Sean Said:

My son has speach problems and needs to see a speech theropisy but im having troubles finding one to see him?

We Answered:

There's a lot of ways to go about getting a therapist,money wise try getting financial aid or SSI also once you get a speech therapist also get his hearing tested because some kid's (like my son) had water behind his eardrum which affected his hearing.I hope that helps

Alfredo Said:

How much money does a speech therapist with their own private practice versus working in a hospital?

We Answered:

Private practice has its ups and downs.
First, you need to make a name and reputation for yourself in the medical community so you will get referrals from local physicians. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, pulmonologists, ENTs, pediatricians, gastroenterologists, and geriatricians will be your primary referral base.
Most speech pathologists in private practice need to practice several years in a hospital setting in order to become known to the physicians and respected enough by them to secure a referral base. It is most advantageous to work in a teaching hospial where you are the consultant attached to specialty teams: Craniofacial, Movement Disorders, ALS, TBI, Neurology, and Tumor Board, to name a few.
Many private practitioners have nursing home and home health care contracts to fall back on when their office caseload is limited. Those contracts are highly competitive.
All that being said, you'll still have to grapple with the concept of "reasonable and necessary" justifications for treatment.
Then there are the payment schedules of insurance companies, including Medicare. You'll have to decide if you want to deal with Medicaid/MediCal. Keep in mind that insurance companies who cover pediatric care restrict reimbursement to congenital and hospital-based disorders, not developmental ones. They figure it's a duplication of service because the school system tales care of the developmental cases.
Medicare reimbursement varies dramatically from one area to another. The reimbursement is tied to what is considered to be "customary" in your area.
If you remain busy, you could make as much as $150,000/yr, but that wouldn't include your overhead. In hospitals, you'd be earning about $100,000 with over 10 years experience.
Salary.com can tell you more about the money situation.
Personally, I prefer not only the security of a hospital position, but the benefits and zero worries about caseload variation. I would die on the vine if I was stuck in an office all day because I thrive on interacting with other professionals and the constant learning opportunies in a large hospital. Caseloads vary a lot from week to week, too, which also keeps it interesting.

Ian Said:

How much do psychologists and/or speech therapists with private practices make?

We Answered:

That varies on where you practice to some degree and also your clientel.

In a well established practice, $100 to $200K is not unusual.

That doesn't happen overnight, though.

Masters level LPC's will rarely make more than $50-60K

PhD LPC's can approach $100K

PhD Psychologists are the ones I first referred to with the most earning potential. Master's level psychology majors can really only be LPC's or LMFT's. Not practicing psychologists.

speech therapists on average tend to work in education, so that varies from state to state, but probably averages in the $50K range

Terrence Said:

my son has been goign to private speech t heraphy for a couple of month he has made progress but slow, but my?

We Answered:

Ray these people are not allowed to 'lie' they have to tell you the truth ..when Thomas was 2 i asked the very same question 'does my son have autism' she said very promptly 'Yes he does have autism' as i say its better to know these things and get help sooner rather than later , if your son has slow development these people in fact put you in touch with the right people best suited to help your son, even if your son doesn't have autism its best to know this as soon as possible