Parents are often concerned about their child's speech development. Speech evaluations and tehrapy are not covered by Kaiser Insurance, but there are many community resources available to help with speech evaluation and therapy if needed. If you have concerns about your child's speech, I recommend the following:

For Children Under 3 years

Early Start is the California State Program which provides speech evaluation and therapy if needed; these services are provided at no cost. Call 1-800-515-2229 or 1-800-404-5900 to schedule an evaluation. You can also e-mail the program at earlystart@dds.ca.gov. Their web site can be accessed here

For Children Over 3 years

By California state law, your local school district provides free speech evaluation and therapy for children over three years old. This applies to all children who live in the school district, even if they attend private school. Call your local school district and ask for the Special Education Department; in Santa Clara youcan call the Office of Education at 408-298-2009.