Services
KidSpark Therapy is a private, boutique-style practice providing pediatric and adolescent speech therapy services for South Austin and its surrounding communities. We specialize in speech sound production, language development, executive functions and social communication. We want to help your child become an independent and confident communicator by first creating a connection and then inspiring growth through the use of evidence-based practices.
Evaluation
We provide thorough evaluation of your child's communication abilities to develop a plan of treatment that is highly individualized.
Treatment
We implement your child's unique treatment plan and provide speech services in the setting that meets your child's needs.
Education
We give you the tools to help strengthen and expand your child's communication abilities within your everyday life.
Meet Kay
Maggie Kay Gibbs, MS, CCC/SLP
KidSpark Founder & Speech Pathologist
As an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist, Kay specializes in pediatric speech, language, and social-cognitive learning concerns.
Kay believes that speech therapy should be collaborative, holistic, affirming & fun.
Driven by a desire to offer child-centered, meaningful speech services, Kay launched KidSpark after 9 years of professional practice. When she’s not helping your kids find their spark, she enjoys trying to convince her husband and 3 kids to be football fans.
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Kay graduated from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas with her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders (2005 & 2007). With over 16 years of experience in the field of speech pathology, Kay has dedicated her career to providing service to children from ages 12 months through adolescence. She has worked in public schools as a diagnostic speech pathologist and assistive technology consultant, in outpatient clinics as a pediatric speech pathologist and now in her own private practice since 2018.
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Kay is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is a Licensed Speech Language Pathologist with the State of Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).
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Put simply, Kay loves kids! She is just as comfortable crawling through an obstacle course with a two-year old as she is discussing Minecraft with a teenager. Kay believes in the power of communication and the potential of EVERY child. She values the unique opportunity a speech pathologist has to be a spark in a child's life - inspiring communication confidence through connection, respect and fun!
1 / Complimentary Consultation
Contact KidSpark to schedule an initial consultation. We'll chat about your communication concerns for your child and determine the best path to helping you achieve your goals. This consultation is typically 15 minutes in length via phone.
2 / Evaluation
An in-depth evaluation will be performed to identify your child's communication strengths and areas for growth. The evaluation will take approximately one to two hours resulting in a detailed report that includes a treatment plan with individualized goals. We value comprehensive evaluation data beyond traditional standardized scores; our evaluations include qualitative measures such as play based interactions, parent interview, and observations in order to develop a comprehensive profile of your child's communication abilities.
3 / Treatment
Treatment always starts with a commitment to establishing a connection with your child. We want to develop an authentic relationship with our KidSpark families! Treatment sessions are 30 minutes to 1 hour in length and 1-2 times per week, based on your child's individualized needs. Sessions are offered in-person at our South Austin home-based location.
4 / Education
Throughout the treatment process, you will be encouraged to practice communication skills with your child. Home practice ideas for carryover of communication skills will be provided often. Families are vital to the success of therapy; We want you to feel empowered to support your child's communication growth!
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What makes KidSpark different?Choosing Kidspark means you are not yet another face in a large waiting room, but rather a partner in a journey toward achieving your communication goals. We value connection - We want your family to feel welcome and included in the speech therapy process. Our home-based, South Austin location offers a cozy, indoor space as well as an outdoor deck/yard that encourages your child to learn through exploration and play. We weave play-based interactions, sensory-motor activities, and real life experiences into our sessions along with evidenced-based treatment approaches to inspire communication growth. We can't wait to watch your child's spark grow brighter!
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What do you specialize in treating?We specialize in providing services to the pediatric population (12 months through adolescence) to address the following areas of concern: Speech Sound Disorders including articulation, phonology, and additional causes for speech that is hard to understand such as deficits in motor planning, structural differences, tongue thrust, etc Late Language Emergence including limited use of words or vocabulary, difficulty combining words into longer phrases and sentences, and delays in language comprehension Social Communication Disorders marked by struggles to interpret and respond to social situations resulting in difficulty with conversational skills, perspective taking, developing and maintaining friendships, and feeling confident in new social environments Executive Functioning marked by struggles with organized thinking skills resulting in difficulties with self-monitoring, planning and prioritizing, inhibition, time management, flexible thinking, etc
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What forms of payment do you accept?We accept private pay in the form of personal checks, cash and credit cards. We are out-of-network with all insurance companies.
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Do you accept insurance?No. In order to provide quality care that is centered around your child in lieu of insurance paperwork, we have chosen to work as a private, out-of-network provider for speech therapy services. Because we do not accept insurance as a form of payment, we are able to provide services without doctor's referrals, prior authorizations, limitations on session allowances, and access to speech therapy dependent on standardized testing scores. We strive to shift the time that would have been spent dealing with insurance companies to your child - developing individualized, evidence-based and engaging treatment plans.
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What are your therapy rates?Speech evaluations range from $200-$300 dependent upon areas of concern. Treatment rates begin at $45 and are scaled according to session length. We strive to offer competitive treatment rates that are comparable to average insurance co-pay rates.
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How do I know if my child needs speech therapy?Every child is unique and your child's journey to becoming a confident and effective communicator is no different. If you are concerned about your child's communication skills, please do not hesitate to contact us for a free, initial consultation. We'll listen to your concerns and guide you toward possible next steps in your child's communication journey.
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What is the difference between school-based speech therapy and private speech therapy?The biggest difference between school provided speech therapy services and private speech therapy services is eligibility. Eligibility requirements to receive speech through the public schools is determined at the state and district levels. Eligibility is predominately based on standardized testing scores reflecting a significant delay or disorder AND an educational need for speech services in order to access the academic curriculum. KidSpark is able to offer speech therapy services without eligibility limitations placed by educational institutions and insurance companies. When determining eligibility, we consider a wide range of evaluation data beyond traditional standardized scores. Qualitative measures such as observation during social experiences, parent interview, and play-based interactions are used during our evaluations to help create an in-depth communication profile for your child. Taking this wholistic approach to determining eligibility often results in early identification of the need for speech therapy and drives our ability to create an individualized intervention plan for your child.
TESTIMONIALS
