Atlanta supports a robust speech-language pathology market with over 460 licensed speech-language pathologists working across pediatric outpatient clinics, school-based programs, hospital rehabilitation departments, skilled nursing facilities, and specialized private practices, reflecting the full breadth of SLP practice from early childhood language development to adult neurological swallowing and communication rehabilitation. The city’s large pediatric population drives the majority of outpatient speech therapy volume, with autism spectrum disorder evaluations, developmental language delays, articulation disorders, stuttering treatment, and feeding therapy representing the most common pediatric presentations. Atlanta’s major academic medical centers and rehabilitation hospitals, particularly Emory Rehabilitation Hospital and Shepherd Center, handle the most complex adult neurological speech and swallowing cases including patients recovering from stroke, traumatic brain injury, head and neck cancer, and progressive neurological diseases. The Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the gold standard credential above Georgia’s minimum licensure requirement, indicating completion of clinical fellowship and examination following the master’s degree.
When selecting a speech-language pathologist in Atlanta, verify that the clinician holds the CCC-SLP credential and an active Georgia license through the Georgia Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. For pediatric speech therapy, ask about the therapist’s specific training and caseload experience with your child’s presenting concern, since early childhood language delay, articulation disorders, stuttering, feeding difficulties, and autism-related social communication differences each require specific evidence-based approaches. For adult neurological speech and swallowing rehabilitation, confirm that the SLP has experience with the specific neurological condition involved and ask about their training in modified barium swallow studies and instrumental dysphagia assessment if swallowing is a concern. Red flags include pediatric practices that offer speech therapy without any parent education component, since parental carry-over of communication strategies to the home is essential for pediatric progress, and adult practices that do not coordinate with the patient’s neurologist or physiatrist for neurological conditions affecting communication.
Top Speech Language Pathologist Companies in Atlanta
1. Atlanta Speech and Wellness
Website: https://www.atlantaspeechandwellness.com
Services:
- Speech, language, cognitive, and voice therapy for adults and adolescents
- Swallowing therapy and dysphagia management
- Stroke communication rehabilitation
- Traumatic brain injury cognitive communication therapy
- Concussion-related communication and cognitive rehabilitation
- Parkinson’s disease speech and voice therapy
- Dementia communication support
- Multiple sclerosis related speech and language therapy
- Teletherapy and in-home services
About: Atlanta Speech and Wellness is uniquely positioned in the Atlanta market as the only speech therapy practice in the area that specializes exclusively in treating communication, cognitive, and swallowing disorders related to neurological conditions, bringing a level of subspecialty concentration in neurorehabilitation that distinguishes it from the general pediatric and adult speech therapy practices that dominate the outpatient market. The practice’s team includes licensed speech-language pathologists alongside physical and occupational therapists specializing in neurorehabilitation, enabling coordinated interdisciplinary care for patients whose neurological conditions affect communication, mobility, and daily function simultaneously. Services are available both in-office and through teletherapy, with in-home services also offered for patients with mobility limitations that make clinic travel difficult. The practice’s exclusive focus on neurological conditions means its clinicians accumulate concentrated caseload experience with stroke, TBI, Parkinson’s, and related conditions that develops clinical expertise faster than a mixed pediatric-adult generalist practice would.
2. Sage Speech and Learning Associates
Website: https://www.sagespeech.com
Service Area: Atlanta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Buckhead, and surrounding areas; home, school, and clinic services
Services:
- Early childhood speech and language therapy
- School-age academic communication therapy
- Adolescent and adult speech therapy
- Feeding therapy in home, school, and clinic settings
- Articulation and phonological disorder treatment
- Language delay and disorder therapy
- Fluency and stuttering therapy
- Literacy-based language intervention
- Free phone consultations
About: Sage Speech and Learning Associates provides specialized speech therapy with particular depth in early childhood development, school-age academic communication, and feeding therapy, offering services across home, school, and clinic settings to ensure that therapeutic gains translate into the environments where children actually communicate and eat. Each pathologist at Sage holds specialized training and clinical experience matched to early childhood development through adolescence and adult care, and the practice’s model of delivering services in naturalistic settings including the family home and classroom reflects evidence that language and communication therapy generalizes best when taught in the environments where it will be used. The practice offers free phone consultations for prospective clients, enabling families to discuss their child’s concerns with a licensed SLP before committing to a full evaluation. The geographic service area spanning from central Atlanta through Sandy Springs, Roswell, Dunwoody, and Buckhead covers the northern Atlanta and inner-suburb corridor where demand for pediatric speech services is consistently high.
