Leanne Sherred, M.S., CCC-SLP
Hampton, a Peninsula city with a large military community, offers speech therapy through free public programs, private clinics, and virtual care. If you’re looking for a speech therapist, here’s how to weigh your options.
Key takeaways
Start with three questions: How will you pay for speech therapy? Where do you want it delivered? What credentials and therapy approach matter most to you?
Consider your child’s age: Under age 3, Infant & Toddler Connection of Hampton–Newport News offers free early intervention evaluations (757-726-4012). Age 3 and older, Hampton City Schools must evaluate and treat speech needs for free (Child Find: 757-727-2401).
Understand all your options: early intervention, school-based therapy, private clinics, local universities, and virtual care.
Ask about waitlists: They’re common in speech therapy. But the earlier treatment starts, the faster progress your child will likely make.
Know that most speech therapy is covered by Medicaid (Cardinal Care), FAMIS, or commercial insurance: You can also pay for therapy yourself via private pay. Ask if the speech therapist accepts your payment method, but think about other factors such as location and therapy approach when comparing.
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Find a speech therapistYour speech therapy options in Hampton
There are about 137,000 residents of Hampton, which sits on the Peninsula side of Hampton Roads. It’s home to Hampton University, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and Langley Air Force Base—so a large share of local families are connected to the military. Some speech therapy options are free public programs; others are private or virtual. If you’re new to speech therapy and want to understand how it works, start with our ultimate guide to speech therapy for children.
Infant & Toddler Connection (early intervention)
For children up to age 36 months, many families start by contacting Virginia’s Infant & Toddler Connection. This is the state’s birth-to-3 early intervention program under federal law (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, Part C). Locally, it’s run by Infant & Toddler Connection of Hampton–Newport News, serving Hampton and Newport News. (You can also reach Virginia’s central early intervention line at 1-800-234-1448.)
Who it’s for: Babies and toddlers with a developmental delay or diagnosed condition.
Cost: Evaluation, service coordination, and IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) development are free. Ongoing services may bill insurance or Medicaid and use an income-based sliding fee. No child is denied for inability to pay.
How to start: Call 757-726-4012. Parents can refer their own child, no doctor needed. Office location: 100 Old Hampton Lane, Suite 200, Hampton 23669.
Are there downsides to early intervention? It’s a fantastic program for many families, but a few tradeoffs are worth understanding:
It ends at the third birthday. Early intervention is birth-to-3 only. At 3, your child moves to school services, sometimes with a gap in between. This can be hard after building a relationship with a speech therapist.
You have to qualify. To receive EI speech therapy, your child has to have a measurable developmental delay (or a qualifying diagnosis). A child with a milder delay may not be eligible, even if they’d benefit from therapy.
Access isn’t guaranteed. Some local programs face funding and staffing challenges, with waitlists in certain areas.
It’s not always free. The program may bill your insurance, and out-of-pocket costs follow an income-based sliding scale. Depending on your plan and income, some families find it isn’t much cheaper than a private clinic.
Learn where to start with speech therapy for toddlers: how to evaluate which option is best for your child, how to find a licensed SLP, and what to ask them.
School division (Hampton City Schools)
Once a child turns 3, federal law (IDEA) requires public schools to find, evaluate, and serve children with disabilities at no cost—first through early childhood special education, then school-age services. In Hampton, this is handled by Hampton City Schools. The division serves roughly 2,600 students with disabilities.
How speech therapy works through the Hampton City Schools Child Find office (757-727-2401):
1. You or a teacher submit a written referral.
2. The division gets your written consent, then has up to 65 business days to complete the evaluation and decide whether your child is eligible.
3. If eligible, an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting is held within 30 calendar days to write your child’s plan.
4. The IEP can include speech therapy.
Tip: You can look up any Virginia division’s special education record through the Virginia Department of Education’s annual determination letters.
Are there tradeoffs to school-based therapy?
Eligibility is tied to educational impact, not just a speech delay. A child qualifies only if their speech or language issue affects school performance. A concern that doesn’t clearly hurt schoolwork may not get services, even if you’d like speech therapy for it.
Goals are educational, not comprehensive. School therapy targets the communication a child needs in the classroom, not necessarily every goal a family cares about (such as social communication, feeding, or a speech sound error that doesn’t affect learning).
Speech therapy is often group-based, not 1:1. With so many kids needing therapy, services are often delivered in small groups. Your child may get less individual attention than in a private clinic.
Your child may not get as many sessions as they need. Because of speech therapist shortages, your child may get only 30 minutes of therapy a week, which isn’t enough for some kids.
