Yes, Beach Cities Speech Therapy is now Speech Sisters Therapy Network.  Bridget Hillsberg and Brooke Dwyer founded Beach Cities Speech Therapy over 12 years ago.  With a team of therapists, Beach Cities Speech Therapy has worked with hundreds of families in the South Bay of Los Angeles.

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Children understand more words (receptive language) than they use (expressive language). Babies may not understand the meaning of our words at first, but they understand our tone of voice and observe their surroundings. Your baby is learning that sounds become words, so use your language, tone of voice, and facial expressions to help them along their learning journey.

Clients are billed directly monthly and are responsible for payment of all services billed.  While we do not bill insurance directly, we are happy to provide you with a monthly Superbill for all invoices paid.  You may submit the Superbill to your insurance company to request reimbursement.  The amount your insurance company will reimburse is dependent on your insurance plan.  We recommend you contact your insurance company to determine your reimbursement amount.  Speech Sisters Therapy Network does not contact insurance companies directly. 

The most important consideration in helping develop speech and language is personal interaction. Any toy or activity can be used as an implement for learning, but it is the person-to-person contact that makes the difference.

We learn to talk by listening to and observing other people. Conversation is a social experience, with give and take. So join in and play! Use whatever toys your child enjoys and engage. Talk about what you’re doing together. Use short simple sentences. Then wait, and listen to your child communicate in his own way. Scientific evidence supports the fact that this kind of experience is the best foundation for developing words and sentences.

No, we provide pediatric speech therapy services to children birth to 21 years of age.

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Children learn at their own speed, and each child is different. To help determine if your child is meeting communication and language milestones, we have resources available for you.

Signs that your child might need a speech therapist can be subtle. To learn about some of the red flags, take our online quiz to see where your child is as it pertains to speech and language milestones. Take the quiz here.

Early intervention with speech therapy has been proven to benefit children who are diagnosed with a speech and language impairment. Early Intervention can mold a child's developmental speech and language path and improve outcomes, both for children and their families.

Simple changes in your daily routine can lay the foundation for encouraging and building communication. At Speech Sisters, we will help you to seamlessly tie these techniques into your everyday activities, making life as a mom easy while your child builds language and uses more words! We can help your child climb the language ladder.

While speech and language development are crucial to a child’s future academic success, it doesn’t mean that language delays assure academic frustration and poor outcomes. If children with language development delays receive assistance from a Speech–Language Pathologist early on (before kindergarten), they can catch up with their peers. Research has shown that children who reach developmental language milestones earlier are more likely to do better academically later in life. So again, early intervention is key to promoting academic success.

The consultation will be held for 30 minutes and it will be held virtually on Zoom.

The amount of time a child is in speech therapy is highly variable and dependent on your child’s speech-language diagnosis, attention, motivation, and consistency with home practice. 

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Always trust your instincts; you are with your child the most. Some may say that a child will “outgrow” a speech or language delay, and in some cases this is true. But it is impossible to know which children will outgrow their delay and which will need support from a speech-language therapist. Pursuing early intervention allows you to find the specific answers you need through a speech and language evaluation. The result will be a diagnosis and recommendation for therapy services if needed.

Parents should be intentional about encouraging their younger children to speak as much as the older children. It’s easy to overlook! Early signs of language delay are important for all children, regardless of birth order.

No, it is never too early for a child to receive support.

If your child completed a speech-language evaluation with a speech-language pathologist in the last 6 months (12 months for school aged children), it is likely we can use this evaluation to create an effective treatment plan.  To determine if your child’s previous evaluation is adequate for creating an effective treatment plan, please email a copy of this evaluation to therapy@speechsisters.com

If your child is currently receiving speech therapy services outside of Speech Sisters Therapy Network, a re-evaluation is likely not necessary. A copy of your child’s latest speech-language evaluation as well as a progress report outlining your child’s progress toward measurable treatment goals is required. The evaluation and progress report can be emailed to therapy@speechsisters.com.

Once you purchase, you will be able to schedule a time that works for you. You will receive an email with intake questions that will help us determine customized next steps for your child. Following the virtual consultation, you will receive a personalized report for you child.

There is no easy answer. But I can tell you what doesn’t cause speech/language delays–you! As a parent, you should not feel guilty if your child is struggling to develop a certain skill. Sometimes speech/language delays can be the result of an underlying medical issue (i.e. hearing loss) or an undiagnosed condition, such as autism. But oftentimes it’s just the way the child is wired. Their brain needs help learning how to effectively communicate.

Please note: If we say a child needs help with their communication skills, we are NOT implying that they aren’t smart! This is a common misconception. Many very bright children need help with speech/language. In fact, many students classified as “gifted” also attend speech therapy.

