Is your child on a speech therapy waiting list at your CLSC, one of Quebec’s local community health centres, with the months going by and no news? You are not alone. Across Quebec, thousands of families are waiting for a speech-language evaluation or for follow-up in the public system, and wait times vary enormously from one region to another.
This article explains how access to public speech therapy services works, what recent data says about wait times, and above all what you can do, concretely, while you wait.
The goal is not to pit the public system against the private one: the two networks complement each other. It is to give you the straight story, so that you can make the best decision for your child, your teen or yourself.
Why are speech therapy waiting lists so long in Quebec?
Demand for speech therapy far exceeds supply in the public system. The number of speech-language pathologists available in CLSCs, hospitals and rehabilitation centres is not enough to meet consultation requests, and the school system is under the same pressure: in a public letter in 2023, the Association québécoise des orthophonistes et audiologistes reported that, because of waiting lists in the health system, many children will receive no speech therapy services before they start school.
Three factors feed these wait times.
- First, a shortage of speech-language pathologists in the public sector, particularly pronounced outside the major centres.
- Next, sharply growing demand, driven by better screening of language disorders and language delays in preschool-aged children.
- Finally, the prioritization of requests: files judged more urgent go ahead of the others, which can extend the wait indefinitely for cases judged “less of a priority”, even when the family itself sees their child losing heart.
A waiting list is not a denial of service: it is a queue. The problem is that language development does not wait.
Where can you get public speech therapy services in Quebec?
Before we talk about solutions, you need to know where to turn. Quebec’s public system offers free speech therapy services through several entry points, each with its own criteria and its own waiting list.
The CLSC and the access point
The CLSC for your territory (attached to your CISSS or CIUSSS) is the usual entry point for a speech therapy consultation request for a child. The request goes through an access point, which assesses the priority of the file.
Services there are covered by the public plan: unlike the private sector, no billing applies. Each territory manages its own waiting list, which explains the significant gaps in wait times from one region to another.
The Agir tôt program for children under 7
The Agir tôt program (Act Early) is intended for children under 7 who show signs of difficulty in their development, including language. Services are free and offered on a voluntary basis, and the entry point is once again your CLSC: a caseworker discusses your concerns, carries out screening and directs the child toward the right services. The goal of the program is to intervene early, to make starting kindergarten easier.
The school system, rehabilitation centres and hospitals
Quebec’s public schools offer speech therapy services according to the resources available, often concentrated on screening and intervention plans rather than on regular individual follow-up. Rehabilitation centres and some hospitals also offer speech therapy services, generally at the request of a health professional and for specific populations. Each entry point comes with its own separate waiting list: being registered in one place does not automatically put you in the queue for the others.
What are the speech therapy wait times in the public system?
There is no single “wait time” for speech therapy in Quebec: delays vary according to the region, the age of the child and the priority given to the file. A few verified reference points still help you get your bearings.
According to Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux data reported by Le Devoir in January 2025, the average wait time to see a speech-language pathologist at a CLSC is getting longer in Quebec: among children aged 5 to 6, it rose by two months between January 2023 and January 2024. In the same report, the president of the Ordre des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Québec (OOAQ) noted that, according to the scientific data, the reasonable wait to see children at risk should be one to three months. In 2023, union data (APTS) pointed to waits stretching over several years, in certain territories of the Laurentides, for speech therapy services for children.
The honest conclusion: no one can promise you a precise wait time in the public system. To find out the real picture in your territory, contact your CLSC directly and ask where your request stands, what its priority level is and the approximate expected wait. You have the right to ask these questions, and to follow up regularly.
Why acting early makes a difference
Research on language development converges: the earlier speech therapy intervention begins, the more it draws on the period when a child’s brain learns most easily. That is exactly the logic of the Agir tôt program, and the reason the OOAQ speaks of a reasonable wait of one to three months for children at risk.
Waiting a long time without support can weigh on daily life: the frustration of not being understood, difficulties with learning, self-esteem that erodes. The good news is that a well-equipped family can already do a great deal, and that waiting in the public system does not prevent you from getting help elsewhere in parallel. That is the subject of the next two sections.
Want to talk it through with a speech-language pathologist right now?
A free 15-minute call lets you take stock of your situation and determine whether a speech-language evaluation is the right next step.