The school controls the scheduling. Therapy happens during the school day on the school’s schedule. Children are sometimes pulled out of class for therapy sessions. Therapy usually pauses over the summer unless your child qualifies for extended-school-year services.
You may have to push the process. School speech therapy runs through referrals, evaluation timelines, and IEP meetings. Parents sometimes have to advocate to get an evaluation or the right services for their child.
You’re usually not in the room. School therapy happens without you, which makes it harder to reinforce skills at home—and home practice is what tends to drive the fastest progress.
If your child receives school speech therapy, learn when private therapy might also be needed, plus info about speech therapy costs and finding a therapist.
Online speech therapy
Virtual speech therapy connects your child with a licensed speech-language pathologist over video, from home (here’s how online speech therapy works).
For most Hampton families, the barriers to speech therapy aren’t whether a nearby clinic exists. It’s the commute, the long waitlists, and finding a speech therapist who takes their insurance. Virginia names special education among its critical shortage areas, and speech therapists are in short supply. That’s one reason local waitlists can stretch for months.
Online speech therapy gives you access to therapists across Virginia, instead of only the clinics near you. There’s often less of a waitlist, and there’s no commute needed.
Most notably, research shows virtual therapy is as effective as in-person care for the large majority of speech, language, and communication needs. Because sessions happen in the child’s own home, parents are part of the process rather than waiting in a lobby.
Online speech therapy gives you access to therapists across Virginia, instead of only the clinics near you.
Expressable is a virtual speech therapy provider built around that last point. Its licensed speech therapists work directly with your child and you, the caregiver. That way, you can reinforce the right speech strategies during everyday routines, not just during the weekly session. Parents attend sessions, learn how to prompt language at home, and leave each visit with personalized home activities to practice.
Because so much of a child’s progress happens in the hours between appointments, this caregiver-led model tends to lead to faster progress. Plus, it’s available across Virginia regardless of where in the Hampton area you live.
Is there a downside to online care?
Online therapy isn’t the best fit for the most hands-on needs. A small subset of children—typically those with severe feeding and swallowing needs—may not be a good fit for virtual care. After the evaluation, your speech therapist will recommend whether ongoing virtual care is appropriate.
It works best with a caregiver nearby. Caregiver attendance matters, especially for younger children. It’s what makes home carryover work—but it does take some of your time.
You need the basics. For online speech therapy, you’ll need a device like a computer or tablet, a decent internet connection, and a quiet spot in your home.
Private speech therapy clinics
A number of private speech therapy clinics operate across Hampton, serving families through insurance or private pay. Availability, specialties, and wait times vary clinic to clinic. It’s worth calling a few to compare how soon they can start and whether they treat your child’s specific need.
Should your child receive speech therapy at school or in private sessions? How much will private therapy cost? Our guide explains it all.
Hospital and university clinics
You can also receive speech therapy through hospital outpatient programs and university teaching clinics. Children’s hospitals are best for complex or medical needs, or children who need a team of specialists. University clinics, where graduate clinicians treat under licensed faculty supervision, are often the most affordable route. However, they tend to have the longest waitlists and they run on the school calendar.
Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) offers pediatric speech plus feeding and swallowing therapy. Its Peninsula sites (including the Health Center at Butler Farm in Hampton) provide therapy locally. 757-668-4511 (Butler Farm); therapy line 757-668-7083.
Hampton University Speech, Language & Hearing Clinic, a university teaching clinic, offers diagnostic and therapy services for all ages by appointment, in Hampton University’s Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders.
On a waitlist for speech therapy? Try these tips to shorten the wait, find other options, and work on speech at home in the meantime.
How to pay for speech therapy in Hampton
Sorting out how you’ll pay is often a family’s first step. Virginia’s children’s uninsured rate is about 5%, below the national average. In Hampton, the local uninsured rate is roughly 7%. Most speech therapy is covered by Medicaid or private insurance.
Here are the main ways to pay for speech therapy in Hampton:
Medicaid (Cardinal Care). Virginia’s Medicaid program is Cardinal Care, delivered through managed care plans. Families choose among Aetna Better Health of Virginia, Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Humana Healthy Horizons, Sentara Community Plan, and UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic. Speech therapy is covered when medically necessary. (Note: Plan options can change, so confirm your plan is active and your speech therapist is in-network.)
FAMIS (Virginia’s CHIP). Children who don’t qualify for Medicaid may be eligible for FAMIS, which also covers speech therapy.
