how to write a testimonial for a speech therapist

Reviews & Testimonials From Our Speech Therapy Patients

Here at Voz Speech Therapy, we stand behind our speech therapy treatments.

But nothing can speak to what we do better than our patients.

Read on below to see what some of our happy patients have said about us.

Ana-Maria has not only helped my son but also me as his mother…

“My son had the honor of having Ana-Maria as his speech pathologist for 3 years. She has helped him immensely with his speech and vocabulary, as well as making sure he achieved all his goals set for him at his evaluations. When she first began speech therapy with my son, he was completely non-verbal. Here we are 3 years later and he is now using 4 to 5 word sentences! She was always supportive and dedicated to helping my son achieve his goals. Ana-Maria has not only helped my son but also me as his mother. She always made sure I understood everything during his evaluations and I was always asked if I would like to add any goals for him. She introduced me to PECS visuals as a form of requests (when he was non-verbal) and he now uses his PECS visuals as a schedule to help him throughout his day. Our family loved having Ana-Maria on our team; we miss her and all of her loving, genuine, support.”

-Deanna, mother of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD

To this day my son talks all about the fun he had with Ana-Maria…

“My son Ivan had a severe articulation disorder and not many people could understand him. Many people joked that they couldn’t speak “Ivan’s language.” As a parent I was very afraid with him starting school; how would he tell his teacher he is hurt, needed help, or that he had to use the bathroom? But then Ana-Maria came into our lives. She had techniques to help him make sounds he had never pronounced in his life. She gave me the necessary tools to help his speech on days we didn’t have therapy sessions and techniques to use in our everyday lives. She sent helpful links and printed worksheets for him to practice for homework. When my daughter started having early speech delays, she helped me recognize them and gave me strategies to help her. To this day my son talks all about the fun he had with Ana-Maria, not even realizing they were working on his speech for that whole year together. Ana-Maria will always be a part of our lives when I hear how well he is speaking now. She helped make our lives better and especially his. I know she will do the same for many more families and their children.”

-Alyssia, mother of a child with an articulation disorder

Thanks to Ana my baby has progressed so much with his speech…

“My name is Jessica Morales, mother of Dexter Vasquez , who was diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech when he was 2 years old. Thanks to Ana my baby has progressed so much with his speech; she gave me hope that my child would talk like the other children his age. At first I had my doubts, but 3-4 weeks later I saw a lot of improvement and then he just kept improving after that. I was very excited because Ana knew how much it hurt me to not understand him and then seeing him get upset because we couldn’t understand him hurt me even more. Now my baby speaks full sentences and knows a lot more than a typical 4 year old. We can’t get him to stop talking! Thank you Ana once again for all you did for my Dexter, my family and I are very appreciative of you.”

-Jessica, mother of a child with Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Ana-María is a very responsible professional who’s incredibly prepared for her job.

“Miss Ana-María Jaramillo, an expert speech and language pathologist, has worked with my child for several months. I can say she has done an excellent job, as my daughter had a severe speech disorder. It was so hard for her to have a conversation with anyone, because no one could understand her. Ana-María is a very responsible professional who’s incredibly prepared for her job. She’s very patient with kids and has enough experience as to make her classes fun so the children are eager to learn.”

-Yanet, mother of a child with expressive language disorder and speech articulation disorder

The speech therapy my son went through was really helpful!!

“The speech therapy my son went through was really helpful!! Ana, his therapist, helped him patiently, though we could see visible changes in a really short time. Soon he was able to say words like colors, animal names or even his own name. He also learned to respect the properties of others and got interested in learning more. He even became more disciplined on his therapy. As a family, we try to follow Ana’s therapy pattern and advice, so he keeps on improving.”

– Yareli, mother of a child with an expressive language disorder.

Ana-Maria did a great job with my child as a therapist, as she helped her to develop both her skills in Spanish and English.

“Ana-Maria did a great job with my child as a therapist, as she helped her to develop both her skills in Spanish and English. My daughter had speech problems and thanks to therapy she was able to improve her vocabulary and make herself understood. I hope she can help you as well as she helped us!”

-Eva, mother of a child with an expressive language disorder.

Book Your Appointment With Voz Speech Therapy Today

Have you or your child been dealing with a speech, language, or communication disorder?

If so, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Speech therapy treatments from Voz Speech Therapy can help.

Book your appointment with Voz Speech Therapy today.

You have ideas worth expressing. Speech therapy can help.

• Software Updates (215)
• Business Ownership (74)
• Group Practice (48)
• Company News (40)
• Marketing (29)
• Medical Billing (16)
• Technology (10)
• Accounting (6)
• Networking (6)
• Documentation (5)
• CE Courses (3)

The Secret to Getting Great Testimonials for Your Therapy Site

By becky degrossa on august 28, 2019.

Testimonials are a great way for potential clients to see examples of your expertise in action and to begin to build trust. But as a therapist, testimonials present a unique challenge: how can you stay HIPAA-compliant when soliciting and publishing testimonials? Without clarity on who you can ask for testimonials and what you can publish without breaching client confidentiality, it's tempting to avoid them entirely.

What's more, online testimonials aren’t always trusted; people have become wise to flowery and generic language that doesn't address their concerns. As a result, they’re more likely than ever to gloss over testimonials or dismiss them as unhelpful or inauthentic.

So, what’s the secret to sharing standout testimonials that your ideal clients will trust while maintaining compliance with HIPAA? Something known as the reverse testimonial , a technique perfected by marketing guru Sean D’Souza.

What is a Reverse Testimonial?

Traditional testimonials start and end with praise. They’re nice, but they can be hard for potential therapy clients to relate to. For example:

I’ve referred many of my patients to Dr. Smith for help with anxiety, and they have all said she’s the greatest! One of the best therapists I know.

Reverse testimonials start with the problem. The testimonial giver talks about their doubts first. Because this approach mirrors a potential client’s experience and goals when seeking therapy, they’re more likely to relate to and trust the testimonial. A reverse testimonial may look like this:

I was a little hesitant about referring my patients to Dr. Smith at first. I knew she was qualified, but that didn’t mean she’d be the right fit for my patients. Then I met with her, and I was convinced. I like that she uses research-backed methods, like CBT and EMDR, but the reason I started referring patients to her practice was her calm demeanor and collaborative approach to treating anxiety. I knew many of my patients would be able to connect with her, and I haven’t been disappointed. I’ve already received thank you cards from two patients for referring them to Dr. Smith.

Which testimonial was more relatable? Which gave more information about the therapist and her approach? Which addressed a specific concern your clients may have?

Reverse testimonials don’t just offer praise; they acknowledge and alleviate doubts that may be keeping a potential client from calling your practice.

Who Should You Ask?

Asking current or former clients carries ethical concerns. Does your professional body even allow you to ask clients for testimonials? Will they feel pressured to participate? Are you asking them to do more work when they need your help reducing stress? 

Our recommendation is that you avoid soliciting testimonials from clients. Instead, start by contacting colleagues, peers, and referrers in the psychology and healthcare space. They carry their own authority, and testimonials from these sources can be more impactful and trustworthy than client testimonials.

How Should You Ask?

Asking for testimonials without offering any guidance means you’re likely to get a lot of short, traditional testimonials that don’t work.

Potential clients will relate to longer, narrative testimonials, and that means you need to have a structure in mind. To be clear, you aren’t making up testimonials or telling people what to write. Rather, you’re using questions to guide responses into a more useful format. This approach helps people think about your service in a way that naturally creates a more compelling, relatable testimonial.

What Questions Should You Ask to Get Better Testimonials?

To get a great reverse testimonial, Sean D’Souza recommends incorporating the following six questions (they’ve been altered slightly to apply to your needs as a practice owner):

1. What obstacle or fear would have kept you from referring clients to me?

Many potential clients share similar reservations before beginning therapy. Asking a colleague to address their concerns in a testimonial is a great way to get hesitant individuals engaged. This can also give you greater insight into potential barriers preventing other referrers from contacting you.

