Cheerful Chatter helped my son unlock his voice and we are eternally grateful. My son came to Ellen at nearly 3 years old with a diagnosis of Apraxia and virtually no intelligible speech. It was 2020 and everything was virtual yet somehow she found a way to engage my rowdy toddler on a computer screen and begin working on his speech. Ellen has the most amazing way of keeping him interested in each session, motivated to master each new skill and ready to practice when he got home so that his speech improved. The communication offered with the family by this practice is invaluable. Not only did my son overcome so many of the hurdles presented by Apraxia, we all learned as a family how to support him every step of the way. Ellen answered all of my endless questions, helped us navigate payment and insurance speed bumps and was always great about communicating quickly. After 5 years of services, everyone who knows my son is shocked to find out about his speech journey because he speaks so well (and so often). His expansive vocabulary at 8 years old is no doubt a credit to his sessions with Ellen. Though he has graduated from weekly speech sessions he still uses the skills he learned to communicate well each and every day. Anyone who has a chance for their child to work with Cheerful Chatter is truly blessed and I recommend her to anyone in the area who has any speech concerns for their loved one. read more

If you want your child to make INCREDIBLE progress, look no further than Cheerful Chatter! Ellen is an exceptional speech therapist. As a speech therapist myself, I am very particular when it comes to finding the right service provider. Before finding Ellen, I had taken my son to a few other practices. I was left disappointed and frustrated. It is difficult to find a provider who is both extremely knowledgeable in their field AND as welcoming and warm as Ellen. She creates a treatment plan, explains it clearly, and implements it with fidelity. Ellen also encourages family to sit in on sessions which is greatly appreciated. I found other practices discouraged observations and preferred you to be in the waiting room. Not Ellen. She is confident in her skill set, and most importantly, wants correct carryover at home. Ellen also puts a lot of care, effort, and financial resources into the selection of books, toys, apps, and materials she uses to complement therapy. Her office is so engaging and fun for children. When my son started with Ellen, he was virtually unintelligible. Now, he gets compliments from friends, family, teachers, and strangers on his clarity of speech. All thanks to Ellen. We are forever grateful to have found Cheerful Chatter. read more

This place is the best that there could be when it comes to speech therapy! Ellen is so wonderful, has a wealth of experience and knowledge and so many fun apps and games and learning tools which she incorporates into her therapy with the kiddos! I am so happy that I found her. She also allows parents to observe without being in the room too if you want. She has technology for that, also to allow slots to be shared within her clientelle that can be used for other appointments switch outs if that is what you want too...so many wonderful ideas that she gives us parents to use and try with our kiddos at home and in school also makes this place the best place! I am very happy with our therapy so far! read more

Ellen is the best speech therapist we have been to. My 9 year old son has made tremendous progress and really enjoys seeing her. We have been to four other speech therapist and no one can compare to the services we receive while at cheerful chatter. She truly cares about her clients and has helped us more than anyone else. I will never seek another speech therapist as long as reside in the area. read more

After researching the PEERS program at UCLA I stumpled upon Cheerful Chatter . After being invited in for a " free " evaluation with my daughter , I was coaxed into a teen group for her to the tune of 2,000 over 4 months period. I simply wanted a few private sessions for some social skills assistance , Ellen Mcfadden was extremely pushy that a few private sessions would notbhelp and insistent I enrroll her in this program . When I asked if the other children were Aspergers / Autistic she assured me not , my daughter is just shy sometimes and this would not be correct placement . The first group was all Aspergers / Autistic teens , one who was suicidal and whispered very upsetting threats in my childs ear the duration of the two hours . Ellen continued to " hush " the child . ( You watch on a tv from lobby ) my daughter burst into tears and asked why she was i a group of Aspergers kids ? She was distraught from the stress of the suicidal comments all night and thought she was diagnosed with Aspergers / Autisim and I never told her about it . Ellen simply tries to fill this group and is very pushy when doing so . I reached out to her the minute I got home and never got a response - only a bill. Poor proffessionalism and scary theories . When I looked on UCLA site for people registerd under PEERS program in NJ Ellen was not in fact listed . A doctor in North Jersey and Main Line are the affilates. Hopefully it does well for the other kids but this was a horrible exp for my daughter and a very exxagerated misplacement that Ms Mccfadden refuses responsibility for . She then charged me 75.00 for the " free evaluation " then 130.00 for the session . Terrible . I would not reccomend . Unfortunatly , you are about a over a year too late for your response. I stand by my opinion of your services . While you may very well be of good service for some families with particular needs , your vetting process lacks experience . I emailed you and called numerous times for an oppurtunity for you to explain and only response was this over a year later . I think that kind of proves my point . You ignored all outreach until this was posted and only because this was posted . Enough said . read more

My elementary school child has been seeing Ms. McSpadden for a year now. She is wonderful with him and always takes the time to listen to both of our questions and work those into the sessions. She has a great talent of mixing speech work into play activities. He loves going every week. I feel that her services are flexible and geared towards my sons best interests. Her new therapy office is clean, comfortable and very professional. I enjoy watching the sessions from the waiting area on the tv. We will definitely continue to see Ms. McSpadden until he no longer needs help. read more

I had the good fortune of working under Ellen McSpadden of Cheerful Chatter as a graduate student this summer. Ellen is an extremely passionate and skilled speech-language pathologist. Therapy is tailored to each individual client and is client-driven. This makes her clients interested and engaged in sessions. Also Ellen, herself, is engaging. She's tough but kind; she has high expectations for her clients and I believe this is a large reason why her clients have the success they do. I saw phenomenal progress in her clients in the less than two months I worked with Ellen. She knows the field inside and out, is highly intelligent, and can work with any child/teenager/young adult with challenges/delays related to language, speech, stuttering (fluency), social aspects of language, and even poor behavior related to these challenges/delays. I STRONGLY recommend Ellen if you have any of these concerns with your young one. My own daughter had language delays/poor articulation and worked with a speech-language pathologist; I wish I had known about Ellen when my daughter was struggling. Also, Ellen's practice is insanely clean and beautiful; I saw firsthand how much Ellen cleans and the time, effort, and frankly money she spends to give her clients and their families the space and materials needed for effective and enjoyable therapy sessions. I learned so much from Ellen and am thankful every day that she took me on as a student. read more

Ellen is AMAZING! I have two children that Ellen has worked with. My 13 year old son (with autism) had been struggling with Social Skills and making friends. After his course, my son turned to me and said "mom, I wish I had this last year". It changed his life! He has friends now and engages people so much more! My 12 year old daughter (also with autism) took her course. She is lower functioning than my son and always had to be coached to talk to people. When she meets new people, she introduces herself all on her own and strikes up a very appropriate conversation. If I try to coach her at all she will even say "let me do it, I got this". Bottom line is Ellen changes lives. I could not imagine where we would be without her! read more

Ellen has been one heck of a WONDERWOMAN!!!! I have 2 children with special needs and brought both of them to her this past summer. They bonded with Ellen right away. And, as you know, that is so very important! She is extremely knowledgeable about the PEERS program and also respects the family's privacy. My children are on the road to achieving the social goals set for them. How do you ever thank someone for giving that kind of a gift to your child(ren). You want results, than go see Ellen. Thanks Ellen for everything!!!! read more