Columbus Speech Provider's Sudden Closure Leaves Many Heartbroken

Columbus, Ohio — Thousands of families in central Ohio are facing an uncertain future as the speech department at Columbus Speech and Hearing has abruptly closed with just two weeks’ notice. The sudden decision has left many parents scrambling to find alternative care for their children, who rely on the organization’s services for communication support.

Haylee McFarland, a mother whose son has a speech disorder, expressed her frustration and concern over the closure. “Your decisions have real life consequences for families like mine,” she said. “Every child deserves a voice. And you’re taking away a lot of time and a lot of progress that we’re not going to get back.”

McFarland is one of hundreds of families whose children attend speech therapy sessions at Columbus Speech and Hearing. The organization, which was founded in 1923, serves more than 8,000 children annually, helping them overcome communication barriers. However, the speech division will be closing on December 16 due to financial pressures, according to a statement from the company.

The organization cited rising operating costs and reduced donations as the primary reasons for the closure. Despite these challenges, McFarland criticized the lack of transparency, noting that her son’s therapist was kept in the dark about potential closures. “Our children deserve better, especially from a company that we’ve put in so much time and money into just to have them write us a generic email, basically saying, let us know if you need your medical records,” she said.

Not all families received the same level of communication. Emily Large, another parent, said her son was diagnosed with severe autism in September 2023 and began therapy with Columbus Speech and Hearing in February. She claims she did not receive any notification about the closure, only learning about it through a friend. When she contacted the organization, she was told that a system error had placed many clients on a “do not email” list. Despite receiving emails previously, she said she was never informed about the abrupt end of services.

Large is worried about other families who may still be unaware of the closure. Columbus Speech and Hearing stated that it is working with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to help families transition to new care. A spokesperson for the organization said, “We understand how difficult this news is, and we are working with providers in the region to transition our clinicians and patients as seamlessly as possible.”

According to the National Library of Medicine, the average waiting time for speech language pathology services is over eight months. McFarland noted that many places have long wait times, and private providers often do not accept insurance, making the process even more expensive.

For Large, the situation is particularly devastating. After two years of waiting, she was finally approved for a therapy spot at Nationwide Children’s last week. However, because of the success her son was having at Columbus Speech and Hearing, she turned down the opening. “We waited two years for that spot, and I just declined it last week without knowing that this was going to be happening,” she said. “So that, I think, is honestly the worst part of all of it.”

Large explained that the past 10 months of therapy have been crucial for her 4-year-old son, who is nonverbal. Her family was in the process of obtaining an Augmentative and Alternative Communication device, a tool that helps nonverbal children communicate. Without a speech language pathologist, they may not be able to secure the device.

“The rate that children, especially on the spectrum, regress when their schedules are changed is extremely high, so it’s terrifying to think that we may be going any amount of time without having that regulation for him,” Large said.

Both Large and McFarland are working to find alternative services for their children, but they say the process is challenging and costly. Speech therapists from Columbus Speech and Hearing may have the opportunity to interview at Nationwide Children’s, but there is no guarantee of employment.

The Columbus Speech and Hearing speech department will have its final day of operations on December 23.