2. What did you learn after you referred clients to me?

This point responds to the objections or fears the testimonial giver had in the first question. Put together, you have the start of a powerful reverse testimonial:

When I referred my first patient, I was worried it would be too expensive for them. But after their first two sessions, they told me it was the best investment they’ve made.

3. What specifically did you like most about my approach or how I handled the referral?

Specific praise is great way to highlight your unique selling points in more detail.

4. What other benefits did you noticed as a result of referring clients to me?

This question gets the testimonial giver thinking about other aspects of your approach and service that may not otherwise get called out.

5. Would you recommend me to others in need of therapy? If yes, why?

Colleagues and peers who would make a recommendation or referral are generally passionate about the service and believe in the work you do. This question helps them expand on why they would recommend you. 

6. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Chances are you’ll have everything you need already, but sometimes reviewers are still putting their thoughts together through the previous questions. Concluding with this catch-all question can generate some powerful responses.

Where Should You Put Testimonials on Your Therapy Site?

Many clients won’t visit a designated Testimonials page on your website unless they are already pretty certain that they want to contact you. If you collect a testimonial that is about a particular specialty or modality, include it in the sidebar or at the bottom of the related page. That way, the testimonial is more likely to be seen by potential clients who are still making a decision about whether or not to call you and encourage them to take the next step.

* The content of this post is intended to serve as general advice and information. It is not to be taken as legal advice and may not account for all rules and regulations in every jurisdiction. For legal advice, please contact an attorney.

About Becky DeGrossa

Get more content like this, delivered right to your inbox. subscribe to our newsletter., more content you'll enjoy.

988 Lifeline Dialing Code Launches

How to Maximize Tax Write-Offs for Therapists

Want to Solely Accept Cash Payments? Here’s How!

We offer both TELETHERAPY & IN-PERSON services at this time!

• Getting Started

Testimonials

• Job Openings

"My son had an awesome experience at Cornerstone, we were in it for the long haul, but he made leaps and bounds of improvement in such a short amount of time!! I was almost sad when they said he had reached his goals and was ready to graduate from his therapy sessions. Very professional staff and very clean facility. Highly recommended!!"

• T.S. from Allen, TX

"Our therapist was patient, positive, willing to collaborate with me as partner in my child’s journey to start talking. A careful observer, she assessed him and put together a clear plan with goals, target dates, and ideas for me to do at home. I always felt like I knew exactly what she was working on and how to practice at home. She pinpointed exactly how to best work with my son, what motivates him, and reassured me during this entire year. As a result, he was always happy to go to his sessions and proud of his new skills. Her incredible connection with my son, her professionalism and deep knowledge, her caring and genuine way to interact with parents played a huge part in our success. I am forever grateful. J and I will miss you! "    

•  F.N. from McKinney, Tx

"Cornerstone is absolutely amazing!! My daughter met with sweet Adria every week for about 5 months. In that short time, my daughter’s articulation and enunciation improved tremendously! She is now so confident to speak in front of her classmates, and even performed in her school play with a large speaking role, something that would have been very intimidating to her prior to her speech therapy.  This practice cares for children and they are warm and welcoming! My daughter actually looked forward to going every week and cried when it was our last day there!!  Jeff was wonderful in getting us all setup and handling the insurance portion of things. This made our transition to Cornerstone so smooth! Very helpful!  I feel incredibly blessed to have found Cornerstone and couldn’t be more proud of my daughter’s growth during her time there."    

•  M.A. from McKinney, Tx

"Kristin worked with our 5 year old for 6 or so months for his stutter. She is absolutely incredible. I cannot say enough good things about her. Not only is she great with the kids, she keeps them engaged, and really takes the time to make sure you as a parent know everything that is going on. She is amazing and I will never take my kiddos anywhere but here!"

• M.H. from Allen, Tx

"After a few months of working with Cornerstone, my daughter's articulation has greatly improved. My daughter looked forward to seeing her therapist every week. Cornerstone Speech Therapy met my daughter’s needs/goals and exceeded my expectations. Thank you Cornerstone!"  

•   Tyraniqua from Anna, Tx

"I would highly recommend Stacie as a speech therapist.  In a nutshell, she is 'individually' minded.  By that, I mean she gets to know her patient and does what is best for them individually.  She is very professional, extremely personable, incredibly organized, detail oriented, and absolutely does her best for each person with whom she works. You will be blessed to know her and work with her."  

•   Anita from McKinney, Tx

"After having post concussion syndrome for months, most of the symptoms were gone but cognitively, I still wasn’t where I wanted to be. My neurologist recommended I try cognitive therapy, so I called Cornerstone Speech Therapy. The sessions we had were very productive and I am happy with where I am now. So grateful I found Cornerstone."  

• Lee from Allen, Tx

"Our son has worked with Amanda for a couple years and we all love her. When we first took our son, he didn't want to talk but now our son loves to meet with her. He talks (too much sometimes) and we have seen great improvement in his speech. Thank you!"  

• David from Allen, Tx

"​We have been blessed with Cornerstone Speech Therapy in our lives. After 9 years of speech therapy, the past two years with Cornerstone is where our son’s ability to articulate and enunciate have improved the most. Cris Adams truly cares. She is passionate about our son, as if he was her own and goes the extra mile to make sure he understands what he and we need to do to improve. As we faced a new path with a diagnosis on the spectrum, she not only supported his speech but him as a person and us as a family. The owners, Jeff and Stacie, are also the heart and soul of the practice. Cris changed her approach on how to help him, learned about what works for him with his own interests and passions, using them to help him connect and grow. We will be forever fans of the work Cris does at Cornerstone changing lives and have definitely changed ours!" 

• Erin from McKinney, Tx

"Cornerstone is a wonderful office! Our speech therapist was great. She helped my son through and through and in less than a year my son was discharged. Thank you all!"   

• N.L. from Allen, Tx

"​Cornerstone was so helpful in getting speech therapy approved by insurance for my daughter and we have been happy doing our sessions! I would definitely recommend Cornerstone!" 

• Sarah from Allen, Tx

"​My son loves to come to speech therapy. It is one of his favorite activities. It is clear to him and to me that he is making progress in communicating his needs and desires using both assistive technology and the spoken word. Recently, through persistence and creativity, my son had a major breakthrough in communicating when he doesn't want something. We had never been able to achieve that before in the many years he has had speech therapy. His therapist, Kristin, has shown a great deal of patience, humor, flexibility, skill, and kindness in working with my son. I have also appreciated Cornerstone's experience with technology and  willingness to work with me in meeting the needs of my son and family!" 

• Lindsay from McKinney, Tx

"For a little over three years, Mrs. Amanda helped our son dramatically improve his speech. Her focus on tackling individual sounds made all the difference. Not only was she able to chart significant progress, but her compassion and creativity helped her connect directly with our son and inspire him to work harder and look forward to their time together. Attending Cornerstone is undoubtedly one of the best decisions we have made for our son!" 

• Lauren from Allen, Tx

"My daughter who is 4 was not saying much when she first started at Cornerstone about 4 months ago. She has started talking more and more because of Cornerstone's great speech therapists. I am so thankful for them because my daughter has apraxia of speech which is a neurological disorder that limits her speaking ability." 

• Candice from Allen, Tx

  "My son had the privilege to work with Cornerstone Speech Therapy over the period of a few years.  He qualified for speech services at his school, but it couldn't compare to the one-on-one time he got at Cornerstone.  His therapist was very adept at determining the specific therapy my son needed and made their sessions so fun that he barely realized it was "therapy".  He always looked forward to his sessions with her and his progress was impressive.  Her warm, friendly demeanor is very welcoming and put my son at ease from the very beginning.  I can't say enough good things about Cornerstone." 

• Kim from Fairview, Tx

"Amazing speech therapy office! My son has made incredible progress! Both his therapist and the owners are top notch and super welcoming!" 

