Why Private Pay Can Be the Best Choice for Your Child’s Holistic Speech and Feeding Therapy
At Creative Speech Therapy NYC, we use a holistic model for treating clients. We don’t just work with your child, we work with your child’s entire community. This includes their caregivers, teachers, other therapists, coaches, and more. We understand that families want the best care for their children—care that is personalized, flexible, and responsive to their unique needs. We also understand that you want to hire an expert who specializes in treating children just like yours.
One of the most important decisions families face when starting speech or feeding therapy is how to pay for services. While insurance can be helpful in some situations, it has limits. These limits include:
- Restricting the type, frequency, and duration of therapy sessions, which can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Capping the number of sessions per year, regardless of your child’s needs.
- Approving only short-term or “restorative” therapy, not long-term developmental support.
- Denying “maintenance” goals or if they don’t see quick progress.
- Additionally, children with developmental delays (but no clear diagnosis) or subtle feeding issues may be denied outright. This can delay early intervention and cause unnecessary stress for your family.
Private pay offers several unique advantages, especially within a holistic therapy model. Here’s why our private pay system can be a better fit for families seeking comprehensive, individualized care:
1. True Individualization
We are called Creative Speech Therapy for a reason. We believe that therapy should be tailored for each individual child. We do not use a one-size-fits-all approach. In contrast, private pay allows us to tailor therapy to the whole child—taking into account developmental, sensory, emotional, culture and family dynamics—without needing to check boxes for reimbursement. We can also be unique in how we deliver our treatment. We can pivot our session to address your child’s unique interests for that day and update and change goals as needed. We can be creative and customize the session in any way we want.
Your child is more than a code—and their therapy should reflect that.
2. Whole-Child, Holistic Approach.
In a private-pay model, we’re not limited to just treating isolated speech or feeding goals. We can integrate other evidence-based approaches, including:
- Sensory integration strategies
- Responsive feeding therapy
- Play-based and relationship-centered techniques
- Parent coaching and education
- Mind-body practices that support regulation and development
Insurance rarely covers these whole-child approaches, but they’re often the most effective for long-term success—especially for children with complex needs.
3. More Time for Your Family
Private pay means you’ll spend more time in meaningful sessions and less time chasing insurance approvals, authorizations, or appeals. You also won’t be limited by short session durations or inflexible schedules. We invite all family members to participate in the sessions. This means that you can be part of your child’s therapy and not just hear a quick summary of what happened in the session. You don’t have to miss breakthroughs. You can be part of them.
On our end, with fewer administrative barriers, we can spend more time focusing on what matters most: building a trusting, supportive relationship with you and your child. We can spend our administrative time making custom materials for your child, planning sessions, and talking to your child’s team. At Creative Speech Therapy NYC, we also deliver weekly homework plans tailored to your child and based on each session.
4. Direct Access to Your Therapist
When you pay privately, you have open communication with your therapist—no middleman involved. This allows for easier scheduling, faster progress updates, and ongoing collaboration to adjust goals as your child grows. When you sign on as a client at Creative Speech Therapy NYC, you have full access to us. You can email questions, schedule a progress call, and pick our brains for our abundant resources.
You are part of the team every step of the way.
5. Long-Term Cost Savings
While private pay may seem more expensive upfront, families often find that their child makes faster progress due to:
- Higher-quality, more frequent sessions
- No treatment delays due to red tape
- More engaged family involvement
- Services aligned with the child’s developmental timeline—not the insurance company’s
- Fewer sessions with better results can mean less time in therapy overall.
6. No Surprises or Denials
We are transparent about pricing, and you won’t receive unexpected bills or denial letters after months of therapy. What you see is what you get—with no disruption in care because of insurance policy changes. You pay at the time of service. Even though it’s out of pocket up front, you still have the ability to seek reimbursement through your out-of-network benefits.
7. Freedom to Choose the Right Therapist
Private pay gives you the freedom to choose a therapist who specializes in exactly what your child needs—not just the one in-network. At our practice, we emphasize strong therapist-child relationships and family-centered values under a holistic approach. We also hire therapists who are trained above and beyond most speech/language therapists. Your child deserves a therapist who understands them deeply—and can meet them where they are.
Private pay allows us to provide the best care—not just what’s billable for your child. If you’re seeking a warm, holistic environment where your child can grow with support that feels empowering, flexible, and personalized, private pay may be the right choice for your family.
Want to learn more? Let’s talk. We’re here to answer your questions and help you decide what works best for your family’s goals.
Written by: Rachael Rose M.S. CCC-SLP, TSSLD
Owner/Speech/Language Pathologist