I worked with Melanie to improve my accent. It wasn't your average English language program…read more Melanie took the time to analyze MY slips of the accent which minimized the time for improvement. Melanie took into consideration my language background and the sounds I am used to hearing and making. She was able to be technical with me when we needed to get technical, and she was focusing on results as opposed to the classification of sounds and short and long vowels. As for results, I am noticing a significant positive change in my oral communication skills. I am now able to pick up the subtle changes in vowels and consonants. Perhaps, this is very personal, but it meant a lot to me. I always had a hard time in clubs and bars where people would ask me about my accent right away. As soon as I said a few words. I felt that people were immediately making assumptions about me being foreign or unsophisticated. After working with Melanie, a miracle happened. Nobody asked me about where I was from, at all!!! Two guys even thought I grew up in Pennsylvania. It was the biggest compliment for me and Melanie. Again, if you are doing business in New York or somewhere in the states and have a hard time with your business communication, I highly recommend that you work with Mel. It's an investment and not an expense.

I came into my session with Melanie knowing my value but struggling to say it clearly. Within an…read morehour she helped me narrow my focus to the people I'm best equipped to serve, health and wellness coaches, and craft a 30-second pitch that finally lands. She went above and beyond her time to make sure I had the tools I needed for success. If you need clarity and confidence in how you present your work, I can't recommend Melanie enough.

As an occupational therapist with over 15 years of experience in pediatrics, I have worked with…read moremany Speech and Language Pathologists. I can attest to Jennifer and Maria's superb clinical expertise, passion and professionalism. I respect their commitment to professional development and their ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team. I am extremely selective with my referrals and have no reservations recommending families to Jennifer and Maria. They are truly amazing!

I highly recommend Jen. She has done such an excellent job assisting me and my 17 month old son…read morethrough virtual speech classes due to COVID. Helping a toddler with speech through zoom is not easy, but Jen did a great job and was always very patient. She also provided me with the necessary tools to help me son during the week. She followed up each session with an email and notes on what we worked on and some skills to work on during the week so I never felt "lost". I saw major improvements with my son's speech in a short period of time. Jen was always on time, professional and never canceled a session.

Can't say I would recommend this place. Called the office several times and was turned down for…read moreservices. They could care less about their customers and should put more effort for people inquiring about their services. Very disappointed

I'm an immigrant. English was a second language. I've had two classes so far with Ms Olsen…read more Planning to do a few more. This review is for my experience so far. 1) Why accent reduction: For me, it was practical. Something about how I spoke English made it a barrier in my communication. I didn't enjoy speaking English & I felt uncomfortable with how it sounded. It wasn't the accent necessarily that I wanted to rid of. Some people carry a Chinese accent or a British accent just fine. I think what I really wanted was to be able to speak English comfortably and confidently, as it will be my main language for the rest of my life. 2) Why Ms Olsen? So when Ms Olsen and I first talked on the phone, and immediately she pointed out that HOW I was making sound was the reason why some people don't hear me and why I felt uncomfortable. Ms. Olsen charges more than others. I'm a student with no income. But I'm also a student with no time. So trying subpar resources and wasting time to me impose a large opportunity cost. Accentadvisor self-assessment pointed out specific words I was pronouncing wrong. A few other teachers ask 500 dollars just to get an assessment and propose 10 classes package for subsequent training. I have no idea if their method will work for me (they all have stellar reviews). Ms Olsen on the other hand pointed out right away what I needed to work on and her classes immediately dive into practice. If factoring risk and time investment, I think she's actually cheaper than the alternatives. 3) What did I work on? In the first two classes, we practiced how to make sound so it's loud, clear and not squeamish and whispering like I used to and how to emphasize words, and how to connect sentences. Already, I'm more comfortable with how I speak. In some recording, I could no longer hear my accent. And even if I still have a lot of accent, those are the "characteristics" of my speaking that doesn't impede communication or confidence, and I'm comfortable having them. Things I used to mispronounce I can pronounce them clearly now, not because I'm speaking them in different sounds, but I'm speaking in different ways. And that's how you can correct a lot of words not by going through them one by one, but by correcting the root problem of why they sound awry. 4) Overall summary: Ms. Olsen is charming and generous. She doesn't fall into the economic incentive of baiting you for more classes and she's happy to provide assistance outside of class. She was willing to concoct a tight curriculum for me because I don't have the budget for too many classes. Her methods go right to the root of the problem. Even if you don't completely rid of the accent initially, you will start to feel comfortable speaking confidently after just a couple of sessions. Fundamentally I think, it's a communication class that has the added benefits of reducing accent.