• Kristen from Allen, Tx

"My daughter only needed help with a couple speech sounds, but we were very happy with the progress she made and how quickly she made progress.  She is a lot more confident when she talks now. Cornerstone was great and we loved it there. Thank you!" 

• Raquel from Sachse, Tx

"My daughter started working with Amanda four years ago. I know my daughter would not be where she is now without her help. Amanda has been such an amazing speech therapist through and through. She knew exactly what to target and went above and beyond to make sure my daughter was successful and progressing. My daughter has shown tremendous growth and I am so excited to see how far she has come. She has now been discharged from speech, all thanks to Amanda."

• M.P.  from  Allen, Tx

New Testimonials

Thank you for choosing cornerstone speech therapy we would love it if you could just spare a few moments to write a testimonial of your experience with us that we could share on our website like the ones above:.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

We love our clients, so feel free to reach out to us personally too :)

Copyright © 2024 Cornerstone Speech Therapy - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by GoDaddy

INCLUDEnyc Empowering Your Employees with Disabilities Breakfast. Join us on 5/15!

Mobile Navigation

• Parents and Caregivers
• Professionals
• Young People
• Our Approach
• Meet Our Team

Sample Letter of Referral for First Time Evaluation Requests

(Replace blue, bolded type with your information)

School Special Education Coordinator/Principal or Committee on Special Education Office (CSE)*

Address of CPSE/CSE Office

Child’s name, date of birth, name of school, ID, or OSIS#

Dear Chairperson ,

I am referring my child, name , for a full evaluation because I believe that my child may require special education programs or services. I would like the following evaluations to be conducted: psychological, psychoeducational, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language pathology , functional behavioral assessment (include all evaluation requests, delete those not requested) .

I am available to sign the consent to evaluate as soon as it’s available, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Your address

Your telephone number

• Keep a copy of the letter for your records.
• If you haven’t heard from the school or received the consent to evaluate within 10-14 days, contact them to follow up.
• Children who attend public school are evaluated by their school’s IEP Team. Children who attend private, charter, parochial, state-approved non-public schools, or are not in school are evaluated by the CPSE or CSE Office according to the district in which your child lives. Contact information for the CSE Offices can be found on the NYCDOE website.
• Evaluations are free of charge.
• Evaluations must be conducted in all areas of suspected disability and in the child’s native language.
• It may be helpful to attach a doctor’s note requesting specific evaluations.
• For more information about the referral and evaluation process, read INCLUDEnyc’s Special Education Timeline tip sheet .

Related Resources

Disability systems, early childhood, special education, evaluations from birth to 21.

Evaluations are conducted to determine eligibility for special education programs and services.

Advocacy, Special Education

Independent education evaluation.

If the school district fails to evaluate your child, or if you disagree with the results, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE).

Family Support, Special Education

Sample letter for independent education evaluation.

Use this form letter to request an independent education evaluation for your child.

Special Education

Types of evaluations in special education.

Evaluations determine at what level a student is performing, as well as in physical, social, and behavioral development.

Upcoming Events

Friday May 10, 2024 | 9:00 am

Positive Solutions for Families

This is a 6-week evidence based parent training and support group for parents of children two to five years old. Our group will meet twice a month for three…

Friday May 10, 2024 | 10:00 am

Special Education 101: Training of the Parent Member

Become a certified Parent Member! The Parent Member role is to support a parent of a child with a disability at an IEP meeting. In this training approved by the…

Monday May 13, 2024 | 10:00 am

Introduction to Transition Planning

Get to know the basics of transitioning into life after high school for students with disabilities, including changes in disability law, planning, procedures…

Tuesday May 14, 2024 | 10:00 am

Family Engagement in the FBA / BIP Process

Participants will be able to understand: NYC families & professionals are welcome. Presented by the Manhattan School-Age Family and Community Engagement (FACE)…

Tuesday May 14, 2024 | 11:00 am

How to Foster and Support Self-Determination in All Students

Families will learn about Self-Determination – the skills, knowledge, and beliefs that help students set goals, self regulate, and be autonomous – and how to…

Tuesday May 14, 2024 | 1:00 pm

How Parents and Families Can Effectively Engage in Work-based Learning Experiences (WBLEs)

This session will assist families in recognizing quality, compliant Work-Based Learning programs to meet the needs of students. We will provide suggestions and…

You might also like

Disability systems, special education, acronym decoder: special education and disability.

Decode tricky acronyms to better understand education, special education, and disability system terminology.

Sign in to your INCLUDEnyc account

Evidence-Based Blog and Materials for SLPs!

• $ 0.00 0 items

Testimonials

Click HERE to download a pdf containing client testimonials for the time period from January 2009 – June 2018

Teleassessment Testimonial

Our family engaged Tatyana Elleseff, M.A., CCC-SLP of Smart Speech Therapy LLC to administer an independent SLP assessment to our ten-year-old 5 th -grader. Our child was identified as twice-exceptional (2e); i.e., superior gifted IQ with ADHD-Combined type. Ms. Elleseff was highly recommended by several private-sector clinical psychologists across the country as having the skill to assess and diagnose 2e children. We have only high praise for the work she continues to do for our child. For the prior 3 years, we, the parents, have struggled and advocated to get help for our son. Multiple assessments by outside assessors have continued to show a significant gap between our son’s achievement and his cognitive abilities. However, our school district asserted that his academic performance was average and therefore he didn’t need an IEP. This year, our child psychologist recommended an SLP assessment to explore and possibly rule out speech and language impairments (SLI). It was hypothesized that the child’s giftedness and high level of functioning enabled him to partially mask his learning deficits. Ms. Elleseff’s assessment revealed pronounced speech and language impairments that had completely escaped detection before. Ms. Elleseff administered her assessments via teleassessment because we are located in California and she in New Jersey. Teleassessment was comprised of live GoToMeeting sessions augmented by audio/video recordings forwarded to her. Ms. Elleseff has met and exceeded our expectations in 3 key areas: She demonstrated tremendous skill in telemedicine. She maintained our child’s attention and kept him engaged throughout the multi-hour two-day assessment process. For a child with ADHD combined-type, this was no small feat. She produced a comprehensive SLP assessment report that uncovered language and literacy impairments that had been overlooked by other experts. Her insight has helped connect the dots between twice-exceptionality, ADHD and language symptoms. Her assessment methodology has been praised by several experts and attorneys for its multidimensionality and thoroughness. As parents, we value answers to the following questions. Would we recommend Ms. Elleseff to other parents? Absolutely. Why do we recommend Ms. Elleseff? Her work is stellar. Her report organization is detailed and accessible to professional SLPs, psychologists, attorneys, educators, parents, and others. She was able to definitively identify the SLI needs of our 2e child help others connect the dots between his SLI needs and current achievement performance. How has Ms. Elleseff’s work helped our child? Her work has enabled us to add speech and language treatments that target child’s areas of need. Ms. Elleseff is highly responsive. She is available by phone and e-mail to consult with all the professionals engaged in our child’s care to ensure all the various providers understand the nuances of servicing the learning needs of this 2e child. Please do not hesitate to ask Ms. Elleseff for our contact information. Sincerely, Southern California Parent of a 2e child November 25 th , 2018

Post Treatment Therapy Testimonial (Internationally Adopted Child)