Commercial insurance. Most private plans cover medically necessary speech therapy, though coverage for “developmental” delays varies by policy (what insurance does and doesn’t cover). Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is among the most common commercial insurers in Virginia. Always confirm your speech therapy benefit and any annual visit limits before starting.
TRICARE (for military families). Hampton sits next to Langley Air Force Base and Joint Base Langley-Eustis. TRICARE covers medically necessary speech therapy, and because military families relocate often, online therapy can continue across duty-station moves—whether you stay in Virginia or PCS to another state. (Confirm your speech therapist is a TRICARE-authorized/in-network provider before starting.)
Private pay. The cost of speech therapy varies by provider and setting. Considering virtual speech therapy? Expressable accepts 250+ insurance plans, including Medicaid in Virginia. About a third of its patients are on Medicaid, and most families pay $0–$21 per visit after insurance.
Free and low-cost options. Beyond insurance, free or income-based speech therapy in Hampton includes:
Your school division (free, age 3 and up)
Infant & Toddler Connection (sliding scale, under age 3)
Head Start/Early Head Start, run locally by Hampton Roads Community Action Program (HRCAP), which screens young children and can catch speech delays early.
Learn how to find out if your insurance covers speech therapy and alternative payment options to help you get started with speech therapy.
In-person vs. online speech therapy: Which is right?
Both in-person and online speech therapy have been proven to work. The best fit depends on your child’s needs, your family’s schedule, and how quickly you need to begin.
In-person speech therapy tends to be the better fit when:
The need is truly hands-on: Nearly all communication disorders can be treated just as well online. However, severe feeding and swallowing disorders likely require the therapist to be in the room.
You’ve found the right local provider: There is a local speech therapist who’s experienced with your child’s specific needs, able to show real patient outcomes, involves you as the caregiver, and fits your schedule.
You’re prepared to wait: Clinics at hospitals or universities often have long waitlists, so check before counting on them.
Online speech therapy (teletherapy) tends to be the better fit when:
You want to start sooner: Providers like Expressable often have near-immediate availability. You can start in days, not months.
Travel or scheduling is a barrier: Care happens from home, with flexible scheduling (including evenings and weekends). You get a Virginia-wide pool of speech therapists instead of only nearby clinics.
You want to be involved: In teletherapy, sessions happen at home with the caregiver present. Research shows this is one of the most best ways for children to make progress in therapy.
Learn more about how online speech therapy works and why teletherapy is as effective as in-person care.
Research shows that online speech therapy is just as effective as speech therapy delivered in person in a practice-based setting.
What to expect: Evaluation and first sessions
Most speech therapy starts with an evaluation. The speech therapist assesses your child’s speech, language, and sometimes feeding, then recommends whether therapy is needed and how often. If speech therapy is recommended, your therapist will create a custom care plan.
Sessions are typically 30-45 minutes, once or twice a week. For young children, sessions look a lot like structured play, since play is how kids learn communication. Expect to receive progress reviews and goal updates as your child improves. Here’s more on how long speech therapy usually takes.
What to look for when choosing a speech therapist
Beyond setting and cost, a lot goes into choosing the right therapist. It’s worth being picky! You and your child may build a long relationship with this person, so you want someone who fits your needs.
Here’s a short checklist for finding a speech therapist:
Parent involvement: Does the therapist involve you in sessions? A child may spend only 30-60 minutes a week in therapy. Research shows that caregiver coaching, where the therapist trains you to use communication-building techniques during daily routines, drives the fastest progress. Ask whether the therapist will show you how to practice at home between sessions.
Measurable outcomes: Will the speech therapist track your child’s progress toward their goals and share results with you? Do they have outcomes data they can share from their other patients?
Credentials: Your therapist should be a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP), licensed to practice in Virginia, with a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). You can verify a license through the Virginia Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.
Specialty match: Speech therapists treat a wide range of people, from toddlers with speech delay to older people recovering from a stroke. Make sure your therapist is experienced with your child’s specific need (articulation, stuttering, apraxia, feeding, bilingual). If your family speaks a language other than English at home, ask whether bilingual therapy or interpretation is available.
Insurance and cost: Is your speech therapist in-network with your plan? Does your insurance have any limits on how many speech therapy visits it will cover?
Wait time: Ask the speech therapist how soon they can actually start. The length of time can vary a lot!
Expressable is built around the first two items. Caregiver coaching is its primary therapy model, and it publishes its outcomes. At Expressable, 96% of patients make measurable progress within five sessions, as tracked on standardized assessments.
Speech therapy that gets results
At Expressable, our research-based care model delivers meaningful outcomes for kids and adults. See our results from more than 13,000 clients.
