Privacy Policy

Vela Speech Therapy ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website velaspeechtherapy.com and provides private speech-language pathology services in Columbus, Ohio. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information when you visit our website or contact us about our services.

By using this website, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you have questions, please contact us directly — we are always happy to explain.

We collect information in two ways — information you give us directly, and basic information collected automatically when you visit our website.

Information you provide directly:

• Your name and phone number when you submit a contact form
• Your child's age range and any details you share in the optional message field
• Any information shared during a phone consultation or email exchange

Information collected automatically:

• Basic website usage data such as pages visited and time spent on the site
• Device type, browser type, and approximate location (city/region level)
• Referring website or search term that brought you to our site

We do not collect payment information directly. Any payments are processed through secure third-party platforms.

We use the information you provide solely to:

• Respond to your inquiry and schedule your free consultation
• Communicate with you about services, scheduling, and your child's care
• Improve the website experience and content based on anonymous usage data

Once you become a client of Vela Speech Therapy, your protected health information (PHI) — including clinical notes, evaluation results, and treatment records — is governed by HIPAA and our separate Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP).

This website's privacy policy covers website interactions and pre-service contact only. Your clinical records and health information are handled under HIPAA-compliant practices and stored in a secure, HIPAA-compliant electronic health record system.

You will receive and sign a copy of our full Notice of Privacy Practices at the start of services. Please contact us if you would like a copy in advance.

Our services are provided to children, but this website is directed at parents and caregivers — not children directly. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13.

When you submit a contact form, you are sharing information as a parent or guardian on behalf of your child. We treat all information about minors with the highest level of care and confidentiality.

If you believe a child has submitted personal information to this website without parental consent, please contact us immediately and we will remove it.

We do not share your personal information except in the following limited circumstances:

• With your consent — for example, if you ask us to coordinate with your child's school or pediatrician
• As required by law — including mandatory reporting obligations and valid legal processes
• Service providers — with trusted vendors who help us operate our website and business (see Third-Party Services below), under strict confidentiality terms

We use a small number of third-party services to operate this website. These services may collect limited data as described below:

Netlify
Our website is hosted on Netlify. Contact form submissions are processed through Netlify Forms. Netlify may store form submission data on their servers. See Netlify's Privacy Policy.

Google Fonts
We use Google Fonts to display typography on this site. Google may log font requests, which can include your IP address. See Google's Privacy Policy.

We do not use advertising networks, behavioral tracking tools, or social media pixels on this website.

This website uses minimal cookies — small files stored in your browser that help the site function. We do not use cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking.

• Essential cookies that allow the website to function properly
• Basic analytics to understand how visitors use the site (page views, device type)

You can disable cookies in your browser settings at any time. This may affect how some parts of the site function but will not prevent you from accessing content.

We take reasonable steps to protect the information you share with us. Our website is served over HTTPS (encrypted connection), and we use reputable, security-conscious service providers.

Clinical health records are stored in a HIPAA-compliant electronic health record system with access controls, encryption, and audit logging.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you have concerns about the security of specific information, please contact us to discuss the best way to share it.

You have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct or update inaccurate information
• Ask us to delete your information, subject to any legal or HIPAA obligations
• Withdraw consent for communications at any time

If you are a current or former client, additional rights regarding your protected health information are described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Continued use of this website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.