In 2010 we brought home our adopted daughter from Kazakhstan.  We were initially worried about the hurdles that we would face with adopting a four year old that didn’t understand English and had no formal schooling.  We went to Tatyana based on a recommendation from a psychologist and started sessions in the Fall of 2010.   From the very start, we knew we made the right decision.  She did an initial evaluation that was very thorough and gave us a step by step overview of the process that we would follow together once a week. Tatyana has a very pleasant demeanor working with internationally adopted children, but also knows how to push them so that they get the most out of themselves.  As a parent with so many worries initially, it was very calming to sit in on each session and see her development from week to week.  It really helps when you have someone that you can voice your concerns to and get a well thought out and practical approach to your needs.  Needless to say, our daughter picked up English very quickly and was able to get much needed help with reading comprehension as well as other skills that many of us use without even realizing, like the use of figurative and ambiguous language (e.g., idioms, synonyms, antonyms), etc..  Tatyana also reviewed our child’s progress regularly to pinpoint areas that needed more concentration. We continued for several years, and we felt that the instruction she had received at Smart Speech Therapy, laid a solid foundation for her future development.  Our daughter will be turning thirteen this fall.  We can honestly say that the time invested in these sessions has given her the opportunity to flourish in school.   Her favorite subject now is Language Arts, and she has currently made the honor roll at her middle school.  She loves to read books and her vocabulary has expanded exponentially.  Sometimes when we are just sitting around, our daughter will come over and sit with us, with a book in hand, and just read.  My wife and smile at each other and think about how blessed we’ve been, to have given her this opportunity. Thank You so much for your devotion Tatyana, we couldn’t have done it without you! M & J, Monroe NJ

Comprehensive Independent Language and Literacy Evaluation

I retained Tatyana to do a Comprehensive Language and Literacy Evaluation for my teenage son.  As he has always struggled with reading and writing, and has had an IEP since third grade, I was no newcomer to evaluations.  He has had educational, psychological, neuropsychological and language/literacy evaluations.  Despite all of these inquiries into his needs, as well as the provision of special education services, he was still struggling in his school placement.  I decided to look for a professional who could delve deeper, to help me understand why my son struggled so, and what, if anything, could be done to help him.  Well, I certainly found that professional in Tatyana!  And her Comprehensive Language and Literacy evaluation was exactly that: comprehensive.  She spent more than nine hours with my son and administered a variety of tests that he had never before faced.  I found them fascinating because the results replicated the academic struggles he has, and gave us a link to the foundation of them.  Interestingly, they also gave us some insight to how he thinks, and how he approaches problems and social interactions, which are areas that had not previously been explored from a linguistic perspective.  To be sure, she did not simply go through the motions of administering tests.  She made observations about his behavior that added to her test results and provided a comprehensive picture of my son’s strengths, weaknesses and needs.  In addition, her work product was completed in a timely manner, and she responds promptly to phone calls and emails.  I found my experience working with Tatyana to be a positive one, and the product to be an indispensable part of my quest to find the right education for my son. NJ Parent

Language and Literacy Teleconsultation

Tatyana has recently provided me with a teleconsultation regarding my 13-year-old son with respect to the potential testing needed to tease out the extent of his language and literacy difficulties. I am a speech-language pathologist myself, but I had a very hard time pinpointing the exact nature and extent of his deficits. All previous educational and neuropsychological assessments showed him to be within average limits on a select battery of tests yet he was significantly struggling in social and academic areas. It takes years of experience and additional study to accurately assess a child like my son who has an average IQ but a subtle pattern of language and literacy weaknesses. After reviewing all records of the previous testing and speaking to my son for a short period of time via teleconferencing, Tatyana was able to quite effortlessly articulate my child’s language and literacy difficulties as well as explicitly indicate exactly which formal and informal language assessments my son would need  in order to showcase his present strengths and ongoing social and academic challenges. It truly was amazing! Tatyana is remarkably good at her job. I have not met a more skilled diagnostician in all my years as an SLP. I look forward to having her complete a comprehensive assessment for my son in the near future. We have waited thirteen years but we have finally found the right diagnostician for the job. Thank you, Tatyana! Grateful SLP mom from Illinois.

I am a CCC-SLP mom of an intellectually gifted 7-year-old girl, who is on the verge of academic failure and has been since Kindergarten. The school system has not been interested in identifying a cause, as my daughter manages to squeak by to a passing standard. I did not believe that the Independent Evaluations I previously had done were in-depth enough to pinpoint where her breakdowns are occurring.  Fortunately, I became aware of Tatyana through social media and initiated my contact with her via Facebook.  Tatyana was so kind to answer questions through private messages. After several months of following her blog and Facebook group, I had the epiphany that Tatyana would be the perfect clinician to evaluate my child.  Tatyana is professional and thorough beyond belief, from the initial contact regarding the evaluation she will conduct.  She sent the most thorough intake document I’ve ever seen and requested to see all previous evaluations, to research my daughter my see if she could clinically add information to what had already been tested. It was our good fortune that Tatyana saw there was so much information missing from the previous evaluations I had done for my daughter. Prior to testing, Tatyana provided a detailed outline of what she would be testing for, a specific timeframe for the evaluation broken down into multiple sessions, the protocols she would be using, the amount of time it would take for testing within each domain, clinical hours evaluating her data and summarizing into a report.   From the initial evaluation session, she was welcoming, friendly and put my daughter and myself at ease. At the end of each testing session, plenty of time was taken to explain some of the findings of the session, and any adjustments to the proposed plan based on results to date were discussed.  The final report is an in-depth evaluation/summary of my daughter’s skills and weaknesses in every area related to Expressive Communication skills, Social Pragmatic communication skills, Literacy skills (inclusive of all domains within reading and writing).  The schools try to avoid service initiation or to provide the most simplistic approach to remediation…. They will not be able to get away with that model given the evaluation report I have received. Tatyana perfectly outlined my daughter’s deficit areas, along with the future educational implications throughout the report. Tatyana provided very specific Long Term and Short Term objectives, personally tailored for my daughter within all the domains she evaluated. It’s a gift for the future treating clinician. Tatyana says don’t hesitate to contact her in the future if she can be of assistance as I pursue services and educational remediation for my daughter, and I have no doubt regarding her sincerity. As a professional and as a mom of a child who is struggling, I really can only say THANK YOU to Tatyana for the professional, insightful, high quality evaluation. She perfectly and totally captured my daughter’s skills and areas of educational need. Jeanann Wallace, CCC-SLP, Mom

Professional Consultation Complex Communication Impairment – Adolescent Client

I sought Tatyana’s help when I did a comprehensive evaluation on a student that had multiple, complex diagnoses, some of which I had little prior experience with. Tatyana provided extremely valuable feedback about my report. She also provided me with solid, evidence-based recommendations for intervention. She sent many links and documents, which were also incredibly helpful! As a result of my consultation with Tatyana, I felt totally confident with my report and my recommendations. My feedback session with the parent went great, and I’m confident the student will get the appropriate interventions. Tatyana is warm, professional, and extremely knowledgable. My professional consultation with her gave me the peace of mind I needed. That peace of mind is priceless! I very highly recommend her! Florence Cannon, MS, CCC-SLP The Language Group Atlanta, GA

Professional Consultation Internationally Adopted Adolescent

I recently had the pleasure and privilege of consulting with Tatyana Elleseff regarding the complexities and risks associated with the language development of internationally adopted children and adolescents. Tatyana provided a wealth of insight, knowledge and experience solidly backed by evidence-based research. She welcomed questions and helped me navigate through the issues impacting internationally adopted children. In addition, Tatyana was incredibly organized and generous with resources, ideas and feedback. Consulting with Tatyana proved to be an excellent investment of time and money and as a growing clinician, I hope to work with her again – she is an inspiration!” Thank you again!!! Rinda Werner

