Welcome to the Speech, Language and Swallowing Disorders & Reading Disabilities Department. We are pleased to provide care to patients of all ages at our Main Campus, as well as to children from preschool to adolescence in the communities served by the MGH HealthCare Centers in Chelsea and Revere.
New Patients
If you have not previously seen a doctor at Mass General or within the Mass General Brigham network, please call the Mass General Registration & Referral Center to register.
Contact your insurance company if you have any questions about your plan’s coverage for speech therapy benefits.
To schedule an appointment, please contact any of our offices Monday through Friday, 8 am – 5 pm. Location information can be found here.
When scheduling an appointment, you may be asked to complete a case history form and obtain previous medical records from non-Mass General Brigham providers or your child’s school. Forms are listed below and can be returned via fax, email, or mail to the office location where you will receive your care:
- If you are being seen at Mass General Boston/main campus, forms can be faxed to: 617-724-0771, emailed to MGHSpeechLanguage@partners.org, or sent to us at: 275 Cambridge Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02114
- If you are being seen at MGH Revere Health Center, forms can be faxed to: 781-485-6106, emailed to MGHreverespeechlanguage@partners.org, or sent to: 300 Ocean Ave, 1st floor, Revere, MA 02151
- If you are being seen at MGH Chelsea Health Center, forms can be faxed to: 617-889-8503, emailed to MGHchelseaspeechlanguage@partners.org, or sent to: 151 Everett Avenue, 4th floor, Chelsea MA 02150
Referring Providers
If you are a Mass General Brigham provider and would like to refer a patient for speech, language or swallowing services, please submit the appropriate ambulatory referral in Epic. These include:
- Ambulatory referral to Mass General Pediatric Speech, Language and Swallowing
- Ambulatory referral to Mass General Speech Language Swallowing
- Ambulatory Mass General/MEE Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study SmartSet
- Ambulatory Mass General VPI (Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Study) SmartSet
- Ambulatory referral to Mass General FEES (endoscopic eval of swallowing)
- Mass General Feeding Team
or
If you are outside of the Mass General Brigham network and would like to refer a patient for Speech, Language or Swallowing services, please fax the appropriate referral (found in the Forms section below) to: 617-724-0771
Please contact our office at 617-726-2763 if you have questions regarding a patient referral.
Please refer to our locations listing for phone numbers and types of services offered at each location.
Things You Should Know
Where are we located?
We have three main office locations at the Mass General main campus, Chelsea Health Center, and Revere Health center. However, we provide care in many locations including Mass General Imaging and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Imaging where we complete our videofluoroscopic swallow studies, and in numerous clinics throughout the hospital. Please make sure to contact us if you have any questions about your appointment location.
How do I find you?
Mass General Main campus Directions and Parking Information
MGH Revere Health Center Directions and Parking Information
MGH Chelsea Health Center Directions and Parking Information
Do I need to arrive early for my appointment?
New patients should plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled appointment time to complete necessary paperwork. Please allow additional time for driving, parking and/or taking public transportation, especially during peak hours.
If you are more than 15 minutes late you may need to reschedule your appointment. Please call the department if you will be late to your appointment.
What if I need to cancel my appointment?
Please communicate any scheduling changes within 48 hours of your appointment. Cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice should be limited to illness, inclement weather or other unexpected emergencies.
What do I need to bring to my appointment?
Please bring a Photo ID. We ask that you return any case history forms to us prior to your appointment. However if you have not returned them please bring them with you.
We may also request records and reports from non-Mass General Brigham providers and/or school forms.
If your child is coming for a feeding or swallowing evaluation, you will be asked to bring the following:
- The drinking device (bottle, sippy cup, straw cup) used at home
- A pureed item (baby food, applesauce, yogurt, etc) and a chewable food, as appropriate
- Any particular food items that your child is having difficulty swallowing
- Pediatric food logs (see Forms section below)
Do I need to pay my co-payment at the time of the visit?
Co-pays will be collected for each visit at check-in. We accept checks and credit cards.
Should I take my medications prior to my appointment?
Unless you have been specifically instructed to defer your medications please take them as regularly directed by your physician. In particular, children coming in for a Learning Disorders (LD) evaluation or treatment should take the medications they regularly take on school days.
What to expect at my appointment?
We provide a wide range of evaluations and treatments with a variety of appointment types so this is difficult to answer. We encourage you to ask our office staff specific questions about your appointment.
At the end of your visit the speech-language pathologist will review the initial findings and recommendations and discuss next steps. Following the visit a full evaluation report will be written, placed in your medical record and shared with the referring provider.
- Speech and language evaluations typically last two hours and may consist of testing of speech production, understanding, reading and writing
- Videofluoroscopic swallow studies (Modified Barium Swallow/ MBS), will take place at either Mass General Imaging or Mass Eye and Ear Imaging. Please make sure to confirm with our office staff your specific location prior to your arrival.
- The speech-language pathologist will meet you in the radiology department.
- Adults do not need to fast prior to the swallowing study and should take all prescribed medications unless otherwise specified.
- Young children and infants should be hungry for the exam so it is recommended that you do not offer food or drink to your child 2-3 hours prior to the test.
Patient Gateway
Enroll or sign in to: Patient Gateway
Patient Gateway provides secure online access to your health information. Access your Mass General Brigham Patient Gateway account to view or cancel appointments or to contact your therapist.
If you would like to access your child’s health information, please see here for more information.
Forms
Adult Speech and Language
Adult Swallowing
- New Patient Case History Form for Swallowing Evaluation
- Swallowing QOL (Quality of Life) Questionnaire
Pediatric Speech and Language
- New Patient Case History for Speech and Language Evaluation
- Formulario para el Paciente del Habla y Lenguaje
Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing
- New Patient Case History for Feeding Evaluation
- Case History Form for Pediatric Videofluoroscopic Swallow Evaluation
- One-day food log (En Español)
- Three-day food log (En Español)
Fluency
Patient Gateway
Secure online access to your health information whenever you need it. Check appointments, communicate with your provider and pay bills online 24/7.