Question 1

Do you take insurance?

Accepted Answer

TALK is a private-pay practice, by design. We do not file insurance or accept direct billing, and we are honest that this makes us the wrong fit for families who need in-network reimbursement to access care. What you get in exchange: therapy decisions made purely on clinical grounds, unhurried sessions, your child treated by the clinician you chose, and zero insurance-driven limits on frequency or duration. Our clinicians' time is billed at $175–$185 per hour, prorated to session length (most sessions are 30–60 minutes), and your child's exact fees are quoted in writing before your first visit, so there are never surprises. We also prepare superbills (itemized statements with the service and diagnosis codes) which some families submit to their insurer for possible out-of-network reimbursement; whether a plan reimburses is between you and your insurer.

Question 2

What does an evaluation involve, and how fast can we start?

Accepted Answer

It starts with a phone call, a real conversation with us about your child, usually the same or next business day. If an evaluation makes sense, we schedule promptly, typically within one to two weeks. The evaluation itself is a comprehensive, play-friendly session using gold-standard assessments, running 30 to 60 minutes at our standard hourly rate (most families pay $90–$185, written report included). It can stay that focused because we test only what hasn't already been tested: any psychoeducational or prior evaluation you bring is built upon, never re-administered. You receive the report within days, with a clear diagnosis (or a clear all-clear) and a specific recommended plan.

Question 3

We already have a psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation. Do you use it?

Accepted Answer

Yes, bring it. Many of our families come to us because a psychologist's report recommended a comprehensive speech-language evaluation. We read every page, build on the testing already done rather than repeating it, and coordinate with your psychologist so the full picture stays coherent.

Question 4

Will you coordinate with our child's school?

Accepted Answer

Routinely. With your permission we communicate with teachers, learning specialists, and admissions or student-support teams at your child's school, including Atlanta's independent schools, where many of our families are enrolled. We consider therapy finished when the gains show up in the classroom.

Question 5

How long will my child need therapy?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the diagnosis, frequency, and home practice. We give you our honest estimate at the evaluation, then re-justify it with data at every progress review. We measure everything, and when your child no longer needs us, we say so. Graduations are the point.

Question 6

My orthodontist (or dentist) referred us for a tongue thrust. Is that really a speech therapy thing?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it's a formal specialty here. Clare Lashley is a certified orofacial myologist (one of few in Atlanta), and tongue thrust, resting mouth posture, post-frenectomy therapy, and stubborn thumb habits are her daily work. We coordinate directly with your referring orthodontist, dentist, or ENT and report progress at every review, because correcting the muscle pattern is what protects the orthodontic result.

Question 7

Can sessions fit an after-school schedule?

Accepted Answer

Yes. After-school slots are our busiest and we hold a substantial block of them; teletherapy adds flexibility for travel weeks and packed seasons. Tell us your constraints on the first call and we'll be straight about what we can offer.

Question 8

Can I actually reach you outside business hours?

Accepted Answer

For everything except the therapy itself, yes. Our front office runs around the clock with help from Winston, an AI practice assistant we built for TALK and supervise ourselves. Email about a cancellation at 9pm and it's processed that night; ask for a superbill, a records release, or intake paperwork and it turns around in hours. Anything clinical, and anything the assistant is unsure about, goes straight to a human, and your child's records stay inside the practice's own systems under the same confidentiality obligations as the rest of our work. The phone, for what it's worth, is always a person. It's how a small practice gives you the responsiveness of a much larger one.

Question 9

What ages do you see?

Accepted Answer

Children from 18 months through the teen years, with our largest group between 4 and 10. Adults are a dedicated part of the practice too: accent modification and professional communication coaching for physicians, actors, executives, and other professionals, in office or over Zoom.

Question 10

My child is bilingual. Will that complicate therapy?

Accepted Answer

Not at all, and you should keep speaking your home language. Bilingualism does not cause speech or language disorders. We evaluate against bilingual development norms and design therapy that strengthens your child's whole language system.

Question 11

Do you offer therapy at home, at school, or online?

Accepted Answer

Most therapy happens at our Buckhead office on Miami Circle, which is designed to be calm, private, and genuinely pleasant. We also see children on campus at several of Atlanta's independent schools where we hold established relationships; our clinicians regularly test and treat during the school day, and will even spend sessions building rapport at school before an evaluation when a child needs that. And we offer teletherapy, including internationally.

Question 12

What happens on the first phone call?

Accepted Answer

You talk to a person who knows speech and language. We listen to what you're seeing, tell you honestly whether an evaluation is warranted, explain fees, and if we're not the right practice, point you toward who is.

Questions parents actually ask

Start with a conversation.