We believe in taking a common sense approach to therapy. That starts with treating the root cause of a speech, feeding, or language issue rather than only addressing the symptoms. We work closely with families and provide weekly homework to help the child make consistent progress.

Also, our approach encourages therapists to specialize in areas that are most interesting or important to them instead of trying to be a jack of all trades. The fields of pediatric therapy (i.e. ST, OT, PT) are vast and varied. Having our therapists specialize allows them to get a lot of experience with certain areas (i.e. speech sound disorders, language disorders, feeding disorders) and develop expertise in those areas.

Here’s an exaggerated example: you wouldn’t see an ENT for foot pain, and you wouldn’t see a podiatrist for ear infections. An ENT and a podiatrist are both doctors, but they have different areas of specialty. Therapy is similar! You want to find someone who specializes in the areas related to your child’s needs if at all possible. At Expressions, we have therapists who specialize in language disorders, speech sound disorders, motor speech disorders (i.e. apraxia, dysarthria), orofacial myofunctional disorders, and feeding disorders.

There’s an age range that typically developing children learn speech, language, and feeding skills. Once kids surpass that age range and haven’t learned certain skills, there may be room for concern. There could be several reasons for delays in development, so it’s always a good idea to talk with an SLP to determine the cause of delays and what treatments will be the most effective.

Check out our What Should My Child be Doing? blog post for more details on developmental norms.

You may wonder whether your child will simply “grow out of it” or if therapy is really necessary. The honest answer is: we can’t know for sure. Some children do catch up on their own, but others continue to struggle or fall further behind without support.

You may hear that a child will outgrow certain speech, feeding, or developmental concerns. Sometimes that happens—but there’s no reliable way to predict which children will and which won’t. That’s why early evaluation is so important. If there is a true underlying difficulty, addressing it early is far easier and more effective than waiting.

If you have concerns, the best next step is an evaluation with a therapist who has specific training in that area. Our speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists can assess your child and help determine whether therapy is needed, and if so, what type of support would be most helpful.

Therapy will look a little different for every child, because it’s based on their specific needs and goals.

Therapy done by a speech-language pathologist may focus on helping a child understand and use language, produce speech sounds clearly, or develop safe and efficient feeding skills. For a child with a language delay, sessions may look a lot like play while targeting skills such as requesting, answering questions, and following directions. For a child with speech sound errors, therapy may include targeted oral motor and speech practice to build accurate movement patterns. For feeding concerns, therapy may involve oral motor work and gradual, positive interaction with new foods.

Therapy done by an occupational therapist supports skills needed for everyday life, such as fine motor control, sensory processing, attention, regulation, and self-care. Sessions may include movement, hands-on activities, and play-based tasks that help children improve coordination, body awareness, emotional regulation, and independence in daily routines.

Across both, therapy is designed to be engaging, functional, and practical, with strategies that carry over into home and school life.

The length of therapy varies based on your child’s needs, the complexity of their goals, and how consistently strategies are practiced at home. Some children with a small number of speech sound errors who practice regularly may complete therapy in a few months, while children with more significant language or feeding needs may benefit from longer-term support.

Speech, language, and feeding skills take time to develop. Most families should expect therapy to last at least several months, with the exact length depending on the child’s progress and carryover at home.

As a parent or caregiver, you play an integral role in your child’s therapy! Home practice is where the magic happens! Therapy sessions help teach new skills, but children learn best through frequent practice in their everyday environments. Parent education is a core part of our therapy approach. Our goal is for you to leave a session feeling equipped and confident, with a clear plan for how to support your child between visits.

Your therapist will always provide specific strategies or activities to practice at home and will show you how to use them. You should leave every session knowing exactly what to work on and how to help your child carry those skills into daily life.

In most cases, yes! Having parents in the room can be very beneficial for carryover at home and we love having parents in the session so you fully understand what we’re working on. Depending on the child and the type of therapy, having a parent in the room can be distracting and may hinder participation and progress. In those cases, we may ask parents to stay in the waiting room to ensure the child’s time in therapy is used wisely. We often ask parents to come back in the room before the end of the session for training purposes and to answer any questions.

If a parent wants to attend therapy with the child, we always try to make that happen. If it becomes an issue, you and your therapist will discuss other options to make sure therapy time is the most beneficial for your child. No matter what, we want you to feel comfortable with your therapist and trust her to treat your child with respect and care.

This depends on the child and the type of therapy! Most of our sessions last between 30-45 minutes. The last 5 minutes or so consists of explaining homework and answering any questions.

There isn’t a single “right” schedule for every child. Many children come once or twice a week, depending on what they need. Our goal is to make therapy practical and useful for daily life, so we spend time coaching parents and caregivers too. You’re with your child far more than we are, and that’s where the real learning happens.

