Pediatric Speech Therapy in Westlake Village
Help for late talkers, unclear speech, and stuttering from a licensed speech-language pathologist. For children from birth to 18.
During business hours, we return calls within an hour.
- Free 15-minute call
- No referral needed
- No waiting list
- Ages
- Birth to 18
- Where
- Your home, school, a private clinic on request, or telehealth anywhere in California. Our Westlake Village clinic opens December 1, 2026.
- How soon
- No waiting list as of October 2026. Evaluations are scheduled within 3 business days of your free consultation.
Maybe your two-year-old has plenty to say, but nobody outside the family can understand it. Maybe the words just aren't coming. Or maybe your pediatrician or your child's teacher brought it up first. Pediatric speech therapy helps a child understand language, speak clearly, and connect with people. A licensed speech therapist works on these skills through play. We provide pediatric speech therapy in Westlake Village and nearby towns. No diagnosis or referral is needed.
What is pediatric speech therapy, and what does it help with?
Speech therapy helps with talking, understanding, and being understood. We work with children who talk late, are hard to understand, stutter, or find it hard to use language with other kids.
- Late talking and languageUnderstanding words and putting them together.
- Speech sounds and claritySaying sounds clearly so other people understand.
- StutteringSupport when a child repeats sounds or gets stuck on words.
- Childhood apraxia of speechWhen a child knows what to say but has trouble saying it.
- Myofunctional therapyHow the tongue, lips, and jaw rest and move, including tongue thrust and mouth breathing.
- Social communicationTaking turns, joining a conversation, and playing with others.
- AAC for children who speak very littlePicture boards and speech apps that give a child a way to communicate now.
We also coach you, because most practice happens at home, between sessions. If your toddler points and grunts for juice, we'll show you how to pause, hold up two choices, and say "want juice." A normal moment becomes practice.
When should a child see a speech therapist?
Most parents look into pediatric speech therapy because of something they keep noticing at dinner, at drop-off, or at a birthday party. Any one of these can be normal. Several together, or one that is not getting better, is worth a call.
- Hard to understandYou translate for grandparents, teachers, and other kids.
- Few wordsYour child understands a lot but says little.
- Big frustrationMeltdowns come when a message won't get across.
- Short or mixed-up sentencesSmall words go missing, or the order is off.
- Directions get lostTwo-step directions fall apart.
- Getting stuckRepeating sounds or pushing to get words out, and it is getting worse.
- Playing next to, not withBack-and-forth play with other kids is hard.
- School keeps mentioning itTeachers bring up speech or listening at conferences.
You do not need a diagnosis to call us.
What is myofunctional therapy for kids?
Myofunctional therapy works on the muscles of the mouth and face: the lips, tongue, cheeks, and jaw. It works on where the tongue rests and how it moves when a child swallows, breathes, and talks. These patterns can affect swallowing and speech sounds, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Signs that can point to it include:
- Mouth open at restLips apart much of the time, even when not talking.
- Tongue rests forwardThe tongue sits against or between the teeth.
- Tongue thrustThe tongue pushes forward between the teeth when swallowing.
- A slushy "s" or "z"Often with the tongue peeking between the teeth, a type of lisp.
- Drooling after age 4Trouble keeping saliva in the mouth past about age 4.
- Mouth breathingBreathing through the mouth out of habit, day or night.
A child doesn't need every sign. If a few feel familiar, an evaluation can show whether the muscles of the mouth are part of the picture.
Speech-language pathologists provide it as part of a team. That team includes the family and, when needed, the child's dentist, orthodontist, or doctor. At Therapy Clubhouse, it is part of our speech therapy services. We do not perform tongue-tie releases, but we provide therapy before and after one and coordinate with the provider who does.
What happens when you start pediatric speech therapy?
Pediatric speech therapy in Westlake Village starts with a free 15-minute consultation. If an evaluation is the right next step, it is scheduled within 3 business days. The written report follows within 14 business days, with a treatment plan if therapy is recommended.
Free 15-minute consultation
You talk with a licensed speech-language pathologist about what you are noticing at home and at school. If we don't think an evaluation is needed yet, we will say so.
Evaluation within 3 business days
If an evaluation is the right next step, it is scheduled within 3 business days of your consultation. It is a play-based look at how your child understands language, uses words, makes speech sounds, and connects with people. It usually takes 60 to 90 minutes.
Written report and recommendation
Within 14 business days, you get the written evaluation, and a clear treatment plan if therapy is recommended. The plan sets graduation goals: the skills that show a child is ready to finish therapy.
Parent coaching
Your plan includes parent coaching. You learn how to practice the same goals at home and in everyday routines, so practice continues between sessions.
Sessions
Sessions look like play with a purpose, built around what your child already loves. They run 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the service.
Who would my child work with?
Nita Anavim, M.S., CCC-SLP, leads pediatric speech therapy at Therapy Clubhouse in Westlake Village. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist and co-founder.
- Degrees
- M.S. and B.S., Communicative Disorders and Sciences, California State University, Northridge
- Certification
- Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- California license
- No. 38532Verify on the state license search (opens in a new tab)
“I want them to leave feeling like they came to play with someone new.”Meet Nita →
Can my child get speech and occupational therapy in one place?
Yes. Both happen here, in one practice, and your child's therapists plan together.
Some children need both speech and occupational therapy. When they do, both happen here.
When a child works with both of our therapists, they talk with each other and with you about what they are seeing. Together, they build one shared treatment plan, so all of your child's goals fit together.
