Frequently Asked Questions
How do I schedule an appointment for my child?
Upon retrieval of a physician's referral for speech and/or occupational therapy, our staff will reach out to parents to notify them of available openings, wait times, etc. We cannot schedule a patient until we have received the referral. Please call our office to ask about scheduling a physical therapy appointment with Steppin' Stones Physical Therapy.
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Why do I need a referral before scheduling an appointment?
Formal referrals are often required by insurance companies for billing purposes for all pediatric therapy types. For this reason, we require a physician's referral to be sent to our office. If your child has seen his/her doctor recently, you should be able to call the doctor's office to request a referral to be sent for the desired therapy type.
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Is there a waitlist? How long is it?
We do have a waitlist. The specific wait time changes frequently. We are scheduling children from our waitlist regularly for both speech therapy and occupational therapy. Please call our office for a better idea of the current wait time. Please note that the more open your availability is, the sooner we will be able to schedule your child for an appointment.
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Do you accept insurance?
We accept most major insurance plans, including Idaho Medicaid, Regence, Blue Cross, Select Health, Cigna, and PacificSource. Please note that not all plans offer benefits for pediatric speech therapy and occupational therapy, and it is your responsibility to confirm coverage. We cannot guarantee coverage, and the amount of coverage depends on each patient's specific plan. We will do our best to verify benefits prior to your first appointment. If your insurance does not cover the appointments, please ask our front office staff for other available payment options.
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What should I expect during the initial evaluation?
During the speech therapy or occupational therapy evaluation, the therapist will gather information from parents regarding most pressing concerns, medical history, etc. It helps our therapists to receive the paperwork emailed to parents beforehand in order to best prepare for the evaluation. Therapists will have a formal standardized assessment prepared for when your child arrives based on the referring physician's diagnosis and parent concerns. The therapist will use this assessment, along with observation in play. Often, therapists can observe skills and behaviors best during play. Play also helps build therapist/client rapport, which is necessary for the child to progress more quickly.
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What happens after the evaluation?
At the end of the evaluation, the speech or occupational therapist will discuss preliminary results with the parents and recommend next steps. They may suggest further testing, or they may suggest regular therapy sessions. If this is the case, the therapist will have parents speak with our front office staff to schedule follow-up appointments.
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How often are appointments?
This depends in large part on therapist recommendation. Often, appointments are scheduled for once or twice a week. We try to keep appointments at the same day and time each week in order to best accommodate all of our patients.
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How long are appointments?
Each child is different, so appointment duration can vary. Evaluations for speech therapy and occupational therapy are usually 60 minutes. Regular follow-up visits for speech therapy typically run for 30 minutes, while occupational therapy visits run for 30-60 minutes. However, therapists may recommend a different length of time for your child.
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Can I attend therapy appointments with my child?
Parental support is at the forefront of our therapeutic approach. Often, parents learn best by observing their child's therapy sessions. Sometimes, the child may respond best in a one-on-one setting with the therapist. The therapist will report on how the session went in the case of parents' absence, and will provide homework assignments to reinforce goals at home. Please ask your child's therapist what is recommended for your attendance during sessions.
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How long will my child need therapy?
This depends on the specific child and his/her needs. Often, the more practice they receive in their goals at home, the better and more quickly their learned skills will generalize, and the sooner they will be able to decrease or graduate from therapy. While we understand that occasional sicknesses and emergencies occur, CONSISTENT ATTENDANCE at appointments according to therapist recommendation is crucial for the child's progress.
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Do you work with children on the autism spectrum?
Yes. We work with a wide variety of diagnoses, including ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders). While our therapists cannot diagnose a child with autism, speech therapy and occupational therapy can both play an integral role in the development of children on the autism spectrum.