See our outcomesBilingual speech therapy services
In Hampton, Spanish is the most common language other than English. That means bilingual or interpreter-supported speech services are worth asking about, though they can be harder to find.
Virginia’s Infant & Toddler Connection provides interpreting at no cost, and university clinics often offer bilingual services. When you call a speech therapy provider, ask whether bilingual therapy or on-demand interpretation is available.
Local resources and parent support in Hampton
Getting speech therapy is only part of it. Navigating evaluations, IEP meetings, insurance, and waitlists can be stressful. These Hampton-area and Virginia organizations help families understand their rights, connect with other parents, and find support.
Local advocacy and support
The Arc of the Virginia Peninsula — Advocacy and support for families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 51 Battle Road, Hampton 23666. (757) 826-6550, arcvap.org
Statewide resources (open to every Virginia family)
disAbility Law Center of Virginia (dLCV) — Virginia’s federally funded legal advocate for people with disabilities. (800) 552-3962, dlcv.org
Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) — Virginia’s Parent Training & Information Center; free help understanding IEPs and special-education rights. (800) 869-6782, peatc.org
Parent to Parent of Virginia (Center for Family Involvement) — Matches parents of children with disabilities with trained peer supporters. (877) 567-1122, centerforfamilyinvolvement.org
VirginiaNavigator / 2-1-1 Virginia — A statewide directory of local disability and family services; dial 2-1-1 for referrals. virginianavigator.org
Please note that contact details, program offerings, and program availability may change.
Not sure your child needs speech therapy?
If you’re still deciding whether to look into speech therapy, a good first step is to see how your child’s speech and language compare to typical milestones. When in doubt, an evaluation is the surest way to know. Check out these guides as well:
Speech milestones by age
Learn more about speech therapy
The complete guide to speech delays in toddlers and young children
Take our free quiz: does your child need help with speech and language?
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
If your child is under 3, call Infant & Toddler Connection of Hampton–Newport News at 757-726-4012 (or Virginia’s early intervention line, 1-800-234-1448). You can refer your own child, and the evaluation is free. If your child is age 3 or older, contact your school division’s Child Find office (Hampton City Schools: 757-727-2401).
There’s no minimum age. Early intervention often leads to the best outcomes. In Virginia, children under 3 can be evaluated for free through the Infant & Toddler Connection. If you notice warning signs, it’s better to evaluate early than to wait.
Yes. Speech therapy is covered when medically necessary under Cardinal Care (Virginia Medicaid) and FAMIS. Families choose among managed care plans that include Aetna Better Health of Virginia, Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Humana Healthy Horizons, Sentara Community Plan, and UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic. Confirm your plan is active locally and your speech therapist is in-network.
Yes, through the Infant & Toddler Connection (for kids under 3, free evaluation and income-based fees) and your public school division (free speech services for age 3 and older). University and hospital clinics offer lower-cost options but may have long waitlists.
They vary widely. Some university and hospital clinics have reported long waits, while virtual speech therapy providers and some private clinics can start much sooner. Ask about wait times on your first call.
Virginia’s Infant & Toddler Connection serves children birth to 3 with family-centered services and a free evaluation. At age 3 and older, your school division provides free, IEP-based speech services.
Yes, research shows teletherapy is as effective as in-person care for most speech and language needs, with the added benefit that caregivers are involved in every session. Only a small subset of children—typically severe feeding and swallowing needs—may require in-person care.
Article sources
ASHA — communication milestones
Cleveland Clinic — speech therapy overview
Georgetown Center for Children & Families — child health coverage trends
Virginia Department of Education — special education evaluation & eligibility
Virginia DMAS — Cardinal Care managed care
Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia — program overview
Expressable — published outcomes
U.S. Census Bureau — QuickFacts: Hampton
Last reviewed July 2026. Program contacts, Medicaid plan availability, and waitlists change over time; we re-verify periodically.
How Expressable Can Help
Concerned your child isn't reaching age-expected milestones? Looking for communication support from a professional? Expressable is a national online speech and occupational therapy practice serving children and adults. We treat all major areas of communication, feeding, and developmental skills, offer flexible hours including evenings and weekends, and accept most major health insurance plans. We’re proud to have earned more than 4,500 5-star reviews from our clients (4.83/5 average).
Our therapy model is centered on parent and caregiver involvement. Research proves that empowering caregivers to participate in their loved one’s therapy leads to better outcomes. That’s why we combine live, 1-on-1 speech and occupational therapy with personalized education and home practice activities for faster progress.
