A: Right off the bat we will tell you that we are not for everyone. We are not for children with major physical disabilities or feeding tubes. Our gym is not set up for wheelchairs and there are other companies in our community who are fantastic with those children. We happily refer to them so that each child gets the best care possible for his / her needs. We have always sought to reach the children that are not already receiving life-changing services anywhere else. These are the children that do not receive enough services at school and the parents who haven’t received answers for their nagging concerns about their child. Typically, these children have sensory processing deficits, developmental delays, learning disabilities, speech and language delays, or autism. If you aren’t sure if your child is right for our services, please give us a call (801) 443-7775 option 1. Our intake process helps to clarify who is a good fit for our services so that we do not waste your time or your benefits if your child is not someone that we can help.

A: These are usually the first questions we get; this is why we start telling you in our initial intake paperwork. We provide options that will help you cater to your specific situation for evaluations. Then we make our recommendation for your child’s treatment based on the complexity of your child’s condition, the goals you want to accomplish, and the observations and findings of our therapists. We then walk you through what your costs will be if you follow our plan of care.

A: We try to work with everyone’s schedule; however, there often must be a give and take. Please keep in mind that we are working with hundreds of schedules. While we don’t believe in wait lists, if you limit your availability, we might have to put you on a wait list for that time. If you broaden your availability, we will be able to fit your child’s plan of care in to our schedule.

A: We try to be as effective as possible, which often means keeping children on the same therapists when possible. However, when people make changes to their schedule, therapists are gone, and for other reasons, it is not always possible to keep children on the same therapists all the time. There are also times and situations that we find it useful to change therapists for children who may need to learn how to work with new people.

A: Just call us at (801) 443-7775 option 4 and we will take care of you. Please avoid LAST-MINUTE* changes since this doesn’t give us enough time to give the slot to someone else who needs it.

*Repeated offenses will lead to fees and cancellation of future appointments.

A: We understand that things can come up. All we ask is that you give us a 48-hour advanced notice. This gives us enough time to give the slot to another child who needs it. We incur a cost every time an appointment slot goes unfulfilled. This policy* helps us to keep our care and services affordable. Thank you for your cooperation.

*Repeated offenses may lead to fees and cancellation of future appointments.

A: We understand that sometimes things happen that may prevent you from making it to your child’s appointment. Our priority at FUNctionabilities is to improve the lives of the children and families that we serve. We haven’t always charged families fees and didn’t want to start, but it has become necessary for three reasons. First, when children miss sessions or time in their sessions, they cannot make the same progress. This can compromise your ability to utilize insurance. Second, we want all children to be able to access our services. When a child is frequently late, misses sessions, or no-shows, they are not only missing out on therapy, but also taking the place of another child who could be in that spot. Third, we have a responsibility to our employees. They have come to work and planned for your child, when you are late, cancel last minute, or no-show it compromises our ability to pay our employees.

A: Children who do not require supervision can come and sit in the lobby with you. We must look at everyone’s experience, so we do not want to disturb other parents who are waiting in the lobby.

A: Typically, our office hours are:

Mondays: 1:45 pm – 6:30 pm

Tuesdays: 8:00 am – 12:45 pm; 1:45 pm – 6:30 pm

Wednesdays: 8:00 am – 12:45 pm; 1:45 pm – 6:30 pm

Thursdays: 8:00 am – 12:45 pm; 1:45 pm – 6:30 pm

Fridays: 8:00 am – 12:45 pm

A: We are unique in our community and have proven that this is a good thing. Outside of Utah, there are many more options for pediatric therapy and most of them utilize frequent sessions per week because it is MUCH more effective.

A: We have chosen our treatment times for several specific reasons. First, we found that our session lengths are the best for the attention, focus, and energy they require of each child. Second, it is best when therapy sessions can utilize the compounding effect which requires them more frequently. Third, we want to help as many children as possible and longer sessions equals less children treated in a day.