I'm posting an update to my initial review, since Linda has replied to it…read more 1. As I stated in my original review, Linda did honor our request that our son work with her. But it remains true that initially she had him working with different graduate students from week to week, and she did not discuss this with us first. We were charged the full amount as well. 2. I did ask for the worksheets to be sent to me, after discovering the website we'd been directed to wasn't working, but was told no by some of the therapists/students we'd worked with initially. Linda only stopped in briefly to check in during our sessions for the first month or so, and I barely had a chance to talk to her. Then when I did get to see Linda more and talked about the website not working, she told me to search for worksheets on Pinterest instead. I was very disappointed that this was her response. 3. If working on one sound at a time is standard, and having two sessions per week is also standard, I respect following that protocol. But neither Linda nor any of the therapists/students we worked with ever explained either of these issues to me as a treatment plan. In fact, we were told to expect the opposite, that his issues were minor and could be addressed with once weekly sessions in a limited time frame. In our last session, Linda expressed surprise at "discovering" another articulation issue. She said something like "Guess what we found," while as stated in my original review, this had already been identified in my son's initial evaluation. I've taken the time to compose these reviews only in hopes of sharing information with other parents seeking assistance for their children.

My daughter has been blessed to have been under the care of Linda and her staff for 8 months at the…read moretime of this review. At the time we started attending my daughter's ability to understand or communicate with us was extremely limited. Her own frustration was manifested in aggression and she went into her own world quite frequently. Due to the skill, compassion and diligence that Linda has brought to my daughter, she has become a completely different little girl. She is no longer frustrated to the point of aggression, she is frequently able to have long conversations with us about what she had done, her likes, and her dislikes. She is able to communicate her needs effectively to us and is present to us in the moment. Linda has just been such a gift in life for my daughter! 5 stars are way too little for this superstar speech pathologist.

I was happy with Theo's services. He was flexible on timing and on time. He made the lessons fun…read morefor Matthew - playing a variety of games, etc. Theo taught him rules/ techniques that Matthew uses today to strengthen his R's. I would recommend Theo to others. ~ Rachael, parent of Park Slope 9 year old

Lisa did an amazing job with our daughter. She was always well prepared, provided detailed session…read moresummaries after every visit, and communicated exceptionally well with us. Our daughter absolutely adored her. Lisa was always available whenever I had questions, responded quickly, and collaborated closely with our daughter's other therapists to ensure she received the best possible support. From the very beginning, they formed a wonderful connection, and over time, Lisa became much more than a therapist--she became a true friend to our daughter. Even now that we've moved away, Lisa still takes the time to chat with her from time to time, which means so much to all of us. We truly cannot recommend Lisa highly enough. We are incredibly grateful for everything she has done for our family, and we are all very sad not to have her by our side anymore. Thank you as well for always checking in and making sure everything was going well. We really appreciated your support throughout the process. - Peggy, mom of Upper West Side 4th grader

Definitely recommend! Ms. Nelson was able to push past my daughter's shyness and see she's on the…read moreright track for her age with her speech and skills. Thank you so much for your assistance.

Gaida HInnawi is the most empathic and brilliant voice therapist. She has helped me with my swallow…read moreissues as I have "lazy" vocal cords. I have a constant cough and clearing of the throat due to acid reflux and, with her exercises, I have been able to control these movements and habits. We are now working on my voice itself - on breath control, raspiness, and creating more tones. Gaida is extremely tuned-in and sensitive to her patients. She immediately spots the problem and then, the miracle, has a method to address it. I thoroughly our sessions, which sometimes are hard work, as they not only help my voice and cough, but bring joy and an uplifting feeling. Thank you to her and her wonderful young staff.

My voice teacher suggested I see a speech therapist for my low to moderate case of Muscle Tension…read moreDysphonia (MTD) which causes me to get hoarse very easily when performing. I'm so grateful that my online research led me to Gaida. She has helped me find my true voice and taught me proper placement so I no longer strain my vocal chords. I now have a fun regiment of warm up exercises that I do on a daily basis and before every audition and performance. She also has a beautiful singing voice, and has helped me reach notes I thought were gone forever. And even more importantly, she has helped me address my swallowing/choking problems that used to hit me out of nowhere. Our sessions are productive and lots of fun. On top of being a professional and so easy to work with, she's an amazing sweet and fun person.

Lesley worked with our 6-year-old sons on articulation. She was patient and fun, and they were…read moreexcited about every session with her, often tussling over who got to have the first hour with Lesley. She brought different games to play with the boys each time, and she made practicing articulation fun for them. Lesley had great recommendations for us on how we could work on improving the boys' speech and articulation in between sessions, and she was accommodating when we had to move appointments around. I recommend her highly for those who are looking for a caring, fun speech therapist for your child.

I have been working with Lesley for the past 2 months and can't say enough good things about her…read more She tailors her treatment to address each particular issue and uses creative ways to get the most out of her clients. I have a very busy and irregular schedule and she has always been very accommodating. I have noticed tangible differences in my speech since working with her. I strongly recommend Ms. Sylvan.