Needs can overlap. For example, a child may work on words and on the mouth muscles (myofunctional therapy) with our speech-language pathologist. The same child may work on sensory needs, like handling a loud, busy room, with our occupational therapist.
Occupational therapy for handwriting, sensory needs, feeding, and everyday skills.
How much does speech therapy cost, and can I use insurance?
Coverage depends on your plan. You can use your insurance through our partner, Village, which handles the billing. Village accepts PPO plans from several major insurers, and TRICARE.
Village also charges its own fee for each visit, in addition to your copay or deductible. Before therapy starts, Village goes over the expected cost with you.
We are waiting to become in network with major insurance companies. Until then, Village is how insurance works with us.
You can also pay privately, and we give you a superbill to send to your plan for possible out-of-network reimbursement. On the free 15-minute call, we check your coverage before you commit to anything.
Can children under 3 get speech therapy through Early Start?
Children under 3 may qualify for Early Start services through Tri-Counties Regional Center (TCRC). Therapy Clubhouse is a TCRC provider.
There is no charge for the evaluation or for service coordination. You may need to use your insurance for ongoing therapy, according to California's Early Start FAQ.
If you live on the Los Angeles County side of Westlake Village, tell us your address. We will help you find which regional center covers you.
Which other towns do you visit for speech therapy?
Every town below is in our home-visit area, so sessions can happen at home. Telehealth is available anywhere in California. Choose your town to see its page.
We also visit Bell Canyon, which does not have its own page yet.
- Agoura Hills
- Bel Air
- Beverly Hills
- Brentwood
- Burbank
- Calabasas
- Canoga Park
- Century City
- Chatsworth
- Culver City
- Encino
- Granada Hills
- Hidden Hills
- Hollywood Hills
- Lake Balboa
- Malibu
- Mar Vista
- North Hollywood
- Northridge
- Pacific Palisades
- Palms
- Porter Ranch
- Reseda
- Santa Monica
- Sherman Oaks
- Studio City
- Tarzana
- Toluca Lake
- Topanga
- Valley Glen
- Valley Village
- Van Nuys
- West Hills
- West Hollywood
- West Los Angeles
- Westwood
- Winnetka
- Woodland Hills
What else do parents ask about speech therapy?
How many words should a 2-year-old say?
By about age 2, most children use and understand at least 50 words and put two words together, like "more water." Fewer than 50 words and no two-word phrases by 24 months is a common definition of a late talker, according to ASHA. No one can predict which late talkers will need help, so a quick look is the safest way to know whether to wait or start.
When is a child hard to understand for their age?
Between ages 2 and 3, speech is getting clearer, but people who don't know a child may still have trouble understanding it, according to ASHA. If even family often can't understand a child, or speech isn't getting clearer over time, it's worth a look. A speech evaluation shows which sounds are affected and builds a plan.
Do you help with stuttering, apraxia, or a child who isn't talking yet?
Yes. We support stuttering, childhood apraxia of speech (a child knows what to say but has trouble planning the movements to say it), and children who speak very little or not at all. For those children, AAC gives them a way to communicate now.
Can a speech therapist diagnose autism?
No. We do not diagnose autism or any other condition. A speech-language pathologist can describe how a child communicates and what support could help. A diagnosis of autism comes from a physician or psychologist.
Is myofunctional therapy the same as speech therapy?
No, but they overlap. Speech therapy works on sounds, words, and language. Myofunctional therapy works on how the muscles of the mouth and face rest and move during breathing, swallowing, and speech. When a child needs both, we plan them together. Learn about myofunctional therapy for kids.
Do you offer in-person pediatric speech therapy in Westlake Village?
Yes. We see children at home, at school, in a private clinic on request, and by telehealth anywhere in California. Our Westlake Village clinic opens December 1, 2026, at 2535 Townsgate Road, Suite 110.
Is the free call the same as an evaluation?
No. The free 15-minute call answers your questions and points you to the right next step. It is not an evaluation. If therapy looks like a fit, the evaluation comes next.
How is private speech therapy different from school speech services?
School speech services and private speech therapy are different. School services support learning, and the school district decides who qualifies. A child can manage in class and still struggle with friends or at home, and many children we see have both.
Which school district and regional center serve Westlake Village?
Westlake Village sits on a county line. The Los Angeles County side is served by Las Virgenes Unified School District, and the Ventura County side by Conejo Valley Unified School District. For children under 3, the regional center depends on the county. Families on the Ventura County side fall under Tri-Counties Regional Center, where we are a provider. On the Los Angeles County side, tell us your address and we'll help you confirm which regional center covers you.
What areas do you serve?
We provide pediatric speech therapy for families in Westlake Village and nearby towns. These include Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Newbury Park, Calabasas, Moorpark, and Simi Valley. Telehealth is available anywhere in California.Thousand OaksAgoura HillsOak ParkNewbury ParkCalabasasMoorparkSimi ValleyAll locations
“If you're concerned about your child's development, don't wait. You know your child best.”
About 1 in 6 children aged 3 through 17 years have one or more developmental disabilities. (CDC)
We build every child's plan and goals around one aim: graduating from speech or occupational therapy. That is our goal with every child.
You know your child. If something has been on your mind for a few weeks, tell us a little more about what you're worried about. Let's talk about it.
Request your free 15-minute consultation
Tell us what you are noticing about your child. A licensed therapist and our team read every message. Within one business day, our team calls to learn what you need and check insurance, then sets up a free call with Nita, Rachel or both. The consultation is free, lasts about 15 minutes, and carries no obligation. There is no waiting list. If you would rather talk now, call (805) 702-3427.
