How long does therapy take?
One of my most asked questions also happens to be one of the questions I have the hardest time answering: How long will speech-language therapy take? Let’s break this down by first talking about how to decide when to end therapy, then we can talk about what we (me as the SLP, you as the parents/caregivers, and your child) can do to make the most progress possible.
This is a tricky one for a few reasons. Firstly, we need to understand when and how the speech-language therapist (SLP) and the caregivers make the decision to end therapy, also called discharge. One reason for discharging from therapy is that the child’s skills catch up to those of other children their age (peers). When this happens, it means we have essentially “cured” the speech or language disorder. For some children with speech or language delays or disorders, bringing skills up to the level of their peers is the end goal of therapy. For example, if your 2 year old is late to talk, or your 7 year old needs help to learn their “s” sound, it is likely that their skills will be able to reach the same level as their peers with high-quality speech-language therapy.
For some children, gaining skills that are comparable to other children their age may not be possible. This is one of the most difficult conversations for parents and therapists to have. Sometimes, this may not be possible because the child’s brain works differently from other children, which is called neurodiversity. The neurodiversity movement refers to variations in how the human brain works, with common examples being autism, ADHD, apraxia, and dyslexia. It may also be difficult for children to gain skills similar to other children their age if the child has severe behavior difficulties, an intellectual impairment that makes learning difficult, or other disorders that impact the child’s ability to learn or do certain skills, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and some syndromes. In these cases, the goal of therapy is to help the child and parents learn compensatory (coping) strategies or train the parent to continue to help their child improve their skills at home without the need for long-term individual therapy.
Additionally, there are so many factors that impact progress in therapy. Some of these factors are within our control and some are out of our control. Receiving consistent therapy, using therapy techniques that are based on high-quality evidence, involving parents in therapy, practicing skills from therapy at home, and managing behavior so that your child can participate and practice all impact your child’s progress and are factors we can control. However, the rate at which your child learns and the severity of their speech or language disorder are outside of our control.
Speech-language therapy is not meant to be lifelong. One of my favorite things about involving parents in therapy and coaching them to do therapy with their child is that, even for kids who may need help for many years, parents are able to provide that help, rather than paying for and going to therapy for years on end. The length of treatment depends on many factors and can never be guaranteed. Some children may need therapy for as little as 3-6 months while other children may receive therapy for 3-4 years. The best advice I can give to parents is to create an open dialogue with your therapist. If you have questions about the therapy, including why the therapist is doing what they are doing, how long they expect therapy to take, or what else you could be doing at home, just ask! Check out our blog post on the importance of caregiver involvement for more information about how getting involved in your child’s therapy can speed their progress.