My son was diagnosed with ADHD-combined at the very young age of 5. Something was different about him even as a baby. He was precocious and smart as a preschooler reciting the alphabet forward and backward and every state in alphabetical order. His memory is remarkable. We made the difficult decision to start him on medication at age 5. He did well in kindergarten and was compliant, followed the rules, and was liked by his peers. He kept his desk very organized in the classroom. Everything had to be put back in its place and lined up. He managed other materials in the classroom and that of his classmates, putting their supplies away as well. He was rigid in adhering to the schedule of the day, reminding the teacher of what came next as well as policing others.  We tried to get him a 504, but the school denied him. They said he was doing fine. We have always tried to be proactive and push on to make sure our child’s needs are met. He was tested for and denied being in the gifted and talented program. We decided to seek a neuropsychological evaluation. This identified strengths and weaknesses that we would not have been aware of had we not pursued it. It confirmed our instinct that he had a very superior IQ. This is bittersweet because while he is truly gifted (2E twice exceptional), he also had decoding and phonics weaknesses amongst other things. The report was given to the Principal, the School Psychologist, the Learning DisabilitiesTeacher Consultant (LDTC), the School Superintendant and they all ignored the report. We brought the doctor that did the neuropsychological exam to plead our case. The school finally agreed to a 504 with classroom accommodations including reading services. The school discontinued reading services after 6 months as the school said he was doing fine. The journey continued seeking more answers to a difficult child. We sought the opinion of a well-regarded developmental pediatrician. He diagnosed ADHD and High Functioning Autistic Spectrum disorder. He wrote to the school requesting a social skills lunch bunch and speech therapy for pragmatics. They denied speech therapy without doing an evaluation citing the second-grade teacher didn’t deem it necessary.  They said he was doing fine. We knew through our experts that he needed help in reading, writing, speech for pragmatics, and social skills with social thinking. What else could we do to help our son? Another doctor recommended we consider a comprehensive language and literacy evaluation referring us to Tatyana Elleseff, M.A., CCC-SLP at Smart Speech Therapy LLC. I’ve learned the value of obtaining independent evaluations. I contacted Ms. Elleseff leaving a message and she promptly returned my call. Ms Elleseff listened to me patiently and helped me understand that my son needed both a language and literacy evaluation. I was so relieved and grateful to finally find someone who understood. She has ALWAYS been prompt and organized. Her system for setting up consultations and evaluations is concise with well-defined contracts as to what services are to be provided, what the process is, and the time frame. She was VERY accommodating setting up the evaluation as we fit it in last minute before school started last fall. Our evaluation was 9 hours, broken up in 4 sessions followed with a school observation. She completed the report promptly and comprehensively.  The report showed strengths, weaknesses, long term goals, short term goals, and detailed intervention recommendations. I must admit, it was hard to take in the problems my son has that she so clearly identified. Early intervention is so critical and I am grateful to had had the chance to work with Tatyana. Ms. Elleseff truly has a passion for her work and is championing children’s needs. Her credentials are extensive and impressive. We did retain an attorney and are pursuing an IEP. Ms. Elleseff’s report and Curriculum Vitae were sent to the school. The school has finally agreed to evaluate our son to determine eligibility.  I hope our experience will help some of you! Janet S, Greenbrook, NJ

International Language and Literacy Teleconsulation

My 14 y.o. son has difficulty performing various language-related tasks. He is unable to retell stories and movies, makes grammatical errors when speaking, cannot use complex sentences, and has difficulties expressing his opinion in conversations. Because my son excels in math and science, initially I was not terribly concerned with this as I thought that he might develop skills in reading and writing later in life. However, as he grew older rather than improving these difficulties only got worse and I became very concerned that it would affect his future life outcomes (e.g., college admission chances in either Israel where we live or in the United States where his older brother currently studies).  So I began to search for a professional who could assist my son in improving his abilities for academics. One of my friends recommended I consult a speech-language pathologist and another friend from the United States recommended Tatyana Elleseff as one of the best specialists in this field. Still unsure if that was what we truly needed, I still scheduled a teleconsultation with Tatyana for my son and myself and began filling out preliminary intake forms that Tatyana sent me before the meeting. Right away I noticed that my son was displaying deficits on approximately 80% of questions and began to understand that he does have a real problem, which should be taken seriously. Not only were his academic difficulties a concern but I also realized that his social communication abilities (which I had previously considered to be a completely unrelated problem) were significantly impaired as well and required addressing as well. Tatyana began her consultation by first interviewing my son for a period of time (he speaks Russian and English besides his native Hebrew, so they understood one other quite well) and I saw him enjoying the conversation. After that Tatyana spoke to me. She highlighted to me in which areas she recommended he be tested and also explained the ramifications of leaving his deficits untreated (he is at risk of developing mental health problems such as anxiety and depression). Since we live in different countries and Tatyana was not available to work with my son in person, she did some research and found reliable speech-language pathologists in Israel who could assist my son and recommended that I contact them for further assistance. I highly value Tatyana’s professional experience and totally trust her recommendations. I already contacted the suggested therapists and my son will start services shortly. I’m also planning on bringing my son to the United States in April for supplemental therapy sessions with Tatyana in order to strengthen his remediation program. I strongly believe that with Tatyana’s help my son will improve his academic performance, build social skills, gain self-esteem, and overcome emotional instability.  I recommend Tatyana without reservations to any parents of children with language or literacy difficulties living outside of United States for a language and literacy teleconsultation. O.G., Rishon Lezion, Israel

We brought our 11-year-old son to Tatyana Elleseff, MA CCC-SLP for an evaluation on the recommendation of another professional working with us to secure an appropriate school placement to address his needs as a learner. Our son has been receiving services since he was an infant through early intervention and then both privately and through an IEP in the public school– so I am not a newcomer to the process.  I must say that our entire experience working with Tatyana has been positive, professional, and impressive. First, the ease in scheduling the initial appointment was a relief. Often when contacting a new consultant/expert there is a long waiting period and much back and forth before getting started. Tatyana responded promptly when I first called her and provided a very clear explanation of what services she could provide and what the intake process would entail. Scheduling was also very easy. Throughout our initial contact, she was sensitive to our sense of urgency to have the evaluation completed, but also was very reassuring that the process would go smoothly, which helped reduce any apprehensions on our end. Additionally, Tatyana spread the evaluation over several sessions so that it would not be overwhelming or taxing for our son. When he first met Tatyana, she was warm and welcoming which helped with him significantly with going to yet another evaluation with yet another therapist. In fact, our son really enjoyed spending time with Tatyana. Finally, the comprehensive report Tatyana generated was excellent in quality. The turn around time and level of meaningful detail was extraordinary. Tatyana’s evaluation and the subsequent report of her findings not only clearly identified our son’s areas of weaknesses and strengths, but also provided specific strategies to best support his academic progress as well as clearly defined the best classroom environment for him. We were very pleased with the final report as well as the entire process and would highly recommend Tatyana Elleseff’s services. E and D, Maplewood, NJ

Language and Literacy Consultation Parent Testimonial

“I consulted with Tatyana Elleseff in preparation for a CSE initial eligibility meeting. I had evaluations from the school district and a private psychologist. I needed help connecting the dots in what was a very nuanced case. There was absolutely something going on with my child’s language and learning and understanding the reports and what direction to go in next was essential. Ms. Elleseff analyzed the findings with great attention to detail. Ms. Elleseff gave me specific and evidence based recommendations that finally made sense. She presented possibilities that had not previously been explored. Ms. Elleseff showed extreme expertise in connecting my observation and intuition as a parent with the science of language. She educated me and made recommendations about additional and more specific tests, prepared me for the CSE meeting and gave me suggestions on the types of interventions that I might consider for my child. I highly recommend her for a parent consultation”. Parent, Westchester County, NY

Forensic Speech and Language Pathologist Testimonial

I am an attorney and my practice is devoted to special education matters in which parents explore whether their child is receiving the free, appropriate public education to which he or she is entitled.  Recently, a client retained me, and Tatyana Elleseff in order to explore whether the student was being appropriately educated with regard to his Dyslexia, also known as Language Based Learning Disability.  The matter is still under advisement, and even if it were not, I would not discuss the outcome.  However, I am able to say that Ms. Elleseff’s observation of the student, and the evaluation report itself, each was of the highest possible quality, as she is comprehensive, pays extraordinary attention to detail, and prepares an in depth assessment of a student.  While highly professional, the writing is also clear enough for a parent to absorb.  If I ever have to proceed to trial against a District, Ms. Elleseff’s professionalism will be difficult if not impossible to impeach, and she would be a passionate advocate for the children she assesses.  Without reservation, I recommend her as a Forensic Speech and Language Pathologist. Attorney at Law in New Jersey