In our experience, many delayed talkers who finally make attempts to speak are difficult to understand. It sounds like gibberish! All young children make some errors in pronunciation–some are typical for their age and some are not. Children usually outgrow most articulation errors on their own by age three. To determine whether the “gibberish” your child is making reflects common pronunciation errors and whether speech therapy is recommended, make an appointment with a speech-language pathologist.

Regression is not a typical part of natural development, but it can occur for different reasons. Most of the time regression lasts for just a short time.

For example, a child might become ill and have to stay in bed rather than engaging in learning activities. I have seen minor regression when our clients have been ill for an extended time, but soon they're back to where they started and are moving forward again. Another example is when a new baby is born into the family. Since the baby gets a lot of attention by crying, the older child might cry instead of using words. 

Regression can also be the result of a stressor affecting family life. Rest assured that these examples of regression are temporary and can be an indicator that something else is going on. It’s a good idea to talk to a professional about any regression you’ve noticed.

A Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) or Speech Therapist is an expert in language and communication. SLPs work with people of all ages, from babies to adults. We provide assessment and treatment in the following five areas: Articulation, Language/Literacy, Social Communication, Voice, Fluency and Feeding/Swallowing.

Call a professional. Speech/Language Pathologists have a master’s degree specifically in speech and language development. Many parents have had their concerns shrugged off by friends, family members, or even their pediatrician. Friends and family are well-meaning, but they aren’t the experts. We cannot count the number of times parents have confided in us that they regretted not seeking help earlier. If you are concerned, trust your gut and seek the advice of a professional. Many speech/language clinics are happy to provide complementary screenings/consultations, to hear your concerns, and to give their opinion as to whether or not an evaluation would be beneficial for your child. 

According to Foundation Therapy Services, Inc. Communication Developmental Milestone Red Flags to watch for include but are not limited to the following:

• At 6 months my child does not laugh, squeal or look toward sounds.
• At 9 months my child has limited or no babbling or does not indicate when they are happy or upset.
• At 12 months my child does not point to objects or use gestures such as waving or shaking head.
• At 15 months my child has not spoken their first words and does not respond to “no” or “bye bye.”
• At 18 months my child does not speak at least 6-10 words consistently.
• At 20 months my child does not use at least 6 consonant sounds or does not hear well or discriminate between sounds.
• At 24 months my child has a vocabulary of less than 50 words or has decreased interest in social interactions.
• At 36 months strangers have difficulty understanding my child or my child uses simple sentences.

We offer a variety of free resources to help parents build confidence in developing speech and language for their little one. You can find our blogs here.

We do not have a freestanding clinic.  We service all our clients in their homes or in the community (ex. Daycare, school, library).  Home/community-based services allows us to provide therapy in a comfortable space, train caregivers/teachers, and allow for opportunities for the child to generalize skills to a child’s natural environment. 

We currently have clinicians that drive to the following locations in the South Bay of Los Angeles: Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Westchester, Lawndale, Torrance, Playa Vista and Palos Verdes, California. Locations that are more than a 20min drive from the center of Manhattan Beach including Westchester, Playa Vista, Palos Verdes, parts of Torrance, and parts of Hawthorne incur a $25 drive time charge.

The therapist your child is matched with is dependent on your child’s availability for therapy and speech-language diagnosis.  Many of our therapists specialize in specific areas of speech-language pathology. 

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All of our clinicians have Masters degrees in Speech-Language Pathology, certificates of clinical competence from the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and are licensed in the state of California.   Speech-language pathology aides, students, and clinical fellows do not provide therapeutic services at Speech Sisters Therapy Network.

Children develop at their own pace. One child's word count will not be the same as that of another child of the same age. If you have concerns that your little one should be saying more words, check out our milestone checklist here for next steps.

No. Being exposed to many languages will make no difference as to when your child begins to talk as compared to children who are learning a single language. It is best to keep languages separate rather than combining them in a conversation

Speak to your child in YOUR strongest language so he has a good language model. 

Currently Brooke or Bridget will be offering the 30-minute consultation. If this service grows, we will expand our team to allow more parents access to these consultations.

No. The purpose of this consultation is to supplement the actions you've already taken from our course. If you are looking for an evaluation, you will need to reach out to an SLP in your area. However, we can discuss that process during the consultation.

While we are not affiliated directly with any schools, we have provided speech therapy services in many of the preschools in the south bay as well as some public elementary schools in their after-school program. You will need to contact the director of your child’s school to find out if they have a private and quiet space for your child to work with a speech-language pathologist.  In addition to schools, we have met clients at local parks, libraries, and offices.