Parent question
When does speech therapy end, and what if you disagree?
Published · Updated
The short answer
Speech therapy usually ends when a child has met their goals or their speech is in line with other children their age, or when therapy is no longer helping despite changes. At school, the IEP team, which includes you, decides together using data, and the school must reevaluate your child before deciding they no longer have a disability under IDEA. If you disagree, you can ask for a meeting, a reevaluation or an independent evaluation, and use mediation or due process.
When therapy usually ends
ASHA lists these reasons for ending speech services in any setting:
- Your child has met all their goals.
- Their skills are in line with others of a similar age and language background.
- You choose to stop.
- Your child isn’t making documented progress, and more therapy isn’t likely to help after several tries and adjustments.
Ending isn’t always final: ASHA notes services can resume if things change, and a home program can help keep skills going.
How it works at school
- It’s a team decision. ASHA says dismissal isn’t automatic based on age or time in therapy. The IEP team makes the decision, and parents are part of that team.
- It depends on eligibility. School services continue while a child has an impairment, it affects their education, and they need specially designed instruction. When one of those no longer applies, the child no longer qualifies, even if some errors remain.
- The school must reevaluate first. Under IDEA, a school must evaluate a child before deciding they no longer have a disability, for example when speech is their only service, except when they graduate or age out (34 CFR 300.305).
- You get written notice. The school must give you prior written notice explaining what it proposes, why, and what other options it considered (34 CFR 300.503).
“They sound great in therapy, but not at home”
This is common. Saying a sound correctly in a therapy room isn’t the same as using it without thinking in everyday conversation, which is called carryover. If your child sounds different at home, tell the team and ask how they’ve measured your child’s speech in conversation, outside the therapy room. A recording of your child talking at home can help show what you hear. See articulation carryover.
If you disagree at school
- Ask for a meeting. Parents can request an IEP meeting at any time (US Department of Education, 2006), and the IEP must be reviewed at least once a year and revised for any lack of expected progress (34 CFR 300.324).
- Ask for a reevaluation. A parent can request one (34 CFR 300.303).
- Ask for an independent evaluation. If you disagree with the school’s evaluation, you can ask for an independent educational evaluation at public expense. The school must either pay for it or file for a due process hearing to defend its own (34 CFR 300.502).
- Mediation or due process. Mediation is voluntary for both sides (34 CFR 300.506). If you file a due process complaint, your child generally stays in their current placement while it’s pending (34 CFR 300.507, 300.518). You can also file a state complaint about a violation within the last year (34 CFR 300.153).
- Section 504. A child who no longer qualifies under IDEA may still be protected by Section 504, which can include speech therapy (Office for Civil Rights, 2016).
This is general information, not legal advice. Your state’s parent training and information center can help with your rights.
Ending private therapy
Private therapy follows the same clinical reasons. Insurance may also stop paying when records show little progress toward functional goals or a visit limit is reached, though ASHA notes payment policies don’t replace the SLP’s clinical judgment. See cost and insurance.
After therapy ends
- Keep practising occasionally in everyday talk, especially for newer sounds.
- Watch for slipping. In a 5-year follow-up of a preschool stuttering trial, 3 of 19 children who had finished treatment successfully (16%) had relapsed (Jones et al., 2008). That’s one small study, but it shows skills can slip.
- ASHA encourages school teams to stay available to families after dismissal, so you can contact the SLP if you have concerns.
Questions parents ask
Can a school stop speech therapy without my agreement?
The decision belongs to the IEP team, which includes you. The school must reevaluate your child first and give you written notice. If you disagree, you can ask for an independent evaluation, mediation or due process.
My child still makes some errors. Why are they being dismissed?
School services depend on whether the difficulty affects your child’s education and needs specially designed instruction, not only on whether errors remain. Ask the team to explain the data. Private therapy may still be an option.
Can speech therapy start again after it ends?
Yes. ASHA notes services can resume if things change. At school, you can ask for an evaluation if new concerns come up.
Sources
- ASHA: When to end services (Admission and discharge in speech-language pathology).
- ASHA: Dismissal from school-based speech-language services.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.305: Additional requirements for evaluations and reevaluations.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.503: Prior notice by the public agency.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.324: Development, review, and revision of IEP.
- US Department of Education (2006). Assistance to states for the education of children with disabilities: Final regulations, analysis of comments. Federal Register 71(156), 46540–46845.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.303: Reevaluations.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.502: Independent educational evaluation.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.506: Mediation.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.507: Filing a due process complaint.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.518: Child’s status during proceedings.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.153: Filing a complaint.
- US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2016). Parent and educator resource guide to Section 504 in public elementary and secondary schools.
- Jones, M., Onslow, M., Packman, A., O’Brian, S., Hearne, A., Williams, S., Ormond, T., & Schwarz, I. (2008). Extended follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of the Lidcombe Program of Early Stuttering Intervention. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43(6), 649–661.