* Taken from Association of Independent Speech & Language Therapists website

The cost of Independent Speech and Language Therapy

Prices for private speech and language therapy depend upon the type of service offered. ASLTIP is not allowed, by law, to give specific advice on charges as this could be perceived as breaching the Competition Act by setting fees.

However we ask our members to charge speech therapy rates that reflect:

• the commercial value of the time devoted to treatment, preparation and written work
• any time and costs incurred in traveling to and from the place of treatment
• an appropriate proportion of any overheads incurred in providing treatment facilities

It is up to each individual independent Speech and Language Therapist to set the level of fees to reflect the service that he/she is offering.

Speech therapy fees for sessions and assessments vary significantly. This will be due to such factors as:

• the type and complexity of each individual case
• the level of experience and specialist expertise of the speech therapist
• the type of service that is being offered

Can you claim the cost of Speech and Language Therapy?

If you have health insurance you may be able to claim the cost of speech and language therapy. Some independent speech and language therapists are registered with insurance companies and most are eligible to do so. However you will generally have to pay the therapist and claim the fees from you insurance company. It is therefore essential that before you start treatment you:

• Check with your insurers whether the costs of treatment will be covered before agreeing to pay for speech therapy.
• Check with your insurers that the company accepts the authority of the doctor who has referred you to speech and language therapy.
• Check the company’s payment policy, as some take a long time to process an account.