Speech and Language Services
The goal of Speech and Language Services is to provide the highest quality of service possible to children and their families. Our organization is unique in that we have both an outpatient therapy program (individual and small group therapy) and our inclusive developmental preschool program with school-based therapy services. Our clients can be enrolled in one or more of our programs. Speech and Language Services serves a variety of clients with speech and language needs, some of which include:
Articulation/phonological processes
Receptive/expressive language
Auditory processing
Childhood apraxia of speech
Pragmatic language
Autism spectrum
Phonological awareness and literacy support
Written expression
Our Speech-Language Pathologists
Educating children with typical peers is the foundation for building social and communication skills, leading to the development of friendships and involvement in the community. All of our Speech and Language Pathologists are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Sue Lyons M.A., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Director of Speech & Language Services
Sue is the Director and a Speech-Language Pathologist at Speech & Language Services. She provides therapy in both the school-based program and the outpatient program. Sue attended Boston College and received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1992. She received her Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology from George Washington University in 1994 and her Certificate of Clinical Competence in 1995. Sue worked with the Fairfax County Public School System for eight years and also part time in various private settings. Sue meets with each new family to determine if DMPS is a good fit for children with communication delays.
CRISTINA BELL M.A., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Tina provides therapy in both the outpatient and school-based programs. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Boston College in 1993 and a Master of Arts in Speech Pathology from Kean University in 1995. She holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence. Tina has over 20 years’ experience working as a speech-language pathologist in the public school systems in Texas and New Jersey as well as in private practice in New Jersey and Virginia.
FAQs
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We provide services for children from 12 months to early teen years.
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For our outpatient rates, please visit the Speech and Language page. For school-based rates, please visit the Tuition page.
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The Speech and Language Center of Northern Virginia does not participate with any insurance companies. However, families are provided the necessary documents to submit to their individual insurance provider, including invoices with the necessary code(s), copies of therapy notes, and copies of any reports.
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Therapy services are typically scheduled Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM. Therapy services are provided year-round with the exception of two weeks in August.
Testimonials
“Dolley Madison was a godsend for my son. He got immense support to come out of his shell. The teachers and the speech therapist, Sue Lyons, are all wonderful and go way above and beyond to help families!”
Ayesha M.
“My son has benefited tremendously from the Speech Therapy services offered at Dolley Madison as well as the focus his teachers and the school place on developing warm, social relationships and positive classroom involvement.”
Stacey D.
“The Dolley Madison preschool is a great environment for children, parents and everyone that is involved in the day to day operations. It was such a pleasure and privilege to be a part of the preschool. We miss being a part of it, although our son has been an alumni for the past six years. We cannot thank them enough for giving our child the happiest possible start of his education. Teachers and Therapists were warm and caring towards all the children. Dolley Madison was a second home to us, and we feel extremely grateful to be a part of such a special place.”
Karla and Patrick Q.
“Being part of the DMPS family, including the SL program, changed the course of my child's life. At a very young age, when he most needed a loving, nurturing, encouraging and supportive pre-school environment, DMPS provided all that and more. We are eternally grateful that we found this unique program!”
Jen W.
School-Based Speech-Language
Children who need speech and language support at Dolley Madison Preschool are seen by our speech-language therapists during their preschool day. Therapy and support service are provided during class time so that children can improve their communication skills and fully participate in the preschool curriculum.
The therapy service delivery model for the preschool program is a combination of pull-out therapy, classroom-based therapy, and collaboration consultation services. The service delivery model is dependent on the needs and progress of each child enrolled in the program.
There are typically are two to four slots reserved for children who need this support within a classroom of 12-16 children. The additional fee added to the tuition covers two- three half-hour sessions weekly of direct therapy, weekly therapy notes, progress reports, parent meetings, team meetings with class staff, case management and evaluations, as needed. In order to maintain appropriate ratios, children who currently receive or qualify for speech and language therapy are required to accept a speech and language support slot.
If you have questions regarding whether your child requires this support, please contact Sue Lyons at Speech and Language Services at 703-356-2833 or via the form.
Outpatient Services
Our Speech-language therapists provide consultations, evaluations, and therapy sessions to children ages 12 months to early teen years with communication delays and disorders. Therapists provide verbal and/or written feedback to parents so that they can understand their child’s goals and can assist in the process.
Consultations
For children who are too young or developmentally unable to participate in standardized testing, this initial visit is used for observations and informal assessments, to gather information from parents, and to determine if therapy is recommended. The visit is 45-60 minutes. Verbal and/or written feedback are provided to parents.
Evaluations
A comprehensive assessment determines strengths and weaknesses of the child’s speech and language skills and defines the goals for therapy. Depending on the focus of the assessment, standardized tests, parent questionnaires, informal sampling, and other tools are used to gather information regarding the child’s abilities.
Individual Therapy
Therapy is scheduled in 30, 45, or 60 minute sessions which are typically scheduled between 8:30-5:30 Monday through Friday. Therapy is scheduled at a convenient time for the family and therapist. Frequency and length of sessions is determined by a child’s age and needs.
Small Group Therapy
Literacy Group:
Our Literacy Groups will focus on building a solid foundation for reading through phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is the ability to attend to and manipulate units of sounds in speech independent of meaning. Noticing and being able to manipulate the sounds of spoken language is highly related to later success in reading and spelling. We will address print awareness, responsiveness to rhyme and alliteration in word play, syllable awareness (counting, tapping, blending, or segmenting a word into syllables), onset and rime manipulation, as well as phoneme awareness (identifying initial/final/middle sounds, segmenting sounds in words, blending sounds into words, and manipulating phonemes by removing, adding or substituting sounds.) We will have fun learning by reading books and playing a variety of games to improve phonological awareness skills in our small group sessions. Each child will have a binder with weekly activities sent home focusing on the aforementioned goals.
Social Skills Group:
Our Social Skills Groups will focus on teaching children to be more successful communicators. We work on many skill areas while participating in structured games/activities and child-led play with facilitation. Skill areas include social greeting, self-regulation, joint attention, interactive play, turn-taking, sharing, expressing emotions, responding to and asking questions, initiating and maintaining conversation, and understanding verbal and nonverbal social cues. Each child will have a folder with session descriptions so that parents can talk to children about the activities and the participants for each session.
Outpatient Rates
| Consultations | Rate |
|---|---|
| Consultation/Conference Time | $160/hour |
| Initial Consultation with Report | $250 |
| Evaluations | Rate |
|---|---|
| Complete Speech/Language with Report | $450 |
| Speech/Articulation Only with Report | $250 |
| Individual Therapy | Rate |
|---|---|
| 30-Minute Session | $80 |
| 45-Minute Session | $120 |
| Home Vist/Travel Rate | $10 extra per visit |
| Small Group Therapy | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2-5 Students | $85/hour |
Insurance: The Speech and Language Center of Northern Virginia does not participate with any insurance companies. However, families are provided the necessary documentation if they decide to pursue insurance reimbursement.
An itemized bill of the services provided is presented at the beginning of the following month and payment is due within two weeks of the invoice date. The client is ultimately responsible for all payments due to the speech and language center.
Cancellation Policy: If a family needs to cancel a session, please contact the center 24 hours prior to the appointment. Uncancelled sessions are charged at the regular rate.