Frequently asked questions.

  • Our wonderful clinicians provide Speech and Language therapy, Occupational Therapy, Feeding Therapy and Social Skills groups.

  • To help us figure out how to best support your child, we ask that you fill out our Intake Form once you complete it, we will reach out to you to schedule an evaluation based on your listed concerns. We highly recommend that when scheduling your evaluation, you choose day(s) and time(s) that would also work for on-going weekly sessions for your child to help ensure a spot.

  • Following the evaluation, our clinicians will make recommendations regarding the frequency of therapy. Typically Speech and Feeding therapies are around 30 minutes and Occupational therapy sessions are around 50 minutes but this varies based on clinical recommendation.

  • Buttonloop Children’s Therapies is an In-Network provider with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, Health Plans Inc., Allways Health Partners, and United Healthcare’s Passport Connect plan only. If you do not have one of these plans, we do have private pay options. You do not need to get a referral, but if your insurance does require prior authorization, we will reach out to your child’s primary care physician or your insurance. We always encourage patients to call the back of your insurance card so that you have a full understanding of your benefit coverage.

    Note: Unfortunately, we do not currently accept Mass Health at this time.

  • Wait time is based on your availability. The late afternoon times may have a bit of wait given that they are in high demand but if an earlier school dismissal is an option, we are happy to draft a permission slip for school. Early morning and afternoons slots have more availability. On the intake form there is an opportunity to share the best days and times that work for you. We recommend you select the times that work best for on-going weekly sessions.

  • At Buttonloop Children’s Therapies our goal is to support your child in all the environments they encounter as opposed to other services that focus on helping your child achieve goals in a specific area. For example, most services offered in schools help your child to achieve success in the classroom only and therefore have goals aimed towards that. At Buttonloop we want your child to thrive in their world in a multitude of ways and have fun at the same time! All our wonderful clinicians believe in a play-centric approach and offer their services in a variety of settings - offices, indoor sensorimotor gym and even outdoors!

    We also care about keeping you in the loop about your child’s wins! Carryover at home is an extremely important part of therapy and our clinicians will take a few minutes to offer feedback and suggestions after the session. Feedback is typically pretty quick, but our clinicians keep smaller caseloads, so that you can schedule time to talk outside of your session.

  • We are located at 1R Newbury Street, Peabody MA 01960. We are located in the red building behind the Holiday Inn & Suites hotel so you would use the same entrance as if you were going there. Additionally, you can access our parking lot via Green Street which is the street before when you are coming up Route 1 north. From Green Street, we are the parking lot on the left, after Zepaj Lane.

General FAQs

  • Many kids cry on the way out because they don’t want to leave! They get undivided attention provided by a professional who is a professional at play.

  • If your child qualifies for services, our admin team will try their best to schedule your child’s sessions for a time that works for you, but it is not a guarantee.

  • Your level of involvement in your child’s sessions is up to you. Parents/caregivers are typically invited to the sessions for the initial evaluation to help the clinician gather information. Additionally, for speech therapy sessions where the client is under two years of age, it’s common for the clinician to invite the parent for the first couple of sessions.

    Note: Due to health privacy reasons, parents are unable to join therapy sessions in the sensorimotor gym.

Common Parent Concerns

Myofunctional Therapy FAQs.

While SLPs focus on speech and language issues from a variety of sources, Orofacial Myologists focus on oral physical problems, especially involving the tongue, that prevent normal speech development. Orofacial Myology has been defined as “the study and treatment of oral and facial muscles as they relate to speech, dentition, chewing/bolus collection, swallowing, and overall mental and physical health” (S.R Holtzman).

FAQ related to Treatment

  • Parents and caregivers are usually the first to pick up on an OMD. 

    Is your child an open mouth breather? Does he/she snore at night? Have difficulty at mealtimes or an especially messy eater? Drool or protrude tongue during feeding/drinking? 

    If you have concerns based on these questions, we would be happy to consult with you to identify the next course of action, whether with us, an ENT, or a pediatric dentist. We are passionate about setting you on the best path forward!

    • Blocked nasal passages due to size of tonsil or allergies, which may cause abnormal breathing patterns (mouth breathing instead of nose breathing). 

    • Abnormal tongue or lip resting posture which may or may not be observed as open mouth posture with forward tongue carriage. 

    • Immature sucking and chewing habits that persist past toddlerhood.  

    Citation: Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

    (2023). https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/orofacial-myofunctional-disorders/

  • Treatment will involve establishing good resting posture, as well as appropriate feeding and speaking movements. Strengthening and mobility exercises may be incorporated into therapy. 

    The focus will remain on functional outcomes resulting in better tongue positioning, range of motion, and sufficient strength for all oral activities including speech sound production, feeding, and good resting posture.

  • Working with a clinician who has an understanding of OMDs is an essential part of productive therapy.  Working with a trained professional reduces the length of time a child needs in therapy and supports the development of appropriate oral behaviors.

FAQs related to billing

  • Our clinicians are the best trained in the area!  Sometimes patients are simply working on articulation, but sometimes articulation is rooted in difficulties with mouth movements, including range of motion, strength, and/or coordination. In this case, our clinician may also develop a treatment plan involving myofunctional therapy. In this case, your insurance may be billed for both speech and oral-functional.  This may be relevant if you have a deductible or co-insurance.  If you have a copay, you may not see any change in billing.

  • No, because this is an additional service provided under just one encounter, each visit will use only one session from the pool of sessions available.

Still have more questions?

Schedule a 10-minute phone consultation today!