Stop the worrying and the wondering.
Communication development is complicated. Internet diagnoses are scary. The most helpful things you can do often feel counterintuitive… which is why you should not go it alone. And luckily, you don’t have to.
We empower parents like you with the knowledge, skills and strategies to help your child communicate, so you can rest easy knowing their development is right on track.
Let's get started…
Consultation
“I have questions”
This appointment is for you if:
1. Something has you worried — and “wait and see” will just leave you more anxious. You want a professional (or two) to let you know if what you’ve noticed is a concern, and what exactly to do about it.
2. You have health insurance coverage — and you want to use it to learn how you can support your child’s communication or feeding development and feel totally confident in your parenting.
3. You are speech therapy graduates — but know that children can fall behind their peers again as everyone continues to grow. You want a check in to see if they’re all good or in need of a few catch-up sessions.
Assessments
“What is this and how bad is it?”
The two assessment appointments are for you if:
1. Your little one has a “speech delay” diagnosis — but you don’t know WHY or exactly what is hard for them. Is it a language disorder? Speech disorder? Something else? An assessment will help us determine exactly what’s missing, so we can help.
2. You are applying for funding or exploring an autism diagnosis — an assessment with standardized scores and a severity ranking will support your application. These formal assessments come with a long-form report, while the informal assessments include a brief two-page summary.
Unsure which assessment you’ll need? Schedule an informal assessment. We can switch it at the appointment if needed.
Intervention
“we need therapy”
We offer a variety of appointments to suit all sorts of family needs! Intervention appointments are for you if:
1. Your child has seen a speech therapist before — and you already have specific, achievable goals you want to be working on, like the ‘K’ sound or past-tense verbs.
2. Your child has funding through PUF or FSCD or Jordan’s Principle — and they require a certain number of ongoing intervention sessions with a speech therapist.
3. You live anywhere in Alberta! — We offer virtual sessions across the province, as well as in-person sessions locally at our Calgary clinic, schools, or family homes.
Please note that our in-home and after-school openings fill up FAST. If you don’t see anything available, send us an email and we’ll let you know how the waitlist is looking lately.
Our Process
Book Online
You're in control of your therapy schedule! Conveniently schedule a phone appointment to discuss your needs, or jump in and reserve a clinic or virtual appointment right away. After booking, you'll receive a few forms to fill out online beforehand so we can make the most of our time together.
initial consultation
This session is fun, informative, and low-pressure. We'll get to know each other through questions, play-based evaluation, and enthusiastically sharing communication fun facts! We also take into account that we're new for your child and it may take time for them to warm up to us.
follow up
You decide what follow-up looks like for you! We provide suggestions, and then you can decide what works best for your family. Our recommendations might be intervention, referral, or a follow-up in a few months.
FAQs
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Most benefit providers have coverage for SLP services, or allow you to use funds from a health spending account to pay for sessions.
If a child has significant needs, families also may qualify for government-funded services through Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD), Jordan’s Principle, or Program Unit Funding (PUF).
Your child’s therapist will help determine if they are a candidate and will support you in applying if needed.
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Many of our clinicians choose to see children in-home, though it is always up to their discretion since we offer both clinic and virtual sessions as well.
Travelling to client homes severely reduces the number of children we can see in a day, and as such we do charge a travel fee of $35-60.
Scheduling flexibility is essential when requesting in-home appointments due to the time commitment for therapists.
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Probably! While we are not set up with every insurance provider, we can direct bill for about 85% of our clients.
Invoices are made out to the person receiving treatment, so it is likely your child. We cannot change the name to the parent if the child is the one receiving therapy.
If you want to make the most of your coverage, be sure to book parent-coaching sessions where your therapist works with YOU!
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Evening and weekend availability is unfortunately extremely limited.
Most spots are taken by children on FSCD contracts, as they require all sessions to occur in the home, with parents, outside of school hours.
Families that need assessments, single sessions, or shorter periods of therapy will need to accommodate weekday appointment times, as one would for a doctor, dentist, or other professional healthcare provider.
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EMAILS.
We often have to decline any incoming calls, as we spend most of our working day playing with kids and conversing with parents!
Allow 2-3 business days for a reply to standard emails. If it is urgent, state that in the subject and we’ll prioritize accordingly.
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YES, 1000 times over. We live to be part of a whole team working together to support children and families!
If you need any assistance to find healthcare and support providers, we have some favourite work friends we can recommend.
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Cancellation Policy - If we planned a session, waited for you, and you don’t show up… we will charge you the full fee. If you call to cancel the day of your appointment we charge 50% of the session rate. Please give 24 hours notice.
Indirect Hours - Our therapists’ time and expertise is valuable, and as such, we bill for all the time they spend working for you and your child. This includes phone calls, referrals, creating materials, team meetings, and writing program plans or reports. We won’t charge for any administrative tasks that do not require clinical expertise (scheduling, invoicing, etc.). Therapists will give a quote for approval before providing any indirect hours.
Your child doesn’t have to struggle to succeed
If you’re concerned about your child's development, your parental intuition is likely spot on. The longer your child lags behind, the harder it will be for them to catch up to their peers.
There's a difference between letting your child figure things out on their own, and struggling unnecessarily — and it can be hard to tell the difference!
We’ve helped hundreds of families deeply understand their child’s communication development while learning the effective skills and strategies to help them, all through fun and rewarding social interactions. You can experience this too!
Skip the miscommunications and book a free session.
Don't see the time you're looking for? Email us at hello@brightentherapy.ca and we’ll let you know what the waitlist looks like.