You Love Your Child's School SLP. You're Still Wondering If More Help Would Make a Difference.
If you're reading this, your child probably already receives speech therapy at school. Maybe they have an IEP. Maybe you've sat through the meetings, reviewed the goals, and watched your child work with a speech-language pathologist you genuinely like and trust.
And yet, something is still nagging at you. Progress feels slow. Your child still struggles in situations the IEP doesn't quite cover. You're wondering whether private speech therapy could help — without feeling like you're saying school services aren't good enough.
Here's the thing: this isn't an either-or decision. School speech therapy and private speech therapy serve different purposes. Understanding those differences can help you figure out what's right for your child.
How School Speech Therapy Works
School-based speech therapy is provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It's a wonderful resource, and school SLPs are dedicated, highly trained professionals. But the system they work within has specific rules about who qualifies and what services look like.
To receive speech therapy at school, your child's speech or language difficulty must affect their educational performance. That's the threshold. The IEP team sets goals tied to how your child functions in the classroom — participating in lessons, following directions, communicating with teachers and peers during the school day.
Sessions usually happen during school hours. They're often in small groups of two to four students. Frequency is typically once or twice a week for about 30 minutes. And school SLPs carry large caseloads — often 50, 60, or more students — which limits how much individual attention any one child receives.
None of this is a criticism. It's just how the system is designed. School therapy is free, accessible, and helps many children make real progress. It's an important part of the picture.
How Private Speech Therapy Is Different
Private speech therapy operates outside the school system. That changes a few things.
No eligibility threshold. Your child doesn't need to show that their speech affects academic performance. If there's a concern — whether it's speech sounds, language, fluency, confidence, or social communication — a private SLP can address it.
One-on-one sessions. Every session is just your child and their therapist. There's no sharing time with other students. The full session is focused entirely on your child's specific goals.
Same therapist every time. Continuity matters. When your child works with the same clinician session after session, the therapist knows their patterns, their strengths, and exactly where they left off.
Broader goals. Private therapy can target communication needs that go beyond the classroom — social situations, conversations at home, confidence when speaking to unfamiliar people, or specific sounds that bother your child even if they don't affect grades.
Parent involvement. In private sessions, parents are welcome to observe and participate. You see what strategies are being used. You learn how to reinforce them at home. Therapy doesn't stop when the session ends.
Flexible scheduling. Sessions can happen after school, in the evening, or on a schedule that works for your family — not dictated by the school bell.
When School Services May Be Enough
For many children, school speech therapy provides exactly the support they need. Here are some signs that things are on track:
- Your child is making steady, measurable progress on their IEP speech and language goals
- Their speech difficulties are primarily affecting school performance, and school therapy is addressing that
- They're communicating more confidently in the classroom over time
- The school SLP's reports show consistent improvement
- Your child feels good about how they communicate outside of school, too
If this sounds like your situation, that's great news. School services are doing their job, and your child's SLP deserves credit for that progress.
When Adding Private Therapy Might Help
Sometimes families notice that school therapy alone isn't quite meeting all of their child's needs. That's not anyone's fault. It's often a reflection of the system's constraints, not the quality of care.
Here are some situations where families may want to explore adding private speech therapy:
- Progress on IEP goals has slowed down or plateaued
- Your child receives group therapy at school and you feel they would benefit from individual attention
- Their speech or language concerns affect them outside of school — at home, with friends, in activities, or in social settings
- You'd like more frequent sessions than the school schedule allows
- You want to be more involved in the therapy process and learn strategies to use at home
- Your child has communication goals that don't fit neatly into the "educational performance" framework
None of these situations mean school therapy has failed. They simply mean your child may benefit from additional support.
Can Your Child Have Both?
Yes. And for many families, this combination works really well.
Private speech therapy doesn't replace school services — it supplements them. Your child continues receiving what the school provides, and private therapy fills in the gaps. Think of it as two people working toward the same goal from different angles.
A private SLP can coordinate with your child's school therapist to align strategies and goals. This means your child hears consistent approaches across both settings, which can support progress.
You can also share results from a private evaluation with the IEP team. Sometimes, outside evaluation data strengthens the case for expanded school services. It works both ways.
Questions to Help You Decide
If you're on the fence, these questions may help you think through your child's situation:
- Is my child making steady progress on their IEP speech goals?
- Does my child receive individual or group therapy at school?
- How many minutes per week does my child receive speech services?
- Does my child's speech difficulty affect them outside of school — socially, at home, in activities?
- Would I like to be more involved in my child's therapy sessions?
- Does my child need evening or weekend sessions that school can't provide?
There's no scoring here. These are just starting points for reflection. If several of these questions are landing differently than you'd hoped, it may be worth a conversation with a private SLP to explore your options.
What Private Telehealth Speech Therapy Looks Like
At Strategic Speech Solutions, all sessions happen over secure video — from your home, on your schedule. Here's what that means in practice:
- Your child works one-on-one with the same therapist every session
- Sessions use interactive games, screen-shared activities, and conversation-based exercises tailored to your child's goals
- You can observe and participate — you'll learn strategies to reinforce between sessions
- Evening appointments are available, so therapy doesn't compete with homework or after-school activities
- No commute, no waiting room, no disruption to your child's school day
We serve families across New York and New Jersey. Research shows that telehealth speech therapy can produce outcomes comparable to in-person sessions for many children — and the convenience factor means fewer missed appointments and more consistent practice.
Let's Talk About Your Child
If you're wondering whether private speech therapy would help alongside what your child already receives at school, the best next step is a conversation. We offer a free 15-minute phone consultation where we can talk through your child's current services, what you're seeing at home, and whether additional support makes sense.
No pressure. No commitment. Just an honest conversation about what might help your child.
Call (917) 426-7007 to schedule your free consultation.
You can also request a free speech screening if you'd like a professional to take a quick look at where your child stands.