We currently only provide therapy in English. Within speech-language pathology, additional certifications are required to officially treat in other languages. However, many of the strategies and approaches we implement within our therapy sessions are transferrable across languages. The skills and strategies you learn with us can be applied to your home language. If you are a caregiver, we would be happy to show you how you can apply the strategies to your other language. We want to help you support your loved one's language - regardless if it is English or another language. For adult clients, some of our therapists are able to informally include basic vocabulary and conversational practice in another language. Please see the list of our clinicians to learn more.

The short answer is no! All of these designations listed below refer to a therapist who is trained to support speech, language, feeding, voice, resonance, fluency, and social skills for children and adults. Speech therapist Speech-language pathologist Speech pathologist SLP R.SLP These are the protected titles and registered designations used by speech-language pathologists as outlined in Section 128 and Schedule 28 of the Health Professions Act (HPA) and Section 18 of the Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Profession Regulation. The minimum education required to be a speech therapist is a Master degree in Speech Language Pathology. As well, all therapists in Alberta are required to be licensed and registered with the Alberta College of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

In Alberta, you do not a need a doctor's referral to access treatment from a speech therapist! Clients can self refer or request services on their own. We are happy to share any assessment or treatment progress with your paediatrician and family doctor, or with other care providers (e.g., teachers, long term care centre, daycares). We strongly advocate for continuity of care. We believe that you will get the best care if all your health care providers are on the same page! If you are wondering about our speech, language or feeding services, we are offering free 15 min consultation calls! Chat with a speech therapist and ask your questions! We can let you know if therapy would be beneficial for you and your family.

We only provide therapy in our client's home (our therapists come to you!), within the community (e.g., at the child's school) or virtual therapy. We do not currently provide therapy through a separate clinic space. Please click here to learn more about our service options.

Standard rates for services will be as follows: $150/60min $120/45min $90/30 min Additional travel fees are applicable for in-person/in-home visits. Please click here to learn more! We offer direct billing for select benefit and insurance companies. Please click the button below for more information.

Yes! Our therapists can come to your home for therapy sessions. This is a great option for busy families. Get treatment in the comfort of your own home! We do charge an additional travel fee ($60/hr) for in-home session. Please click here to learn more about our therapy options.

We're excited that you're looking to work with us! Please click here to get started. You will be guided through completing our website form, creating an online profile and booking an assessment OR free initial consultation.

Yes, for a clinician to come into your home or a specific location (e.g., daycare, other community locations), additional fees for travel will be added onto your service fees. Travel time is billed at a rate of $60/hour. Travel fees only apply for in-person visits requiring the clinician to travel for the service. There are no travel fees for virtual services. Clinicians can work with you to optimize the travel time and fees by scheduling your sessions with other clients in similar locations.

Most benefit providers will provide coverage for speech-language pathology and occupational therapy services. All our speech therapists and feeding therapists are registered and licensed and you will be able to submit claims for services received. Also, if you have a health spending account, most providers will also allow you use that for services with a speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist. Providers will cover services at different rates (e.g., a set amount for the year, or a portion of the session), so it is best to check with your own provider for more details. We are more than willing to work with you based on your coverage so that we can support your child the best! We offer direct billing for speech, language and feeding therapy for many benefit companies. Please check out our direct billing page for more information. If your benefit provider is not included, we offer detailed receipts and invoices for you to submit for reimbursement.

24-hour notice is required to cancel a scheduled session. Sessions will be rescheduled if cancelled 24 hours before. If sessions are cancelled within 24-hours, the client will be billed for 50% of the session fee. The other 50% of the session fee will not be refunded, but will be applicable to future services as credit. If the parent/guardian and child do not show up for the scheduled sessions, or are not present at the agreed upon location for the session, the full rate of the session will be billed. This is not covered by funders or insurance.

Yes, Chatty Therapy offers direct billing services for our clients. We submit claims on your behalf. This means there is less paperwork you have to do! After your session, we will submit the full treatment and travel amount to your benefits provider. If approved, your provider will pay us directly for the services you received. Based on the amount your benefits cover, there may be a patient portion or a remaining amount. We will then process the remaining amount through your credit card on file. Please click here to see the benefit companies and insurers we can cover. If your company is not included, we will provide invoices and receipts for you to submit on your own.

Chatty Therapy provides private speech, language and feeding services. Our services are not free and are not covered under public or government funding such as Alberta Health Services. However, your child and/or family may be eligible for the Disability Tax Credit or the Child Disability Benefit. As well, you can claim expenses on all speech, language and feeding therapy services and travel fees as medical expenses and receive a tax credit on your personal income tax return. Some of our clients access our services through employer or personal benefits and insurance plans (e.g., Alberta Blue Cross, Sunlife, Manulife, Canada Life). Alternatively, claims can also be submitted under health spending accounts. Check with your benefits provider to see if you have coverage for speech therapists, speech pathologists, speech-language pathologists, or occupational therapists! All of our therapists are fully licensed within Alberta, which is a requirement for claims to be accepted. In private services, you can dictate what you want your treatment experience to be like. We are able to completely tailor your treatment journey around your goals, and individualize therapy to be the best fit for your family. If you are looking for free public services, please keep reading our FAQs! We have additional information about accessing services through Alberta Health Services. If your child meets the criteria, you may be eligible to receive free speech language and feeding therapy!

