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FAQS

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD NEEDS THERAPY?

By the age of three, the majority of your child's speech should be intelligible. Common concerns include mispronouncing sounds, not speaking or only speaking in short sentences, mixing up word order in sentences, not following instructions or not using the correct forms of words such as prepositions or pronouns. Your child's teacher should also be able to give an indication of whether therapy might be necessary.

HOW EARLY CAN A CHILD BEGIN RECEIVING SPEECH THERAPY?

It is never to early to consult a speech therapist! The general advice of "he will grow out of it" can be very damaging and may result in your child falling even further behind. Consult a speech therapist to assess the extent of the problem and to learn guidelines of how you can support your child's speech and language development.

WILL MY MEDICAL AID COVER SPEECH THERAPY?

Medical aids differ with regard to how speech therapy is covered. Some medical aids have a separate speech therapy benefit, while others cover it from the medical savings account. It is best to contact your medical aid directly to find how how speech therapy is covered. If your medical aid does have funds available for speech therapy, then Suzanne Kok Speech Therapy will be able to claim directly from the medical aid. Should the medical aid reject the claim, you will be held liable for the balance of your account.

WHAT SCHOOLS DO YOU VISIT?

Suzanne Kok Speech Therapy currently provides individual and group therapy services at:

Trippe, Trappe, Drome, Tzaneen

Wolkberg Akademie, Tzaneen

SAVF Kleuterkool, Tzaneen

Please contact us if you are interested in speech therapy services at your school.

HOW LONG WILL MY CHILD NEED SPEECH THERAPY?

Progress depends on a number of factors including the number and severity of difficulties, the frequency of therapy, the involvement of the parents in the home program, and the child's participation in sessions. It generally takes about 12 sessions to begin noticing progress.

MY CHILD IS THREE AND STILL NOT SPEAKING IN SENTENCES. SHOULD I BE WORRIED?

Although all children develop at different paces, there is certainly much that can be done to stimulate a young child's speech and language development. Early intervention can prevent the child from falling further behind and can also empower the parents regarding their child's development. "Waiting to see if he grows out of it" may or may not help, but it is best to see a speech therapist for an assessment to gauge the extent of the difficulty. The therapist can also provide many helpful guidelines for how parents can stimulate speech and language development in their everyday lives.

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