Speech therapy is a service that helps a child build skills including how they make their speech sounds, understanding others, social communication, being able to organize and express their wants/needs, and more!

Speech is the way sounds and words are produced. Examples of speech difficulties include not saying sounds clearly, having a hoarse or raspy voice, or stuttering. Language is how we use words to communicate. Examples of language difficulties include problems with understanding, explaining, reading or writing. (asha.org/public/speech/disorders) 

School-based speech therapy has the primary focus on academic/social success within the school setting, while private speech therapy has the primary focus of overall success for the child in all environments. School-based speech therapy has stricter guidelines for qualification for services since a certain level of negative impact on their academic performance or social interactions needs to be proven. If a child is referred for services within the school setting, it can take a few months for services to begin, if they qualify, in order to allow the child study team enough time to conduct meetings and determine eligibility through evaluations. Private therapy has less strict guidelines for qualification, and services can begin as early as two weeks.

If you believe your child’s education is being impacted by your concerns, please bring it to the attention of the school's child study team, in a dated written letter, as soon as possible. Be sure to mention how you are specifically concerned with their academic success or social interactions with peers. Once the letter is received by the child study team, you should hear back from them to discuss a plan moving forward! 

There are two major differences between private pay and insurance. With private pay, both the speech-language pathologist and the caregivers of the child have more freedom in deciding what skills to work on, how often, and for how long. When insurance is covering the services, they have restrictions on what they will cover and depending on the plan, they require frequent progress reports to determine continued eligibility of coverage. These frequent progress reports can sometimes directly take time away from therapy. When you pay with private pay, services can begin much sooner than with insurance since you won’t need to wait for approval to continue. There are times insurance determines the services are not necessary, therefore they won’t cover the cost, but private pay has less strict policies. 

During the evaluation process, the speech-language therapist will have a series of questions for the caregiver/s to gather a case history and current developmental skills. This is typically included in the intake forms to make it easier for everyone! Once case histories are received and reviewed, a speech therapist will reach out to you to schedule an evaluation. Evaluations include observations of the child playing on their own and interacting with others, often accompanied by standardized testing for more detailed information in certain areas of concern.

At Turtley Speech, we believe the best way to gain trust and cooperation is through making things fun and interesting for the child! To do this, we focus on things the child enjoys to work on improving their communication skills. We incorporate communication building skills into play activities.

Since Turtley Speech is a mobile service at this time, we are currently serving New Jersey families within 15 miles of Newton or Branchville, NJ. An additional travel fee is added for families between 15 and 25 miles.

Although we plan to in the future, Turtley Speech is not accepting insurance at this time. 

Services can be paid for by cash, check, or credit card. 

Yes, of course! Caregivers know the child best. Keeping caregivers involved helps promote carry-over, which helps the child make progress quicker! Turtley Speech requires a parent or caregiver be in the line of sight during sessions.

There is no waitlist for services provided by Turtley Speech at this time!

Turtley Speech does not require a referral, but we do accept them if you have them!

The sooner a concern is addressed, the sooner services can start. If services are delayed, it can be harder for the child to change what they have already been doing for some time. For example, the longer the child has a hard time with a certain sound, it is likely that the child will have a harder time learning the correct way to make the sound resulting in the need for a longer treatment plan. The sooner we can train the brain, the better!

Early Identification of Speech, Language, Swallowing, and Hearing Disorders

Check out these links for more information!

Communication Milestones: Birth to 1 Year

Communication Milestones: 13 to 18 Months

Communication Milestones: 19 to 24 Months

Communication Milestones: 2 to 3 Years

Communication Milestones: 3 to 4 Years

Communication Milestones: 4 to 5 Years

We mainly provide speech and language therapy services in Sussex County, NJ, including:

Andover, NJ

Augusta, NJ

Branchville, NJ

Byram Township, NJ

Franklin, NJ

Frankford, NJ

Fredon, NJ

Green Township, NJ

Hampton Township, NJ

Hardyston, NJ

Hopatcong, NJ

Lafayette Township, NJ

Montague, NJ

Newton, NJ

Sandyston, NJ

Sparta, NJ

Stanhope, NJ

Stillwater Township, NJ

Sussex, NJ

Wantage, NJ

We provide speech and language therapy services in select towns in Warren County, NJ, including:

Allamuchy Township, NJ

Blairstown, NJ

Hardwick Township, NJ

Johnsonburg, NJ

We provide speech therapy services areas in Morris County, NJ that border Sussex County, including:

Jefferson, NJ

Wharton, NJ

*If you are interested in services but your area is not listed, we may still be able to service your location. Please contact us for more information.

We provide pediatric speech and language therapy services to children who have:

Articulation disorders or delays

Phonological disorders or delays

Receptive Language disorders or delays

Expressive Language disorders or delays

Fluency disorders (stuttering, cluttering)

Social Skills