Question 1

What exactly is speech therapy?

Accepted Answer

Speech therapy (from the Greek: “speech training”) covers the areas of diagnostics, therapy and counseling of language, speech, voice and swallowing disorders, as well as auditory perception disorders in children, adolescents, adults and their relatives.

Question 2

I think we need speech therapy, what do we need to do?

Accepted Answer

If you have the impression that you need speech therapy or that your child is having difficulties with speech development/pronunciation, you should first discuss this with your doctor. For adults, the specialist areas are, for example, general medicine, neurology or ENT. For children, the pediatrician, ENT doctor or orthodontist is usually responsible. The doctor has the option of issuing a prescription for medicinal products if speech therapy diagnosis or therapy is necessary.

Question 3

When should speech therapy begin?

Accepted Answer

Speech therapy should begin as early as possible! If you are unsure whether therapy is necessary, your doctor may initially prescribe 2-3 therapy sessions to assess the condition.

Question 4

Do only children need speech therapy?

Accepted Answer

We treat both children and adults in our practice.
The reasons for treating adults are language/speech/voice/swallowing disorders after a neurological event, e.g. a stroke or progressive diseases, e.g. Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS). But we also treat patients with voice disorders, weaknesses in the tongue and facial muscles, e.g. after tumor treatments in the head/neck area, stuttering/cluttering or facial paralysis.

Question 5

What are the costs for patients?

Accepted Answer

Insured persons of the German statutory health insurance funds
The statutory health insurance companies cover the costs of speech therapy.
Co-payment : Children and young people under 18 are exempt from co-payment. All other people pay a co-payment. According to the current medicinal product guidelines, the co-payment is 10% of the treatment costs plus a 10 euro prescription fee. For patients who are exempt from co-payment, your health insurance company will cover the costs.
 
Insured persons of private health insurance companies
Private health insurance companies cover the costs of the therapy as agreed in your contract. We would be happy to provide you with a cost estimate in advance so that you can clarify the cost coverage with your private health insurance company.

Question 6

When are the treatment times?

Accepted Answer

We work by appointment from Monday to Friday. If you would like to register in person at the practice and no one is there, we are out and about and make home visits to our patients.

Question 7

How do I get an appointment?

Accepted Answer

You can contact us in our practice for an initial appointment or if you have any questions beforehand by phone or email. If you are unsure whether speech therapy would be useful for you or your child, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone.
Our office staff's telephone consultation hours are usually Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

So that we can give each patient our full attention, an answering machine is switched on during our ongoing treatments and during home or house visits. Please be sure to leave your name and telephone number here. We will call you back as soon as possible to take your request.

You can also fill out the contact form on the homepage under “Contact and Directions” for inquiries.

Question 8

What happens at the first appointment?

Accepted Answer

At the first appointment in our practice, an initial conversation (anamnesis interview) takes place. With adults, we first get an idea of the current difficulties and ask for individual information that we think is important for diagnosis and possible therapy planning. With children, for example, we ask the parents about early childhood development in various developmental areas and the difficulties that arise. We then carry out an initial diagnosis with the patient to get an impression of their language skills. Children usually experience this as a "game" and not as a "test". We try to make our work transparent for both the patient and their relatives.
In child therapy, the parents are given a comprehensive consultation to explain the current state of language development and the options for speech therapy are shown. Close cooperation with the parents is particularly important to us, as this is crucial for comprehensive therapy success. As part of the therapy, we are happy to offer detailed consultations for parents in which support options at home and more comprehensive questions can be discussed. Our therapy concept includes a holistic view of the disorder, which is why interdisciplinary exchange with other professional groups is also very important to us.

Question 9

How long does speech therapy take?

Accepted Answer

For children, a prescription usually includes 10 treatments, each of which usually lasts 45 minutes. They are carried out as individual therapy, but in rare cases group therapy can also be useful.

In adults, the duration of therapy is 30, 45 or 60 minutes, this is decided by the prescribing doctor.

After each prescription (treatment phase), a detailed therapy report is sent to the treating physician and, if necessary, a follow-up prescription is requested.

Basically, we try to treat as briefly as possible, but as long as necessary.

Question 10

What if I cannot keep an agreed appointment?

Accepted Answer

Our practice is an appointment-only practice, which means that in order to avoid unnecessary waiting times, we arrange individual, fixed treatment appointments with you. These treatment appointments are reserved exclusively for you.

By handing over the prescription, you enter into a service contract with us for medical services, the services provided of which are covered by the health insurance companies for those with statutory insurance.

If you miss an appointment - for whatever reason - or if you do not cancel it at least 24 hours in advance, we will not be able to reassign the time you have already reserved. We therefore expressly ask you to cancel appointments in good time.

Otherwise, we are obliged to invoice you for the missed appointments according to the valid treatment fees of the statutory or private health insurance companies (according to §611 SGB and §615 BGB).

We ask for your understanding.

Question 11

We can't come to the practice, do you also make home visits?

Accepted Answer

If you have a corresponding doctor’s prescription, we will also be happy to come to your home, nursing home or other therapeutic and social facilities.

However, this only applies to the Wilhelmsburg district.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions