Seeking Speech Therapist in the South Bay

Demore Janice Speech Pathologists
Street: 25550 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, ca 90505-6825
Phone: ###-###-####

Janice is a great speech therapist!

Hi A.,

If you have any concerns about your daughter's development, you may take her to the Regional Center for a formal evaluation. Harbor Regional Center provides such services to families in the South Bay area. It is an entity of the California Department of Developmental Services. Services are free. After the developmental evaluation is completed, Harbor Regional Center will fund any necessary developmental services. Based on her speech delay, it may be recommended that your daughter receive speech therapy services either individually, in small group, or in an early intervention program. All therapy services are funded through Harbor Regional Center. (The issue with some private insurance is that therapy is short term - sometimes only "so many months" or "so many sessions." Pediatricians routinely refer children to the regional center for further developmental evaluation. I would highly recommend that you contact them immediately and be persistent about having the evaluation completed in a timely manner. Harbor Regional Center is located in Torrance, at Hawthorne Blvd. and Torrance Blvd. I hope that you find the appropriate therapeutic services for your daughter.

i agree with the others that you can contact the harbor regional center for services. if the decide you do not qualify or you choose to go private we currently see Jen Chech in the hollywood riveria area of redondo. her number is ###-###-####. my son had no speech at 2 and now at 4 he is speaking in full sentences. we are now fine tuning his tongue/lip movements to make his speech more clear. we have beeen using her since he aged out of the regional center at 3. we choose not to use the school districts help do to the distance of their location to our home. good luck. know you are not alone this seems to be a big issue even though you do not hear much about it in print. e-mail me if you want more info or to chat. T.

We are currently working with Melissa Von Leffern for our son who is 2 1/2. She has been great. Her Web site address is: http://www.fwspeech.com/ She goes to our son's preschool in Long Beach each week and sees him there. Not sure about coverage in the south bay.

We initially had our son assessed by Fabi Moy -- also in Long Beach. She was good, too, and was recommended by our pediatrician. We didn't continue with her for insurance reasons. (see below)

You may find, as we did, that your insurance will cover a speech assessment -- which was done by Fabi Moy -- but does not cover speech therapy (unless needed for some catastrophic reason -- not our situation).

However, if an assessment of your daughter's speech recommends therapy, you will likely be able to access free services through the state. Services are administered through the Regional Centers (google LA County Regional Center) until kids reach school age at which point the school district takes over. Our services are through the OC Regional Center. I was amazed at how smooth and efficient the process was! I expected a bureaucratic swamp...

Anyway, after a few months of therapy, our son is caught up to what is expected for his age.

Since you live in Gardena you receive services from Westside Regional Center. You need to immediately call them at ###-###-#### and ask to speak to someone in the Early Start Program. Tell them that you want your daughter assessed for speech delays. By law, they have 45 days (once you sign and agree to assessment) to test and see what speech services she qualifies for. They will pay for speech services and possibly a preschool program for language development for your daughter. Once your daughter turns 3, the school district is responsible. (LAUSD has a few options for preschool and language delays) I have been through this before with my son. Please feel free to contact me with any questions! Best wishes! M.

Our son was 2-1/2 when we started speech therapy. We went to Marianne O'Brien Gordon in Torrance. Her number is ###-###-####. She is excellent. I found out later that she was the speech therapist my nephew had also had 5 years earlier. Our son then went into the special ed program at Alta Vista (Redondo Beach School District) at 3 years old. He's now almost 6 and doesn't quite talk at his age level, but sure talks a lot!

Good luck!
B.

All of these answers are great. HRC is definitely the first step. Unfortunately, they may not have SLP's available. There are many good clinicians in the South Bay. Go to asha.org to find a qualified SLP near you.

Another resource you might consider in the meantime is the non-profit The Friendship Circle. This April 2011 they are hosting language enrichment workshops for parents of toddlers. The workshops are designed by SLP's (myself included) to provide families with current, reliable information. Parents will learn the foundational knowledge for understanding their child’s speech and language therapy and how to directly facilitate their child’s progress. Part of the class fee is donated to The Friendship Circle. For more information call Jill or Paula at The Friendship Circle: ###-###-#### or visit MyLanguageToolbox.com.

I can help. You qualify for FREE speech therapy through the state. My son went through the same thing, only about 5 words consistantly. Speech therapy changed it all, and brought him up to speed. I live in Orange County and the program is called Regional Center of Orange County. They will make an appointment to evaluate your child at your home. Once accepeted, you will be referred to a local speech therapy facility and will attend based on their recommendations. Once your daughter turns 3, the school district will take over and if your daughter still needs it (mine did) you will then go to a local elementary school to do ongoing therapy until your child is dismissed so to speak, or starts grade school. This therapy will go on for as long as your child needs it, all for free. This is a state mandated program. The only time you would pay is if they do not feel your child qualifies and you wish to keep them attending a private facility. You can contact Regional Center at PO Box 22010 Santa Ana, CA 92702. Contact them ASAP to get the ball rolling, as it takes a few weeks from contact to speech therapy. Hope this helps.

Hi A.,
I've heard great things about a program in Torrance called "Launch". I'm sorry I don't have the phone number (I'm sure you could just call 411) but I have talked to mom's who have used the program for their kids (for speech therapy and other therapies) and they were very happy. And it's FREE! I wish you luck! Let me know what happens.

K.

Have you looked into Pediatric Therapy Network or the Harbor Regional Center?

You may want to contact your local school district as well. Most school districts offer early intervention services such as speech therapy, Physical therapy and even special preschools. My son started receiving speech services through the Torrance Unified School District at age 2, and then was enrolled in a preschool for special needs kids called LAUNCH at age 3.

You should also contact your local regional center (Torrance's is Harbor Regional on Torrance Blvd.). They can assess her for free, and de[ending on what they find, she may be eligible for free or low cost services through them as well. My son has had behavioral therapy, social therapy, and a yearly camp for special needs kids all funded by the regional center.

If you need the phone numbers, or are not sure who to contact, I'll be happy to help. My email is ____@____.com luck!!

You can also call the Regional Center. They can do testing and provide in-home speech therapy and a lot of other services that she may need. Before she turns 3, you can have an IEP done with the school district. LAUSD has a marvelous special education program that begins at age 3. My grandson went this route and he was placed in a speech development program and I saw remarkable results in a short time. All the best to you and your daughter.

H.