FAQs

Pediatric Pals provides therapy services for children from birth through 18 years of age. We work with families to support each child’s individual developmental and functional needs.
We offer pediatric speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and feeding therapy. Our goal is to help children build skills that support communication, independence, feeding, and participation in everyday activities. We do NOT currently offer physical therapy, but will look into the addition of this service in the future!
Yes! We require a referral from your child’s pediatrician before beginning services. We ask families to obtain a referral from their pediatrician to help streamline the process and ensure we have the appropriate information to get started.
If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language, communication, feeding, sensory processing, fine motor skills, or daily living skills, we encourage you to reach out. If you have questions about your child’s development, we’re happy to help you understand the next steps toward an evaluation.
Getting started is simple! Contact Pediatric Pals to discuss your concerns and learn about the next steps. We require a referral from your child’s pediatrician, and our team can help guide you through the process of getting started.

Speech TheRAPY

Speech-language therapy supports children who have difficulty with communication. Depending on your child’s needs, therapy may address speech sound production, understanding and using language, social communication, fluency, and other communication challenges.
Your child may benefit from an evaluation if they have difficulty expressing their wants and needs, understanding language, producing speech sounds, communicating with others, or meeting age-appropriate communication milestones. If you have concerns, you don’t have to wait for your child to fall further behind before seeking guidance.
A speech-language evaluation helps us understand your child’s communication strengths and areas of need. Depending on your child’s age and concerns, the evaluation may include caregiver input, observation, play-based activities, and standardized or informal assessments. We use the results to determine whether therapy is recommended and discuss the next steps with your family.

Pediatric occupational therapy helps children develop the skills they need to participate in everyday activities. Depending on your child’s needs, treatment may address fine motor skills, visual-motor coordination, sensory processing, self-care, and other age-appropriate daily activities.
An evaluation may be helpful if your child experiences difficulty with fine motor activities, dressing, using utensils, managing sensory experiences, participating in play, or completing everyday routines. Our team can help determine whether occupational therapy may be appropriate for your child.
An occupational therapy evaluation helps us understand your child’s strengths, challenges, and functional needs. The process may include caregiver input, observation, play-based activities, and appropriate assessments. Recommendations are individualized based on your child’s needs.

Pediatric feeding therapy helps children who experience challenges with eating, drinking, or swallowing. At Pediatric Pals, feeding therapy may address difficulties such as oral aversion, limited acceptance of foods, and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing). Our approach is individualized to support your child’s feeding needs.
Oral aversion occurs when a child has difficulty tolerating or accepting certain experiences involving the mouth, which may affect eating, drinking, or feeding routines. Children may show distress around foods, textures, utensils, or other oral experiences. Feeding therapy can help address these challenges through individualized, supportive strategies.
Dysphagia refers to difficulty swallowing. It can affect how safely or efficiently a child eats and drinks. If you have concerns about your child’s swallowing, feeding, or mealtime safety, talk with your pediatrician about an appropriate evaluation and referral.
You may want to ask about a feeding evaluation if your child consistently refuses foods, has significant difficulty accepting different textures, experiences distress during mealtimes, has an oral aversion, or has difficulty chewing or swallowing. Feeding concerns can look different from child to child, and an evaluation can help identify appropriate next steps.

Pediatric Pals accepts the following insurance plans:
South Carolina Medicaid
Select Health First Choice Medicaid
Molina Healthcare Medicaid
Healthy Blue Medicaid
Absolute Total Care Medicaid
BlueCross BlueShield
UMR / UnitedHealthcare (UHC)
Cigna
MultiPlan
Aetna
GEHA
Tricare
Georgia Medicaid
Babynet
Insurance participation and coverage may vary by plan and service. Please contact our office to verify your specific benefits before beginning therapy.
Coverage depends on your individual insurance plan, including your benefits, deductible, copay, coinsurance, and any referral or authorization requirements. Our team can help you understand the verification process, but we recommend confirming your benefits before beginning services.

Therapy frequency and duration depend on your child’s individual needs, evaluation results, goals, and recommendations from the treating therapist. Your child’s plan of care will be discussed with you.
Absolutely! We believe family involvement is an important part of a child’s progress. We value your input and encourage caregivers to participate in goal-setting and learn strategies that can support their child’s development at home.
Please bring your insurance information, any requested paperwork, relevant evaluations or medical documentation, and any forms our team asks you to complete. If you have questions about what to bring, contact our office before your appointment.
We’re happy to help! If you have questions about our services, insurance plans, or getting started, please contact Pediatric Pals. We look forward to partnering with your family to support your child’s growth and development.