3. The Speech Center ATL
Website: https://www.thespeechcenteratl.com
Services:
- Pediatric speech, language, and social skills therapy for ages 2 to 18
- Articulation therapy
- Language disorder treatment
- Social skills group therapy
- Autism spectrum disorder communication therapy
- Stuttering treatment
About: The Speech Center ATL is a pediatric-focused speech therapy clinic serving children and adolescents from age 2 through 18, with a mission of providing the highest quality speech, language, and social skills therapy to its patient population. The practice’s explicit social skills therapy programming serves children with autism spectrum disorder, social pragmatic communication disorder, and other conditions where the social use of language is the primary area of difficulty, a clinical need that articulation-focused speech therapy practices may not address adequately. The Speech Center accepts major insurance plans including Aetna, Anthem BCBS, CareSource, Peach State, Amerigroup, and Medicaid, providing broader insurance access than many Atlanta private speech therapy practices that operate exclusively on a self-pay basis. The acceptance of Medicaid and CareSource is particularly meaningful for Atlanta’s lower-income pediatric population, who otherwise face significant barriers to accessing private outpatient speech therapy services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I know if my child needs speech therapy in Atlanta?
A: Developmental speech and language milestones provide a rough guide to when evaluation is warranted, though individual variation is normal within ranges. By 12 months, a child should be using babbling with consonants and possibly one to two words. By 18 months, 10 or more words are expected. By 24 months, the child should have at least 50 words and be combining two words regularly. By age three, strangers should understand about 75 percent of what the child says. If your child is not meeting these benchmarks, or if you notice regression in previously acquired skills, a speech-language pathology evaluation is appropriate. For stuttering, referral for evaluation is appropriate at any age where the disfluency has persisted more than six to twelve months or is causing visible distress. Your pediatrician can provide a referral, or you can contact Atlanta speech therapy practices directly for consultation.
Q: What does speech therapy cost in Atlanta?
A: Initial speech-language pathology evaluations in Atlanta typically cost $250 to $500, with therapy sessions running $100 to $200 per visit on a self-pay basis. Insurance coverage varies significantly: pediatric speech therapy is covered by most commercial plans for children with documented speech and language disorders, though annual visit limits, deductibles, and prior authorization requirements vary considerably. Georgia’s autism insurance mandate requires coverage of speech therapy as part of the autism treatment package for children with ASD diagnoses. Medicaid covers speech therapy for children eligible for the Katie Beckett waiver and through the standard EPSDT program. Adults requiring speech therapy following stroke, TBI, or cancer treatment typically have coverage through health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid depending on the clinical setting and documentation of medical necessity.
Q: What should I expect at a child’s speech therapy evaluation in Atlanta?
A: A comprehensive speech-language pathology evaluation for a child in Atlanta typically takes 60 to 90 minutes and involves standardized testing of articulation, language comprehension, language expression, and oral motor function alongside a detailed case history interview with parents. The evaluator will use age-normed standardized tests to compare your child’s performance to same-age peers, supplemented by observation of spontaneous language in play or conversation samples. You will receive a written evaluation report documenting the areas assessed, test scores, clinical observations, and diagnosis with specific treatment recommendations including the recommended frequency and duration of therapy. Many Atlanta SLPs also complete school-based evaluations coordinated with classroom teachers and special education staff for children where academic communication is the primary concern.
Conclusion
Atlanta’s speech-language pathology community serves pediatric and adult patients across the full continuum of communication and swallowing needs through a range of specialized and generalist practices. Atlanta Speech and Wellness occupies a unique position as Atlanta’s only exclusively neurological speech therapy practice, serving adults and adolescents recovering from stroke, TBI, Parkinson’s, and related conditions through in-office, in-home, and teletherapy models. Sage Speech and Learning Associates delivers specialized pediatric and feeding therapy across home, school, and clinic settings in the northern Atlanta and inner-suburb corridor. The Speech Center ATL provides insurance-accessible pediatric speech, language, and social skills therapy including Medicaid acceptance for children from ages 2 through 18. Contact each practice to confirm services, insurance participation, and scheduling availability for your specific communication needs.