When your toddler isn't talking yet.
Your pediatrician said wait. You feel something. I'm Maya — a speech-language pathologist in Pittsburgh. I teach parents the play-based techniques that move language at home, between sessions.
Book intro call →Who this is for
Parents of 18-month to 4-year-olds who feel their pediatrician's “wait and see” isn't enough.
You've Googled “when should I worry about speech delay” twice this week. Your kid points instead of talks. They babble but don't put two words together. The 18-month visit said it's probably fine.
You don't want to wait and see. You want to know what to do this week.
- 24 mo
- Most kids have at least 50 words and combine two together. Under that → worth a conversation.
- 6 wks
- How long my parent-coaching program runs. The lift between sessions is the whole point.
The approach
I train you. Your kid lifts at home.
Most speech therapy is 30 minutes once a week with a stranger. I do six weeks. We meet 50 minutes, weekly. The other 23.5 hours of the week, your kid is with you — so the real work is teaching you the specific play patterns that pull language out.
You'll learn to narrate from your kid's eye-level, to use the “expectant pause”, to build joint attention, to make your bath time a language session. Boring-sounding moves that work startlingly fast for the right kid.
What it looks like
From worried Google search to first sentences, in three steps.
Free 30-minute intro call
Tell me about your kid. I'll tell you honestly whether parent-coaching is the right fit or whether you need a different specialist first. No pressure, no quote.
6-week parent-coaching program
Weekly 50-min Zoom or in-person session in Pittsburgh. Recorded so you can rewatch. Custom play-prescription each week based on what your kid is doing now.
Monthly check-ins after
Once you graduate, we touch base monthly for as long as you want. Most families do six months. Some stay on for a year.
What parents ask first
The honest answers.
When should I actually worry about a speech delay?
At 24 months: under 50 words, no two-word combos. At 18 months: under 20 words. At 36 months: hard for unfamiliar adults to understand. If any of these, talk to someone (not necessarily me — see below).
What does the intro call look like?
30 minutes on Zoom. I ask about your kid, your concerns, and what you've already tried. You ask me anything. I tell you honestly if I'm the right fit. About 1 in 3 families I tell to see someone else first — usually an audiologist or a developmental pediatrician.
Do you take insurance?
No. I'm self-pay so I can spend my time on your kid, not on billing codes. The 6-week program is $1,800 — you can submit superbills for possible out-of-network reimbursement, no promises.
Are sessions in-person or virtual?
Either. I'm in Pittsburgh's South Side. About 60% of my families do Zoom because toddlers cooperate better in their own kitchens. The other 40% come in.
Start here
30 minutes. No card. An actual answer.
Tell me about your kid on a free intro call. If we're a fit, we book. If not, you leave with a real next-step.
Book intro call →Pittsburgh · 15 families a year · hello@parentliftspeech.inc