Henry Said:

how much does speech therapy cost?

We Answered:

Therapy Amount, Length, and Cost
The amount of stuttering therapy needed and length of time involved are related to each other and are usually different for each person. The decision about how much therapy is needed and how often it should be scheduled is usually made following a stuttering evaluation.

A thorough evaluation usually ranges from two to four hours and may cost between $300 and $500, depending on your location and the speech pathologist's charges. These charges can vary greatly, so be sure to ask about costs when making the initial call to the speech pathologist. Also, check to see if your health insurance covers the cost of the evaluation.

Once you've completed the evaluation process, the speech pathologist will explain your results to you and then the two of you will begin thinking about the length of time that you can expect to be in therapy and how often it should be scheduled. Therapy length and amount needed depend on your goals, the type of therapy itself, and the severity of the stuttering handicap.

Some therapy programs offer a standard amount of therapy in a set length of time, such as 40 hours across a three-week time period in an intensive program. For many people, however, it takes a longer period of time to overcome the negative feelings about stuttering that build up over the years. In this situation, intensive therapy may not be the right approach to treat the stuttering. Keep in mind also that some speech pathologists do not offer intensive therapy.

If any of these factors are true for your situation, you might want to go to therapy one or two times a week for an hour across several months or even a year. In general, many adults who are seeking long-term changes in stuttering will attend twice-weekly therapy anywhere from 6 to 18 months. Hourly therapy charges can range from fifty to eighty-five dollars. Again, these charges will depend on your location and the speech pathologist's hourly charges. Local university speech and hearing clinics often charge less because of their training mission. At many university programs, it is possible to get an evaluation and therapy at lower rates than those listed here.

Contact your insurance company before you get an evaluation or go for therapy to find out whether they cover stuttering therapy. It's important to ask about stuttering therapy in particular because many insurance companies will pay for speech therapy that is restorative (i.e., after a stroke or brain injury), but may not pay for stuttering therapy when it's viewed as a chronic speech disability. (You may want to read SFA's Guide to Obtaining Reimbursement for Stuttering Treatment.)