A: We understand the apprehension a parent might have when asked to leave their precious child with our therapists. However, we attribute our amazing results to our child-centered treatment model. Rest assured that we have performed background checks on everyone that works for us and because of our treatment model, no therapist is ever completely alone with your child. Here is why this is a crucial part of our treatment model. First, parents initial concern is often behaviors of some sort and it is very difficult for parents to see their child hit, kick, or cry. However, it is a necessary part of therapy that we see these behaviors so that we can help you and your child find peace faster. We don’t want you to suffer any longer. Second, children behave differently in front of their parents, and typically not in a way that improves therapy. We need to build a therapeutic alliance with your child so that they trust the journey we are on. Third, a driving force in our speech and occupational therapy is play, so it can be easy to misconstrue what we do when you don’t always know the what or why of the activity and subtle changes and adaptations we make to help your child learn a skill. Fourth, we have an open gym format for treating children, that although quite large, can get crowed when we add extra bodies. Most families in Utah have more than one child so this quickly becomes overwhelming to the children we treat. Fifth, we want to focus our attention strictly on your child. While we agree that your part is vital, we know you understand the feeling of being pulled in many different directions when all your children want your attention at the same time. The same is so for a therapist when parents and siblings are present. At our facility, we take a child-centered approach in the very strictest sense so that your child receives the best care we can offer. Many parents enjoy the break they get in the lobby while we are working with their child. We encourage you to be prepared to talk with us at the end of each session.

A: Please understand we do NOT diagnose. We only assign ICD-10 treatment codes according to what you, your doctor, and our assessments tell us. We know that some children do not perform as well on “tests” as they perform in everyday life. However, we only have these “tests” from which to measure performance. As we proceed with treatment, it will quickly become apparent that they can perform better, and we can adjust goals and/or accelerate our plan of care if needed.

A: Behaviors might get worse for a short period of time as we start to implement the boundaries your child needs. They are not use to these boundaries and want to see if they can push them. This is good and necessary for improvement. Make sure you do what you say you will do. Keep your therapist informed about behavior changes so that they can help.

A: You are your child’s greatest tool and we are on your team. Keep us informed of anything you feel might influence your child’s circumstances. Ask questions and do the home exercise program. Stick to the plan of care that we have discussed.

A: Yes. If you don’t do your program at home, or perform them irregularly, your child will not progress as fast. It’s important you take our instruction seriously if you want the best results.

A: It’s important to understand that your child’s behaviors are caused by other underlying difficulties and require therapy to improve. It can be tempting to think you are ready to go but that’s when behaviors and problems often reoccur.

A: It doesn’t happen very often, but should there be any problem, we ask that you talk to us. In most cases we find that a little communication goes a long way. Just call (801) 443-7775 extension 304 to speak with our Care Coordinator.

A: Unfortunately, there are so many health plans, we are not able to know them all. We verify that insurance plans are effective, but we do not always know the exact benefits of your plan.

A: With rising costs of medical care, it is essential that you understand your child’s health insurance plan. Here are 3 ways to do it:

A: The amount of money that you contract with your insurance company to pay out of pocket every year before your insurance begins to pay. There are different deductibles for office services and hospital services. Deductibles continue to get larger and larger, resulting in patients having greater out-of-pocket costs over and above their co-payment.

A: Yes, you can. We prefer to get the financial part taken care of up front, so we can focus solely on improving your child’s life. However, you may pay co-pays as you go if you prefer.

A: You are very fortunate!! Each plan may have different policy benefits and deductibles. Again, we need your credit card on file just in case these plans do not cover all of your child’s services. Remember, we will not access your card on file until both plans have paid AND if they dictate a remaining patient responsibility.

A: For every visit, your insurance company mails an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) to you. This document shows how much your insurance paid and what you need to pay based on the benefits and the deductible of your policy. Our office receives the same information but typically after you do. We apply any payment we may receive then make any adjustments as per our contract, if we have one, with your insurance company and add any fees or discounts. The remainder is the amount that will be charged to the card on file and we will immediately email you a receipt.

A: Be proactive. Call us as soon as you receive your EOB. We are always happy to set up a payment plan. With our system, your card can automatically be charged each month. Contact our billing staff at (801) 443-7775 option 3 for all balances over $500 to discuss a plan.

A: For every visit, your insurance company mails an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) to you. This document shows how much your insurance paid and what you need to pay based on the benefits and the deductible of your policy. Our office receives the same information but typically after you do. We apply any payment we may receive then make any adjustments as per our contract, if we have one, with your insurance company and add any fees or discounts. The remainder is the amount that will be charged to the card on file and we will immediately email you a receipt.

Normally we give your insurance company several opportunities to respond to “failure to pay” situations, and we do everything we can on your behalf. We send you emails about this process, as we fight for you. We also encourage you to contact your insurance company because that often gets the issue resolved. If they still refuse to pay, unfortunately the bill will be your responsibility as is required by law. But don’t worry, you will be kept in the loop about this process.