We expect children to start using their first words (average is 2-6 words) by their first birthday. If your child is older than 1, and not using words yet, please reach out to us for a free 15 minute consultation! We will be able to chat more about what you are seeing and your child's skills and abilities. There we can recommend possible service options if that is needed and is appropriate. We discuss to see if therapy to address pre-verbal or early communication skills would beneficial for your child. One good way of knowing if you should be concerned about your child's development is to look at the averages and milestones expected for your child's age. It would be a good idea to chat with a speech therapist if your child is not meeting their milestones and averages. Check out all of our parent guides on milestones for children between the ages of 1-5 years olds: A ‘milestone’ is what MOST children are able to do by that age, it is not an average. Half of all children are below average, which is not bad or concerning at all! Being below average in a couple of areas is very normal, and most of these kids will never need to come see professionals for therapy. However, only 10% of children do not meet their milestones. If your child misses milestones, they are not meeting the bare minimums expected for typically developing children. A lot of children in this 10% will need to see a speech therapist in order to catch up, and some will have more significant disorders that require therapy for years. Check out our blog post on the differences between milestones and averages here.

Please reach out to us for a free 15 minute consultation if: - Your child is 3 years old, and you and other people understand your child less than 75% - Your child is 5 years old, and you and other people understand your child less than 100%. We expect children to make minimal speech errors by 5 years old. We can discuss your observations with you and talk about your child's skills and abilities. After we can recommend different service options if therapy is needed. We can discuss if speech therapy would be beneficial. You can learn more about our therapy options here. There are certain sounds we expect children to master at each age. Depending on how old your child is, some of their speech sound errors might be typical for their age. For example, we would not be concerned if your 3 year old has difficulty with the /r/ sound. We would be concerned if your child was 6 years old and still had difficulties with the /r/ sound. You can read more about speech sound development here: One good way of knowing if you should be concerned about your child's development is to look at the averages and milestones expected for your child's age. It would be a good idea to chat with a speech therapist if your child is not meeting their milestones and averages. Check out all of our parent guides on milestones for children between the ages of 1-5 years olds:

There are certain sounds we expect children to master at each age. Depending on how old your child is, some of their speech sound errors might be typical for their age. Therapy would be beneficial for children who are still making mistakes on sounds that they should have mastered for their age. For example, we would not be concerned if your 3 year old has difficulty with the /r/ sound. We would be concerned if your child was 6 years old and still had difficulties with the /r/ sound. You can read more about speech sound development here: Please reach out to us for a free 15 minute consultation if: - Your child's speech is unclear and is impacting their ability to make friends, have conversations and feel confident - Your child is making mistakes on sounds that they should have already mastered - Your child is 5 years old, and you and other people understand your child less than 100%. We expect children to make minimal speech errors by 5 years old. We can discuss your observations with you and talk about your child's skills and abilities. After we can recommend different service options if therapy is needed. We can discuss if speech therapy would be beneficial. You can learn more about our therapy options here.

Alberta Health Services does provide pediatric services and programming. There are speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology assistants who provide services for children in their different developmental areas through their preschool services (0-5 years of age). They also support older children (6-18 years of age) who have significant "medical" or neuro-based difficulties, have experienced changes due to injury, medical intervention, surgery or illness. You can call 811 for more information and self-refer or see this link: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/findhealth/service.aspx?Id=1003329 If you are put on a waitlist for an extended period of time, you can consider contacting us for a "while-you-wait" consultation! We will address some of your immediate questions and concerns, and give you strategies to try while you wait for your appointment with Alberta Health Services! Click here to check out some of our other services.

All albertans are able to receive speech-language pathology services through Alberta Health Services if they meet the eligibility requirements. Services through Alberta Health Services can be limited depending on the program's service delivery formats (e.g., informal assessments only, virtual consultation only, services delivered in group formats). Services can also be limited depending on the resources available and their mandate to provide equitable services. This may result in you being put on long waitlists or you and your child not receiving the optimal or enough support. At Chatty Therapy, we are able to provide comprehensive 1-on-1 services that are directly tailored for you and your family. We have the ability to plan the treatment schedule around your availability and your child's goals. Depending on your child's needs and your priorities, we can provide intensive therapy or spaced-out support that it is more consistent. As well, we are able to follow your child as they get older and progress through school in case they need support in the future with more advanced skills (e.g., reading and literacy). Click here to get started with Chatty Therapy!

The COVID-19 Alberta Health Daily Checklist will be completed by all therapists and clients prior to each visit. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) consisting of masks and eye protection will be used. Infection Prevention Control procedures outlined by the Alberta College of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists and Alberta Health Standards will also be followed. COVID-19 Alberta Health Daily Checklist: https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/56c020ed-1782-4c6c-bfdd-5af36754471f/resource/9000840d-63c4-41b4-9ec1-db5c09b9051e/download/covid-19-information-alberta-health-daily-checklist-2020-12.pdf Infection Prevention Control Procedures: https://www.acslpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Advisory-Statement-IPC-ReusableSingleUseDevices-March-2020.pdf

Yes, we can support your child and family virtually! One great advantage of teletherapy is that we can show and model speech sounds and words without masks. We use many interactive games and activities to engage your child! ​This option is great for older children who are able to focus on a therapist over video conferencing. This would also be great for parents looking for consultations. Click here to see our therapy options!