Speech Associates

What Speech Associates does

SLEA Therapies (legal name Speech, Language, and Educational Associates; formerly Speech Associates) is a private, employee-owned multi-site therapy provider founded in 1983 and headquartered in Encino, California. The company delivers a coordinated portfolio of clinical services — Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Educational Therapy, and Childhood Development — to children and adults with communication, behavioral, learning, and developmental needs, plus on-site School Services delivered within partner school districts. Care is delivered through six clinics spanning Los Angeles County (Antelope Valley, Culver City, Encino, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, Torrance), supplemented by an Online Courses platform for families and professionals.

The business model is fee-for-service clinical care reimbursed primarily through insurance: SLEA is in-network with most major plans and also accepts Regional Center funding, with services billed on a recurring monthly cadence against individualized, custom care plans rather than standardized protocols. Demand is generated direct-to-consumer via a website 'Request for Services' intake, referrals from families and educators, insurance network participation, school district partnerships, and content marketing (Instagram @sleatherapies, the SLEA Family Connection newsletter, and SEO-optimized service landing pages). The company differentiates on its employee-ownership structure — positioned as enabling boutique-quality care relative to corporate therapy chains — and on integrated multi-discipline care under one provider. SLEA holds AOTA- and ASHA-approved provider status for continuing education and was recognized as a USA Today Top Workplace 2026 across multiple categories.

No external funding, M&A activity, or public-company disclosures are present in the source data; SLEA operates as a privately held, employee-owned entity with a 101–250 employee headcount and undisclosed revenue. Core clinical technology is not publicly disclosed, and no AI/ML, proprietary software platform, or data product is described.

Name

Speech Associates

Legal name

Speech, Language, and Educational Associates

Website

https://speechassociates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Speech Associates (SLEA Therapies) is a private, employee-owned Los Angeles County therapy provider founded in 1983, delivering ABA, speech, occupational, educational, and childhood development therapy to children and adults across six clinic locations, partner school districts, and an online courses platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Therapy Services

NAICS

Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (621340), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) & Swallowing Therapy Centers (HLADAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

School-Based Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Services (EDAKAEAA), Classroom-Based / Push-In & Curriculum-Embedded SLP Services (EDAKAEAK)

Keywords

• Speech language pathology
• Applied behavior analysis
• Pediatric therapy services
• Occupational therapy clinics
• Educational therapy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Therapy Services (Fee-for-Service): SLEA Therapies generates revenue by providing billable therapeutic services (Applied Behavior Analysis, Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, Educational Therapy) to clients. They are an in-network provider for most insurance plans, accepting insurance reimbursement as a primary revenue mechanism. Services are delivered in-person at clinic locations and through school-based programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SLEA Therapies provides billable, individualized therapeutic services—including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Educational Therapy, and Childhood Development support—delivered in-person at six Southern California clinic locations and through on-site School Services in partner districts. Services are primarily reimbursed through insurance networks and Regional Center Funding, with supplemental Online Courses offered to families and professionals.

Product overview

Speech, Language, and Educational Associates (SLEA) operates as SLEA Therapies, offering a coordinated therapy services portfolio for children and adults. The company provides four core therapeutic services—Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Educational Therapy—alongside Childhood Development and School Services. These services are delivered across multiple California locations (Antelope Valley, Culver City, Encino, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, and Torrance) through an employee-owned team approach, with an emphasis on individualized, custom care plans rather than standardized insurance-driven treatment. The company has been trusted since 1983 and maintains in-network status with most insurance providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) ABA therapy focuses on developing language, play skills, learning readiness, self-help skills, and socialization through evidence-based behavioral interventions for children and individuals with special needs.
• Speech and Language Therapy Speech-language pathology and language disorder therapies for children and adults, addressing communication challenges, aphasia, dysphagia, and language delays through targeted play-based and clinical interventions.
• Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy support in everyday skills to help individuals of all ages live with greater independence, focusing on practical life skills, sensory processing, and functional abilities.
• Educational Therapy Tailored treatment for learning disabilities grounded in understanding how each child learns, addressing academic challenges through individualized approaches for students with special needs.
• Childhood Development Services Developmental support services for children addressing various developmental milestones, early childhood development needs, and growth-related therapeutic interventions.
• School Services Therapy services delivered on-site within school settings to support students' IEP-driven therapy needs during the school day, in partnership with school districts and education specialists.
• Online Courses Digital educational courses and programs for parents, families, and professionals seeking therapy-related learning and professional development content beyond in-clinic services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Children develop communication skills enabling them to 'confidently communicating in full sentences, participating in conversations' (case study: Michael's Speech Therapy Journey)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cortica: Cortica operates multi-disciplinary pediatric therapy centers combining ABA, speech-language, occupational, and neurology services — directly mirroring SLEA's coordinated care model for children with autism and developmental differences.
• Proud Moments ABA: Proud Moments ABA is a multi-state ABA provider offering clinic and home-based services, comparable to SLEA's ABA line in payer relationships, age group served, and treatment approach.
• Autism Learning Partners: Autism Learning Partners runs ABA clinics in California and other states, directly overlapping with SLEA's Southern California footprint and shared focus on Regional Center and insurance-funded clients.
• Speech Pathology Group: Speech Pathology Group is a California-based speech-language pathology clinic practice, overlapping directly with SLEA's core SLP service line in both geography and clinical scope.
• Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD): CARD is one of the largest ABA therapy providers in the U.S., operating clinic-based programs that overlap with SLEA's ABA service line and target the same regional-center and insurance-funded client base.
• Behavioral Innovations: Behavioral Innovations operates ABA clinics across multiple states with a clinic-based, insurance-billable model comparable to SLEA's ABA service line and similar payer mix.
• ABS Kids: ABS Kids provides ABA therapy with growing multi-disciplinary capabilities, competing for the same pediatric developmental-disorder families and using a comparable clinic-based, insurance-reimbursed delivery model.
• Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers: Hopebridge runs outpatient pediatric therapy clinics delivering ABA alongside speech and occupational therapy, matching SLEA's mix of disciplines and clinic-based delivery model for families of children with autism.
• BlueSprig Pediatrics: BlueSprig is a multi-state ABA clinic operator that has expanded into speech and occupational therapy, competing with SLEA for the same pediatric autism and developmental-disorder families in Southern California.

Others

• Therapy Brands: Therapy Brands provides practice-management and EHR software to ABA, speech, and occupational therapy clinics. It is a software vendor and enabling technology layer for SLEA and its direct peers rather than a competing provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/sleatherapies
• Xx.com/SPEECHASSOCIAT
• Facebookfacebook.com/SpeechAssociates

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Speech Associates