Independent Evaluation Testimonial

My ten year old son was experiencing tremendous academic difficulties throughout fourth and fifth grade.  His reading and writing in particular were functioning well below grade level and cognitive functioning. We knew that in order to close the gap an in-depth language and literacy evaluation was needed to unearth any undiagnosed learning disabilities. We consulted Tatyana Elleseff of Smart Speech Therapy LLC regarding my son’s current academic complications. Tatyana met with us and based on her customized intake process was able to map out a specific testing plan tailored to my son’s needs. Based on her testing results, Tatyana generated a highly detailed and comprehensive report that uncovered many linguistically based reading and writing disabilities. We will be able to use the goals in that report as building blocks to improve my son’s abilities in all the impaired areas of functioning to foster further academic success. I encourage anyone looking for a highly experienced and detail-oriented evaluator in the field of speech language pathology to utilize Tatyana Elleseff’s services. WS, Kendall Park, NJ

Therapy Testimonial

It is absolute pleasure for me to recommend Tatyana. She is excellent speech language pathologist as well as an extremely knowledgeable and experienced professional. Our son has always experienced language difficulties along with lack of social skills. We have been through a few speech language pathologists along with several social skills group. But I am so glad that we met Tatyana. She has excellent teaching skills which help my son with problem solving and listening comprehension. Her approach and methods are amazing as she carefully considers Mark’s strengths and weaknesses. It allows Mark to learn in a quick and efficient manner and help him expand his knowledge and social skills. Tatyana manages to build therapy sessions with challenges and interesting tasks, which develop Mark’s curiosity for the subject and match his need. Tatyana teaches Mark skills which help maximize his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Tatyana knows how to adapt methods to create maximum results for the child. Due to variety of Tatyana ‘s approaches in therapy Mark is able to enjoy therapy while staying organized and focused. Tatyana exhibits and demonstrates great enthusiasm and I am extremely grateful that I had the honor and pleasure of finding Tatyana. Jane A, New Providence , NJ

I had the pleasure of working with Tatyana recently when she conducted an independent language evaluation of my son. I will always remember this positive experience.  Tatyana is a very dedicated to her profession and cares deeply about her clients.  She made significant findings during the evaluation and I will always be appreciative of the special way she interacted with my son as well as of her evaluation outcomes. She was able to easily identify that despite the fact that my 6th grade son was dismissed from language therapy in 2nd grade, he continued to present with severe social pragmatic language deficits, which continued to adversely impact and significantly exacerbate his functioning in school setting. Tatyana’s extensive experience allows her the opportunity to work with children with numerous disabilities leading to a very broad knowledge base. She possesses the qualities needed to be an excellent speech-language therapist. She is kind, patient, honest, and student focused. In short, she is an exceptionally dedicated professional and an incredible asset to her field. F.O., New Brunswick, NJ

Our daughter age 11 was having trouble in school, struggling with written assignments, keeping track of her homework, following instructions and remembering things, as well as interactions with peers and teachers. As she was progressing through grades 1-5 her grades became progressively “below her level of capacity” as reported by teachers. Her social life was suffering; she was losing her school friends one after one. In the quest seeking help for our child we consulted a psychologist who suggested that our daughter’s problems are rather developmental than psychological and suggested to go for testing with a developmental specialist. Our friends referred us to Tatyana, saying that “she is so much more than a speech therapist”. After a telephone consultation Tatyana took our case, explaining that K’s problems in school may be deeply rooted in her language development issues. She was growing in a bilingual environment and has started talking later than her peers, having difficulty acquiring language skills. She received help from a speech therapist at age 3-4, and it seemed that the issues had resolved. Unfortunately, in school it became apparent that language problems did not disappear, but persisted hindering our daughter’s development. Tatyana conducted a comprehensive assessment and offered individually tailored program of remediation, offering us a hope that our daughter will be able to overcome her difficulties and adjust to demands of the modern life. After a month of therapy, we can see positive changes in K’s ability to verbalize her thoughts, keeping track of her activities and belongings, and her emotional intelligence. Tatyana is a highly professional, dedicated, knowledgeable specialist and talented speech language pathologist. She manages to keep a fidgety child focused on a task for an hour, and together they accomplish a lot during a session. What they do stays in child’s memory and lays foundation for further work and can be used immediately in her life. She is successful in practice and current on her research methodologies; her reports are thorough and truly comprehensive. I only wish we have found Tatyana sooner! A.D., New Providence, NJ

Our son is currently receiving speech language therapy from Tatyana, and we are incredibly happy with the services. We find Tatyana very organised and hard working in preparing and delivering therapy sessions to our son. She is compassionate and available to listen to our concerns and is a great problem solver. She has amazing skills to engage our son in different tasks during the session and provide us, parents, with clear and concise feedback his progress in therapy. Tatyana is a wonderful speech therapist! KJ, Dayton, NJ

Our son has speech delays and has been going to Ms Elleseff for speech therapy for a year. Since he started his sessions we are seeing improvements in his speech. After his initial evaluation, we decided to move forward with sessions and had the confidence that our child is in the right place. He has been learning many new words/sentences and has been making good progress. The thing we like most about Tatyana is that she always tries to create a fun environment and she works with the child depending on the child’s behavior. Our son is always excited to go see Tatyana for his sessions. P and J, Somerset, NJ

Our son was 3 when we started with Tatyana. From the initial evaluation we knew we wanted to move forward with her. She was very thorough and even at that first meeting we could see that she was going to make a significant impact on his speech.  Our son will be 5 this month and he has made great strides in all his areas of deficiency. Speech therapy with Tatyana has not only helped him and his communication with us but being able to sit in during the sessions has taught us how to communicate with him and how we should apply the methods at home to enable our son to communicate better.  Tatyana creates a very fun and relaxed environment, but is still able to command the room with a no nonsense approach. Her skills allow her to use any mood or behavior the child is exhibiting for learning and language. M and T, East Brunswick, NJ

Independent Evaluation Testimonial (International Adoption)

As a  parent of an Internationally Adopted child, I became aware that some professionals including neuropsychologists test our internationally adopted children like biological children. Too many of our kids suffers from being wrongly classified in Special Education by therapists who are unaware of our kids specific developmental paths and trajectories. Tatyana Elleseff’s expertise in assessing and treating language abilities of internationally adopted children helped me target my child’s weaknesses while putting it in the context of his adoption. She helps differentiate developmental delays from disorders and helps with implementation of remediation which involves the parents in addition to other therapists and resources. I highly recommend her to any parents of Internationally Adopted children to assess and treat their language/social emotional development. Barbara, New York

Independent Social Pragmatic Evaluation Testimonial

Our daughter has always had a difficult time in social settings, how to start a conversation, saying offensive things to peers without the intention of being offensive, and feeling like she doesn’t fit in because she has different interests. Our school performed a basic pragmatic language test that our psychiatrist disagreed with and felt did not accurately reflect our daughter’s condition.  He recommended having Ms. Elleseff perform a comprehensive social pragmatic language evaluation. She advocated with the school for our daughter to get the evaluation and thanks to her efforts the school agreed. Ms.  Elleseff completed a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of our daughter’s social pragmatic language abilities and provided a very detailed report and series of recommendations. We are very grateful to her and we will be meeting with the school shortly to review and establish necessary accommodations. P & J, New Jersey

Bilingual Evaluation Testimonial

Tatyana Elleseff performed speech evaluation of my 4 years old son in October 2014. I should say that not only the experience was very pleasant, but also the quality of evaluation process and communication was exceptionally high. During the assessment, I was allowed to stay in a room with my child, which definitely made him more comfortable and therefore let Tatyana to obtain more adequate respond from him, which is crucial. Tatyana’s approach to evaluation is more complex than you probably would see with other SLPs. She was the first one, who was concerned with processing of verbal information by my son’s brain and his executive functions, connected to that, whereas couple of other specialists did not put emphasis on it at all. The report I received from her was easy to read and understand to non-professional, which I am. I guess this is very important too, since if you got the report full of professional vocabulary and was not able to decipher it, it leaves you with the feeling that everything is even worse than you expected about your precious child. Tatyana’s report made the effect just the opposite. I clearly saw where we have problems and that there are ways to work on them. On top of everything, I have to mention that I have chosen Tatyana because of her web site that provides tons of useful information; her academic work with Rutgers University, that implies she is a very educated professional and her ability to provide service in Russian, since my child does not speak any English. In the end, I have to say that I am very grateful for the chance to work with Tatyana and definitely recommend her to anyone who needs this kind of specialist.  Sincerely, Katrina R., New Jersey.