In most cases, yes! Your child is intentionally paired with the therapist we think fits best based on your concerns. If we ever do recommend you see a different therapist, there's usually a practical or therapeutic reason. For example, your child has met all their language goals and now you want to work on feeding. Or your work schedule changes and your current therapist doesn't have openings available when you need.

However, we don't regularly move kids around between therapists like some clinics do. While there are some benefits to that model (and it sure makes scheduling easier), we believe that kids make the best progress, families feel most supported, and therapists can do their best work when we can establish a relationship and get to know each other.

Yes! We are in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, ALL Kids, Tricare, and Medicaid. If we are out of network with your plan, we can provide a superbill and any needed documentation for you to submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.

Coverage varies a lot by plan, and insurance companies set their own rates and rules that we all have to follow. We always advocate for our patients and do our best to help fix issues when they come up, especially since we see the same problems across plans and can often identify patterns and correct errors before they make it to you. That said, we can’t guarantee coverage or reimbursement and are limited by your insurance company’s policies. If we’re out of network, it’s important to check with your insurance provider ahead of time to understand what they may or may not cover.

Orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs) involve patterns of muscle use and posture that affect how the mouth and face grow and function. They can occur at any age and are often related to low tongue resting posture, mouth breathing, teeth grinding, tongue thrust, or prolonged sucking habits.

Many children with speech or feeding difficulties have an underlying OMD. In these cases, the issue isn’t just developmental—it’s related to how the tongue, lips, and jaw are resting and moving. Children may learn to compensate (for example, producing a sound that sounds correct but with incorrect placement), which can lead to inefficient oral function and strain over time.

Because oral posture and muscle patterns are closely linked to breathing and facial growth, OMDs are often associated with concerns related to sleep and airway health. While we do not diagnose or treat sleep or airway disorders, we focus on orofacial function and collaborate with appropriate medical and dental providers when concerns are identified.

OMDs can also contribute to feeding challenges, including texture aversions, slow eating, and mealtime distress. Addressing underlying orofacial function can support more successful speech and feeding outcomes.

Treatment is very collaborative and may involve speech-language pathologists, dentists or orthodontists, ENTs, occupational therapists, and other medical or body-based providers.

Primitive reflexes are automatic movement patterns we’re born with that help with survival and early development. As the brain matures, these reflexes are meant to fade and be replaced by more controlled, purposeful movement. When they don’t fully integrate, they can interfere with posture, coordination, attention, sensory processing, and emotional regulation.

Primitive reflex integration uses specific, targeted movements to help the nervous system mature and organize more efficiently. The goal isn’t to “exercise” muscles, but to support the brain–body connection so a child can move, learn, and regulate more easily in daily life.

There are some organizations that offer grants or some kind of financial support for therapy services if you meet certain qualifications. Each of these organizations have their own requirements and processes. We aren't affiiated with these organizations in any way, but wanted to share these resources with you:

• Libby's Friends

• The UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation

• Orange Effect Foundation

• Oracle Health Foundation

• Act4Me

While Expressions does not require a referral for services, it is highly preferred! We want to work with your pediatrician to help your child, and the best way to do that is to start with a referral. That being said, some insurance plans do require a referral before services will be covered:

Medicaid: A specific referral from your pediatrician is required before services can begin. This is called an EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment) referral. Pediatricians usually complete an EPSDT screening of Medicaid patients once per year (often at the child’s yearly check up). That screening must be completed before they can refer a child for therapy services. If you’ve never mentioned your concerns regarding speech, language, or feeding skills to your pediatrician, you may need to set up a visit before he or she will be comfortable referring your child for services. The pediatrician’s office can fax that referral form to us at (205) 719-4022.

BCBS: Many plans don’t require a referral for services, but some do. You’ll need to check with your particular plan to see what they require. We may be able to help you find out if you have trouble getting a clear answer, so give us a call if you’re not sure.

We always request a referral or script from the pediatrician, but will try to work with you if you'd rather not go that route.

The quickest way is to click the Get Started button at the top of the page or click here. This will take you to an interest form that puts you directly in our queue. You'll then receive the full packet of intake paperwork. Once that's completed, we will contact you to schedule the evaluation.

We're also happy to have you contact us directly! Give us a call at (205) 739-2066 or email frontdesk@expressionspediatrictherapy.com.

Once the evaluation is completed, your therapist will create a treatment plan to address your child’s areas of need. That treatment plan will be discussed at the next session.

We ask families to complete intake paperwork before scheduling an evaluation so we can make sure we’re saving those spots for families who are ready to move forward. This helps keep our schedule running smoothly and allows us to get new patients in as quickly as possible.

Give us a call at (205) 739-2066 or email frontdesk@expressionspediatrictherapy.com. We’ll be happy to help however we can!