FAQs

  • We work with people of all ages, from infants to seniors.

    Infants: feeding/latching issues, myofunctional deficits

    Toddlers: Speech and Language Delay and deficits, feeding delays, pre-speech skills

    Children and teens: Expressive and receptive language development and social skills, Stuttering, Autism and Articulation

    Adults: Illness and injury affecting speech, swallowing and cognition

  • If you have concerns about your child's speech and language development, some red flags to look for include:

    Not babbling by 12 months

    Not using single words by 18 months

    Difficulty following simple directions by 2 years old

    Very limited vocabulary or unclear speech by 3 years old

    Stuttering that interferes with communication

    For adults, signs you may need speech therapy include:

    Difficulty speaking clearly or being understood

    Changes in your voice (hoarseness, weakness)

    Difficulty chewing or swallowing

    Speech therapy is a collaborative process between the SLP, the patient/client, and their loved ones. We work hard to work with your team of professionals. This is crucial for the best outcomes regardless of the complexity of the speech, swallowing, or cognitive deficit. Because we tend to staff therapists who have medical experience, treatment plans tend to be comprehensive and supportive of long-term medical goals.

  • The cycle of therapy includes 1) building awareness of the deficit 2) providing maximum assistance to be successful rapidly 3) measured decreases in assistance to support independent initiation and use of the trained skill 4) habituation of the skill in everyday life. This cycle repeats as specific short-term goals are achieved and long-term goals are met.

    Parents and caregivers are present during sessions.

    Exercises practiced in therapy are brought home and practiced there.

    Coordination with teachers, school-based SLPs, and medical professionals may happen before, during, or after the session.

    ~3 or more short-term goals are addressed each session; for example…

    Exercises to improve speech production through Oral Placement Therapy (OPT).

    Strategies to enhance language skills (scaffolding patient improvements and growth at phrase and sentence level).

    Techniques for improving voice quality.

    Training in swallowing techniques.

  • An NJ-licensed and ASHA certified therapist will ask questions about your medical history and communication or swallowing/feeding or cognitive concerns. She will conduct formal and informal assessments to evaluate speech, language, swallowing, and/or cognitive skills. Standardized assessments provide a formal normed measurement tool to compare performance in a meaningful way. These results provide us with the information necessary to make decisions about your care and treatment planning. A written report (approx 10 pages) will be provided to you for download from your patient portal. It is a medical report that you may choose to share with whomever you like and will provide concrete and reliable data. By filling out a protected health information form, you may direct us to fax this to whomever you choose. Patients often wish to share reports with their schools, other medical professionals, or others. Morris Speech Therapy’s standard of care includes sending your report to involved medical professionals for signature. We also provide progress reports to medical professionals and to you (in the patient’s portal) over the course of treatment.

  • Please don't hesitate to contact us and ask! We're happy to answer any questions you have about speech therapy!

Billing and Insurance Info

At Morris Speech Therapy, all therapists are in-network Tier One providers with Horizon, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Michele made this decision because she feels strongly that patients should be able to use their insurance to get high-quality service. She was fortunate to start the business when the Affordable Care Act was passed, allowing her to obtain insurance outside of a corporate setting. In celebration of this decision, it was made. We do not want anyone to go into debt to get the speech, swallowing, or cognitive services that are necessary to improve their functional participation in activities. This philosophy has guided the development of insurance and payment policies for the last decade.

We strive to streamline the insurance process with mandatory insurance consultations. 

We provide payment plan options.

Additionally, we are a designated fee-for-service provider for adults with developmental disabilities through the Department of Developmental Disabilities.

Whether you choose in-person sessions or online therapy, we can accommodate your needs. We understand that navigating insurance coverage and healthcare expenses can be challenging, which is why we offer flexible payment plans to make therapy more accessible for all.