Ms. Elleseff recently completed an independent evaluation of our 7 year old severely communication impaired daughter.  The report was incredibly comprehensive and based on thorough assessments across multiple areas of speech, language and behavior.  Not only did she incorporate highly relevant information found in the recent speech-language research publications, but Tatyana also thoroughly reviewed and synthesized our daughter’s school and medical records.  Now we have a single highly valuable document that “connects the dots” and can be presented to highly credential experts, who we are considering to treat and/or educate our daughter.  Most importantly, Tatyana is not only highly professional but also very easy to work with, and out daughter enjoys visits to her office.  T & N, Bridgewater, NJ

Independent Evaluation Testimonial

We are grateful to Tatyana Elleseff for everything she has done to help our son receive proper speech and language help in his school.  She  utilized multiple assessments in order for us to understand clearly our son’s speech and language deficits, and at the same time she listed in her report the exact accommodations he will need at school to help him feel more successful.   Thank You! Santiago Family.. Middlesex County, NJ

Consultation Testimonial (International Adoption)

I found Tatyana and Smart Speech Therapy online while searching for information about internationally adopted kids and speech evaluations. We’d already taken our three year old son to a local SLP but were very unsatisfied with her opinion, and we just didn’t know where to turn. Upon finding the articles and blogs written by Tatyana, I felt like I’d finally found someone who understood the language learning process unique to adopted kids, and whose writings could also help me in my meetings with the local school system as I sought special education services for my son. I could have never predicted then just how much Tatyana and Smart Speech Therapy would help us. I used the online contact form on her website to see if Tatyana could offer us any services or recommendations, even though we are in Virginia and far outside her typical service area. She offered us an in-depth phone consultation that was probably one of the most informative, supportive and helpful phone calls I’ve had in the eight months since adopting my son. Through a series of videos, questionnaires, and emails, she was better able to understand my son’s speech difficulties and background than any of the other sources I’d sought help from. She was able to explain to me, a lay person, exactly what was going on with our son’s speech, comprehension, and learning difficulties in a way that a) added urgency to our situation without causing us to panic, b) provided me with a ton of research-orientated information for our local school system to review, and c) validated all my concerns and gut instincts that had previously been brushed aside by other physicians and professionals who kept telling us to “wait and see”. After our phone call, we contracted Tatyana to provide us with an in-depth consultation report that we are now using with our local school and child rehab center to get our son the help he needs. Without that report, I don’t think we would have had the access to these services or the backing we needed to get people to seriously listen to us. It’s a terrible place to be in when you think something might be wrong, but you’re not sure and no one around you is listening. Tatyana listened to us, but more importantly, she looked at our son as a specific kid with a specific past and specific needs. We were more than just a number or file to her – and we’ve never even actually met in person! The best move we’ve could’ve made was sending her that email that day. We are so appreciative. Kristen, P. Charlottesville, VA

Therapy Testimonial

Tatyana is a talented therapist who, unlike many other providers, is capable of creating a unique stimulating environment to meet the child’s needs. Using her energy and advanced experience she offers all the required psychological and  physical incentives that naturally trigger child’s developmental progress. Ilya K. Edison, NJ

Independent Evaluation Testimonial (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

Our son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder one year ago.  He has significant developmental delays especially with communication and speech.  Since starting his therapy we have seen 4 speech therapists and at least a dozen physical, occupational and developmental therapists. Each therapist had a different opinion on his expressive, receptive and pragmatic skills, but none where able to clearly identify what his weaknesses are in these areas. As parents, we became very frustrated because our son is able to speak, but his verbal communication with us is poor. Finally, we were referred to Tatyana. My son is very high functioning and has learned how to compensate for his delays.  He can fool the most trained evaluator, but Tatyana has the expertise and skill to be able to see if he knew the answers to her questions or if he was just guessing.  In my experience, very few therapists have the time or ability to do this.  Tatyana spent almost three hours with my son, identifying both his weaknesses and strengths along with giving me a lot of insight on his current communication level. Tatyana thoroughly and systematically evaluated our son.  For the first time I left an evaluation feeling like I had answers to my questions that have been lingering for the past year.  Her love for children and work was apparent throughout the entire examination.  Through her in depth evaluation, Tatyana was able to identify where his communication deficits are and she set goals to strengthen these areas.  I can honestly say, to date, I have not met a therapist as enthusiastic and compassionate as Tatyana. I have already recommended friends and will continue to recommend individuals in search of an excellent speech pathologist to Tatyana.  She has been a great help to both my son and our family. Family of a son with ASD in Union County NJ.

Independent Evaluation Testimonial (International Adoption)

Our daughter Kristina was adopted 4 years ago from a small village of Kulabki, Russia. We have noticed that she was struggling in school and didn’t know where to turn. Being she is our only child adopted internationally and knowing no English when she arrived in New York, we just thought she needed time. Kristina was in therapy for R.A.D. issues. Her psychologist had pointed out that she really does not understand us all the time and has trouble communicating to us. We have become very frustrated with her and she with us. Dr. Lynne suggested that she be tested and recommended Tatyana Elleseff to us.  After reading Tatyana’s background and schooling on her website I was confident that she can help Kristina. Upon contacting her our first conversation was so informative. I made a 2 day evaluation appointment and was amazed how much Tatyana was able to accomplish during the evaluation.  Kristina’s issues are consistent with children who had been neglected in there most important growth years. (1 through 4). She also had not had formal schooling until the age of 8. Tatyana has recognized these issues and more. Tatyana gave us a very detailed 19 page evaluation in very timely manner. I will use her report to present to Kristina’s school so she could get appropriate help. We are so impressed with Tatyana’s skills that we are considering the 65 mile drive to receive outside therapy with her. Donna S. Perkasie, PA

Therapy Testimonial  

Our daughter Ava was adopted internationally at the age of 18 months and had a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at birth. She came to us with significant hearing, feeding (couldn’t eat or suck a bottle properly) and sleeping problems as well as significant speech and language deficits. She’s 5 now, and we’ve spent the past 3 and 1/2 years going through the state’s Early Intervention program, numerous evaluations and therapists, as well as the public school system’s learning disabled program. We started working with Tatyana privately about 8 weeks ago and she has made more progress in 8 weeks than we’ve seen in the past 3 years! In our first sessions Tatyana evaluated Ava and found every issue we’ve been dealing with, plus some that weren’t even diagnosed by any of the other therapists we’ve seen. She even had recommendations for some of the OT sensory integration/processing issues that Ava faces. She has been right on the money with each of her observations and suggestions for working with Ava on her issues. Tatyana has an amazing intuitiveness for helping Ava overcome the roadblocks she encounters, and is incredibly detail oriented. However, Tatyana doesn’t cut Ava any slack and makes her work pretty hard, and we’ve seen amazing results already in our weekly sessions in a pretty short time. She is the best thing that has happened for Ava, and I only wish we would have come to her much sooner! ” Keith and Debra, Southampton NJ

Independent Evaluation Testimonial (International Adoption)

We are immensely grateful to Tatyana Elleseff for her outstanding work in evaluating our internationally adopted child. She administered multiple instruments to appropriately and comprehensively assess our son’s relative strengths and weaknesses. The mere process itself of watching her assess our son provided us with new insights into his language, emotional, and behavioral needs. Furthermore, we also witnessed how his language ability developed simply through the experience of her assessment sessions. Tatyana’s written report integrated and synthesized a mass of assessment and behavioral information. She created a clear, detailed, vivid, impressively comprehensive and coherent picture of our son’s relative strengths and weaknesses both in his behaviors while being assessed as well as in his actual language skills. Her report also provided very specific and targeted recommendations that facilitates the creation of an appropriate individualized educational plan for our son and gives teachers and support staff clear direction in meeting the complex needs of an internationally adopted older child, without which we believe he would not reach his full potential. In addition, we greatly appreciated that she sincerely listened to us and our concerns, and respected our knowledge, observations and insights as adoptive parents. She is obviously a very talented, gifted and dedicated speech language therapist. We could not be more pleased. Thank you, Tatyana!

