Articles
In an attempt to secure funding for an SGD, an SLP may be met with a deferral or denial from a funding source, where the information provided somehow did not meet the requirements of the funding source. These deferrals or denials are tantamount to the funding source saying, "You provided me with some information but not eno…
It's a question we hear fairly often: Keyguards? TouchGuides? KeyGuides? What are they? How are they different? How do I know what to buy? Keyguards, TouchGuides, KeyGuides: A Definition Keyguards, TouchGuides, and KeyGuides are types of access technologies that support touch access on speech generating devices. These are…
Before setting out to write a report for a speech generating device (SGD) for your client, you must identify the funding source or sources that your client is eligible for, as well as the corresponding SGD policy guidelines for each funding source. These SGD policy guidelines are essentially the directions for what must be …
Several funding sources including many private insurance plans and state Medicaid programs, require a device trial to objectively show the client’s ability to use the recommended SGD as part of their funding process. The device trial can be viewed as a welcome opportunity to gather data that proves the medical need fo…
Is your client considering upgrading to a new device? Here are some questions you can ask and considerations to be made when making a request for a new device: Before considering replacement: Has the device been repaired? If so, is there a record of repairs? Is the device beyond repair? If so, how old is the client&rsq…
Least costly equally effective alternative, or LCEEA, is a valuable phrase to understand when putting together evaluation report. LCEEA is defined as the least costly, equally effective SGD alternative that will achieve the treatment goal (see https://www.isaac-online.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018-02-08-USSAAC-Slid…
— by Beth Studdiford Standardized Assessment is defined on the ASHA website as an empirically developed evaluation tool with established reliability and validity. Formal testing may be useful for assessing the structure and form of language, but may not provide an accurate assessment of an individual's use of languag…
Establishing the medical necessity of an SGD for your client is the primary goal of your SGD evaluation report and it can be a daunting task. What are medically based funding sources looking for in SGD evaluation reports that will satisfy this requirement of establishing medical necessity? Make the path to proving medical n…