Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- What services does Raleigh Therapy Services, Inc. offer?
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Feeding/Oral Motor Therapy
- Does my child need to be seen by a physician before my child can receive therapy services?
- My child received information at his/her childcare center about a free screening. What exactly is a screening?
- My child participated in a preschool wide screening, and I received information back stating that an evaluation has been recommended. Where do I go from here?
- What types of payment do you accept?
- Which insurance plans/companies do you work with?
- Medicaid
- BlueCross BlueShield
- Cigna
- United Healthcare
- State Employees Health Plan
- NC Health Choice
- Tricare
- Wellpath
- Wake County
- Johnston/Nash County
- Durham County
- Guilford County
- Will insurance cover my child’s visit?
- Do I have copay at the time of my child’s visit?
- How will I be involved in my child’s therapy services?
- How long is my child’s therapy visit?
- How will I stay in contact with my child’s therapist if my child is in a preschool/childcare facility?
- What ages do you serve?
- My child is not even two-years-old and I’m concerned that he/she is not meeting appropriate developmental milestones. Is it too soon to contact a therapist for my child?
- What is the typical treatment sequence?
- How long will my child need to be in therapy?
We offer comprehensive evaluation and treatment in the following areas:
We also offer bilingual therapists who can evaluate and treat Spanish speaking clients in the areas of speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.
Our company will need a referral from your child’s primary care physician in order to provide therapy services. We will be responsible for getting the signed doctor’s order from the physician. Please be aware that you may be required to take your child in for a well- child visit before the physician will sign off on the treatment order.
All of Raleigh Therapy Services, Inc. therapists believe that early identification and intervention is the most effective form of intervention. Therefore, we offer FREE center-wide screenings for speech and language skills, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills in our community. Screenings can only be conducted with written permission from a child’s parent/guardian. A screening is a series of tasks that a licensed therapist will ask your child to perform to determine if further assessment is needed. After the screening is conducted, a summary page of the therapist’s findings will be sent home. If further testing is recommended, the therapist will call the parent to discuss where to go next. Please note that a screening is merely a snapshot of the child’s skills and usually takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. An evaluation is a full assessment of the child’s skills and typically takes approximately 45-60 minutes to complete. Evaluations are billed to your insurance company and/or you for payment.
If you would like your child to receive a comprehensive evaluation, please call our office or the therapist who screened your child to set up an appointment. The therapist who screened your child will send home an initial information packet for you to fill out. Please fill it out and return to either your child’s school or mail it to our office. Once we receive the information packet back, we will then contact your child’s physician to obtain a physician’s order to evaluate your child. The therapist will return to your child’s preschool to conduct the evaluation. The therapeutic recommendations will be based off the standardized scores, informal assessment measures, parent/teacher report, client observation, and prior medical history. You will receive a written report summarizing the evaluation and its findings as well as proposed therapy goals. You can expect this report and individualized treatment plan within 5 business days after the evaluation has occurred.
We are currently “in network” with BlueCross BlueShield, Medicaid, State Employees Health Plan, NC Health Choice, United Healthcare, Aetna, Tricare, Wellpath, and Cigna. We also accept cash, credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, and Discover), flexible spending account cards, and personal checks.
We are “in network” with:
We are also contracting providers with the following Childrens Developmental Services Agencies (CDSA):
Even if we are not “in network” with your insurance provider, it is a good idea for you to call your provider to see what therapy benefits they offer. They may still reimburse you for services. Please call our office to discuss payment options. We will be happy to assist you in anyway that we can.
Your insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company. We are not a party to that contract. If you have questions regarding coverage please contact your insurance company. If you choose, we can assist you in finding your answer.
A co-pay is dependent on the type of insurance you have. Our office staff will talk with you about co-payments for services rendered, if applicable to your insurance plan. If you have additional questions about a co-pay, please contact your insurance provider.
We realize that your child’s success is of utmost importance to you as it is to us. We will work closely with families to develop intervention plans and facilitate age appropriate development within treatment settings. Your therapist may provide you with home exercise programs, relevant parent handouts, and or suggestions to use at home. We will also work with classroom teachers and other members of the community who are involved with your child and provide them with appropriate information to help make your child successful in whatever environment he/she is in at the time. We highly value parent input and strive to work as a team to create functional family and child outcomes so that we can help families increase the quality of life through the improvement of the child’s overall development.
On average, most speech therapy sessions last 30 to 45 minutes. Occupational therapy and physical therapy sessions average 45 to 60 minutes. The length of the visit is dependent on the age of the client, severity of the delay/disorder, and the therapist’s recommendations. Your therapist will make a recommendation for the length of the sessions after the evaluation has been completed. If you have questions or concerns about the length of the visit, please feel free to discuss it with your therapist.
We understand that is often difficult to feel “connected” when you are not able to be present during the therapy sessions if your child is in a preschool/childcare facility. The therapist will write down brief notes after each session including goals targeted, activities completed, progress made, and activities suggested to practice at home. Please feel free to email or call the therapist if you would like to discuss your child’s progress. Also, periodic progress reports will be sent home so that you are aware of your child’s current progress and areas of need. Our therapists can also be available for parent/teacher conferences.
Raleigh Therapy Services, Inc. specializes in pediatrics-ages birth to 21 years. We strive to prepare children for academic, social, and personal success. Our therapists are state licensed and nationally certified, and their experience is regularly reinforced through training, continuing education, and involvement within professional organizations.
It is important to contact the appropriate therapist once concerns arise. We believe that no child is “too young.” Our therapists believe that early intervention is most effective form of intervention and is crucial for future academic, social, and personal success. The earlier the problem is identified, the earlier the skills can be targeted. Early therapeutic intervention helps stimulate normal development, reinforces a healthy self-concept, and promotes emotional maturation. Therapy for children and adolescents can increase independence, mobility, and social adjustment. Please call our office if you have concerns, and we will be happy to help answer questions you may have.
A typical treatment sequence is as follows:
1. A therapist conducts a comprehensive evaluation that is comprised of standardized testing, informal assessment, parent/teacher report, a completed case history through parent interview, and client observation.
2. The therapist completes a written evaluation and proposes therapeutic recommendations (frequency, duration, etc.) as well as an individualized treatment plan. Then all of this explained to and discussed with the parent/guardian.
3. If the parent/guardian chooses to have services rendered by Raleigh Therapy Services, then a regularly scheduled therapy time is set up.
4. Therapy continues with periodic progress reports, re-evaluations, parent/teacher conferences, Home Exercise Programs, parent handouts, and/or classroom consultations.
5. Once a client has mastered the appropriate goals, then he/she may be discharged from therapy services. Parents will be consulted to determine the appropriate time/reason for discharge. At this time, the therapist will write up a discharge summary to send to the family.
Recommendations for the frequency and duration of therapy services vary and will depend on your child’s skill level and severity of delay or impairment. Other important factors that will impact your child’s progress include consistent attendance, parent participation, daily practice, and carryover of therapy activities at home.