What to do while you wait? A three-part action plan
Stay on the public waiting list
First rule: never take your name off the CLSC waiting list, even if you consult elsewhere in the meantime. Public speech therapy services remain free and relevant, and consulting privately generally does not make you lose your place in the queue. The two approaches are complementary: a speech-language evaluation carried out privately by a speech-language pathologist who is a member of the OOAQ can generally be shared with the CLSC or the school, and move the file forward.
Stimulate language at home
In the meantime, you can support your child’s language development day to day: reading together every day, putting words to what your child is going through, rephrasing their sentences without correcting them directly, limiting screens in favour of interaction.
Our free speech therapy resources page brings together concrete tools for families. These gestures do not replace speech therapy follow-up, but they create a favourable environment while you wait for services.
Consider a private evaluation in parallel
Seeing a speech-language pathologist at a private clinic requires no medical referral: you can book an appointment directly, and access times there are generally much shorter than in the public system. At Clinique Passage, the team supports children, teens and adults, in French, in English or bilingually.
Our speech-language pathologists, all members of the OOAQ, see families in person in Val-d’Or, in Mont-Laurier and in the South-West of Montreal, as well as by telepractice everywhere in Quebec. Telepractice also gives results comparable to in-person therapy in children, as our article on the effectiveness of telepractice therapy in very young children shows: your region’s waiting list does not have to dictate your family’s access to services.
How much does private speech therapy cost, and what help exists?
Cost remains the main obstacle for families, so let’s talk numbers. In Quebec, private speech therapy follow-up sessions generally run between $100 and $200 an hour, and speech-language evaluations between $350 and $1,000 for oral language, more for written language. At Clinique Passage, the 50-minute session with a speech-language pathologist is $165, the session with a language correction agent (agente de correction du langage) supervised by a speech-language pathologist is $150 an hour, and the full evaluation is $555 (data analysis, report writing and results delivery included). Our article on speech therapy fees in Quebec sets out the market ranges in detail.
Several levers reduce the real bill. Speech therapy is a non-taxable health service in Quebec, and most private insurance plans reimburse part or all of the fees when the speech-language pathologist is a member of the OOAQ. Eligible expenses may also qualify for the medical expense tax credit. Finally, financial support programs cover certain situations: Jordan’s Principle, which addresses the needs of First Nations children for products, services and supports, the Inuit Child First Initiative for Inuit children, Retraite Québec’s Supplement for Handicapped Children, as well as the CNESST, the SAAQ or the IVAC for adults whose difficulties stem from an accident or a criminal act.
The real gap between free public services and reimbursed private services is often smaller than families imagine.
Public or private? A complementary approach, not a final choice
The real question is not “public or private”, but “what to do now, and what to do next”. Many families start the evaluation and the first intervention sessions privately while they wait for public speech therapy services, then continue at the CLSC or at school when their turn comes, with an evaluation report already in hand. Others do the opposite: they use the public system for the evaluation, then the private sector to intensify follow-up.
Every path is legitimate. What matters is that the child, teen or adult who presents with language, speech or communication disorders does not go years without support. To see the range of populations we work with, have a look at the populations we help.
Is speech therapy covered by the RAMQ?
Speech therapy services offered in the public system (CLSC, rehabilitation centres, hospitals) are covered by the public plan. At a private clinic, speech therapy is not covered by the RAMQ, but most private insurance plans reimburse part of the fees when the speech-language pathologist is a member of the OOAQ, and the service is non-taxable in Quebec.
Do you need a medical referral to see a speech-language pathologist privately?
No. You can contact a private speech therapy clinic directly and book an appointment, without going through a doctor. In the public system, the request goes instead through the access point at your CLSC, and some hospital services require a request from a health professional.
What is the Agir tôt program?
Agir tôt is a free, voluntary government program intended for children under 7 who show signs of difficulty in their development, including language. The entry point is your CLSC, which carries out the screening and directs the child toward the appropriate services, with the goal of making it easier for them to start kindergarten.
How long do you have to wait for a speech-language pathologist at the CLSC?
Wait times vary a great deal according to region and to the priority of the file: the data reported in recent years ranges from several months to, in certain territories, several years. The OOAQ considers that a reasonable wait for children at risk would be one to three months. Contact your CLSC to find out the real wait time in your territory and the status of your request.
Do not let the waiting list decide for you
A speech-language pathologist who is a member of the OOAQ can evaluate your child or you quickly, at the clinic or by telepractice everywhere in Quebec, with no medical referral. Every voice deserves to be heard.