Frequently Asked Questions

What ages do you treat?

ABI treats complex patients across the lifespan who have very complex communication and medical needs resulting from a wide range of injuries and diagnoses. To preserve space for patients with these complex needs, we refer patients with more acute needs to other trusted providers in the local community. This allows us to treat patients who need our advanced services in a timely manner.

What is AAC?

AAC is one service we offer at ABI. AAC means all of the ways that someone communicates besides talking. People of all ages can use AAC if they have trouble with speech or language skills.

Augmentative means to add to someone’s speech. Alternative means to be used instead of speech. Some people use AAC throughout their life. Others may use AAC only for a short time, like when they have surgery and can’t talk. There are a lot of different types of AAC across the lifespan.

No-tech and low-tech options include:

gestures
facial expressions
writing
drawing
spelling words by pointing to letters,
pointing to photos
pictures, or written words.

High-tech options include:

using an app on an iPad or tablet to communicate
a speech-generating device (SGD) from a DME company
- This can be accessed via, eye-gaze, blink, switch, EMG, spatial movements, head pointer etc.

A person may use one method of AAC or a combination of different methods, depending on what works best for them. AAC can be used by anyone who has difficulty communicating, including people with developmental disabilities, stroke survivors, and people who are nonverbal.

What is your new patient procedure?

Our patients or their providers contact our front office. We will collect demographics and insurance information. We will then contact insurance to verify benefits and cost and communicate those back to you within 24-48 hours. Once you have decided to start services we will send you intake paperwork and get you scheduled with one of our providers.

What is your cancellation policy?

We completely understand that life can get into the way and that at times even with the best of intentions you or your provider are able to make an appointment.

Due to high demand for our services we do require 24 hours notice for any cancellation that is not medical (i.e. child is sick, parent is sick, child has medical emergency). Only medical reasons will NOT go against our No Show Policy.

If you have 3 No Shows in 30 days, unfortunately we will have to put your family member on our waitlist. If this happens 2 times in an authorization period (6 months) we will discharge the patient from services.

If your provider cancels this is not your fault and DOES NOT go against your NO SHOW allowance. Your provider is required to propose a make-up session within 2 weeks of a missed appointment.

What Insurance do you accept?

We are always working on insurance options for our patients. Calling our office is always the best option to get the most updated information. Insurance billing is complicated but we have a dedicated team of specialists in our office that can help you!

How do I know if my family member needs treatment?

This is the existential question that we all ask ourselves as caregivers when we reach the moment we realize we may need help.

Your physician's office is your FIRST port of call for all questions. If you have any concern, big or small, bring it to your primary care provider. We ALWAYS need a referral from your doctor before starting services. You can call us and we can work with you to get the referral from your physician, but you must have established that physician relationship first.

What if my child is getting therapy at school?

We appreciate the hard work of school therapists and love to collaborate with them to be sure our patients get the best clinical and educational therapy through common and unique goals. Since we bill your insurance company there is no conflict with your child receiving school therapy and private outpatient therapy. We encourage collaboration between the school therapist and our team.

Are you The AAC Speech Clinic?

The AAC Speech Clinic pioneered advanced in-home speech therapy care in the Valley and Northern Nevada. While we respect that legacy and provide advanced care, as well, we are not just a home health or speech clinic - we are so much more!

We truly want to be a centralized resource for patients, families, and healthcare providers who need us. We provide care in many functional areas (therapy, behavioral health, diagnostics, coaching, and coming soon - social work, neuropsychology, and nutrition!) for patients across the lifespan. We also provide for the education of clinicians who wish to specialize in complex needs. Lastly, we provide all the healthcare and community resources we can for complex patients and their families. We treat a host of complex needs, injuries, and diagnoses. Do we do AAC speech therapy? Yes! Are we The AAC Speech Clinic? No. We are SO MUCH MORE!

ABI agreed as a professional courtesy to manage records for The AAC Speech Clinic when they closed, so if you need records from that practice, you can reach out to info@autismbraininstitute.com for assistance. Please do not share private health or other sensitive information by e-mail, simple let us know you have a records request and a contact phone number.