrangements when necessary.

Patients are responsible for all costs not covered by insurance. If a third-party payer determines that provided therapy services are not covered or denies coverage, the patient is liable for all outstanding charges. Failure to pay fees in full may result in the postponement or cancellation of treatment sessions until payment is received. Payments, including session fees and co-pays if applicable, are due at the time of service. 

Patient balances must remain below $300 to prevent therapy services from being placed on hold. 

Outstanding balances that are 90 days past duemay be referred to a collection agency at the client’s expense. Overdue accounts may also be reported to a Credit Bureau.  

Refunds will only be issued in cases of overpayment.

Have any billing questions? Ask us HERE! 

Deductible: a specified amount of money that the family must pay before an insurance company will pay a claim. 

Copay: a set amount to be paid by the family per date of service regardless of the deductible amount or if the deductible is met. 

Coinsurance: a percentage to be paid by the family per date of service once the deductible amount is satisfied. 

Have any billing questions? Ask us HERE! 

Good Faith Estimates are available from our front office team.

Have any billing questions? Ask us HERE!