W & K, New Jersey

We have been using the services of Smart Speech Therapy and Ms. Tatyana Elleseff for approximately three years.  During this time, our Internationally Adopted daughter has made tremendous improvement with issued related to Auditory Processing, Word Finding, Social Pragmatic , as well as Executive Function Difficulties.  These were conditions we did not even realize existed and were not remotely prepared to handle.  When we were referred to Tatyana Elleseff we had no idea what our daughter was struggling with, we only knew that she was struggling .  We had tried for years with her teachers to point out her difficulties, only to be told over and over again that she was fine.  She did not qualify for any type of extra help and that she was “just a little behind”.  When our daughter’s anxiety level regarding school went through the roof, we knew we had a problem that was not going to be recognized or treated by the school district.  We were referred to Tatyana at the end of 2 nd  grade.  Tatyana went straight to work to determine what exactly the problems were and how best to proceed.  But in addition to the Auditory Processing issues, Tatyana uncovered several other “hidden” deficits (see above) and began designing interventions on how to best help our daughter function in school.  Tatyana also spent much time helping our daughter with her anxiety about school, and taught her how to ask for what she needed from her teachers and how to cope with her everyday struggles.   Since then, we have been working with Tatyana every week.  Our daughter has made tremendous progress with in all of her areas of difficulty and feels much better about going to school and her performance while there.   Tatyana constantly evaluates and tailors her sessions to exactly where the difficulties lay.   Tatyana is a well-informed, structured and prepared therapist.  Her sessions are custom tailored to our daughter’s specific needs and Tatyana clearly puts time and effort into that preparation. Tatyana also has an excellent understanding to the specific challenges Internationally Adopted children often face.  Many school staff, although well meaning, just do not understand these specific challenges.  In fact, many of us adoptive parents sort of “learn as we go along” regarding these issues.  However, armed with the information that Tatyana provides us, we are better able to obtain the support in school that our daughter needs. We are still in therapy with Tatyana and our daughter is doing well.  She is no longer scared to ask questions and really feels better about being able to keep up with her class.  Tatyana is the third speech therapist we have been to, but the first who took the time to evaluate and treat the whole problem, the whole child. Mike and Anna, East Brunswick, NJ

At 18 months, we were concerned with our son’s lack of language and communication skills.  After contacting friends and family and numerous experts and professionals, we were recommended, Ms Elleseff.   She was so friendly and understanding of our concerns but she didn’t sugar coat that our son did lack in certain areas.  Her initial evaluation was so detailed and specific and picked up on things, we as parents noticed but thought were not unusual, that needed corrections.  We have been going for one hour sessions once a week for 6 months, but we noticed significant changes after only 2 or 3 months.  His frustration level is down, he is using words and signs to communicate rather than frantically looking for visual cues and pointing/yelling.    Tatyana expects our son to work at his sessions; he does not get away with tears and tantrums.  She praises him, and us, on our progress but always tells us what needs work and what to do at home.  She also goes above and beyond our sessions, working with other professionals as well as taking the time to clarify health insurance questions.  As a parent, you will do anything for your child, and you question yourself constantly.  We have written tearful correspondence filled with worry and she has always answered our questions with compassion, setting our minds at ease with her expertise and taking action on our concerns.  Our now two year old uses words to identify actions, things in his environment, feelings and preferences.  He is making such strides now that family and friends that go for a short time without seeing him comment on his progress.  He is much clearer and we are finding we have to answer the “What did he say?” question less and less.  This weekend he sang songs for us, with words we all understood.  We can’t imagine where we would be without Tatyana’s help. ~Melissa and Rich H, Hillsborough, NJ

In March 2012 we sought the help of Tatyana for our three year old who has a significant speech delay.  Since then, our son is now speaking in longer sentences as well as understands more words and  concepts thanks to Tatyana’s hard work.  She doesn’t let him get away with anything, which is what he needs. She is also professional enough to consult other professionals when she needs it.   She sought advise from a psychologist on how to handle our head strong son and his temper tantrums. We highly recommend her. Thank you Tatyana!

Speech therapy with Ms. Elleseff is not for the faint hearted. She misses nothing. She forgets nothing. Your child will get away with nothing. She is so thorough, the first evaluation was 16 pages and sadly presented such a true portrait of our child’s language deficiencies that we just had to stop for a good cry. We could no longer escape. Our child had needs, which we, her parents did not recognize, did not want to see or could not accept. After a year fighting with the insurance company (which denied coverage) and our child slipping further behind at school, we knew we had to do something. Since finances were a limiting factor, we agreed to try speech for a month or two, even though we knew at it was probably not realistic to see much improvement in such a short time. We were wrong! After only a few months now, the improvement is remarkable.  Our child is now participating in class, answering questions when asked, instead of shutting down, answering more appropriately, and is even reading better, which was an unexpected bonus. Her teachers tell us she is a different child than at the beginning of the semester. At home, she’s more aware of conversations, news, verbal and non-verbal cues. She can explain “what happened at school today?”  In general, she’s just more engaged at home and school, and more responsive to verbal feedback, instructions, encouragement. Ms. Elleseff is a truly gifted professional, whose compassionate awareness of the frustration children feel when they cannot properly communicate, has enabled her to reach them, to relieve them and to enliven them with the gift of language! We cannot thank her enough! Andrea and Keith R, South Brunswick, NJ

Client Testimonial

“As parents of a newly adopted toddler from Russia (and as first time parents) we have found Tatyana to be an amazing resource to us on many levels.  Her experience impressed us from the start and with each successive session we feel that we have been seeing some great progress with our son’s speech-language delay. We feel that we get the most out of every minute of each lesson as she has shown us that by varying learning techniques and approaches our son can be challenged to thrive but not in a way where he is stressed. We have had additional early intervention speech therapy services for a few months to supplement our private sessions  with Tatyana but found them not to be as effective by far, as a result of which we chose to just continue with her. We would highly recommend Tatyana to other adoptive parents and we are also willing to speak to others about our experience if interested.” Tanya and Jonathan H, Old Bridge, NJ

“Mrs. Elleseff has been doing an outstanding job at identifying and devising strategies to help out our 7-year old son improve his pragmatic language skills. When other specialists were quick to label him, Mrs. Elleseff took her time to address and dismantle every one of those labels. She truly cares about “her children” and is an advocate for them in situations where the wrong (but quick) diagnosis is made. We have been working with Mrs. Elleseff for approximately 7 months and we are seeing steady progress in our son’s skills. We very much appreciate her efforts!” Myriam and Richard K, Guttenburg, NJ

“We adopted our four year old daughter from Kazakhstan last year and she was significantly delayed in her native language. Tatyana was recommended to us by our doctor and we started seeing her on a weekly basis. During this time our daughter has shown significant improvement in her interpersonal and academic language skills  to the point now, where she is communicating openly and feely with us and her peers as well as participates appropriately in her classroom. We have also noticed an increased confidence in her which she severely lacked prior to this therapy. Tatyana’s approach is very unique and her interaction with children is excellent. She constantly evaluates our daughter progression so we have a benchmark to compare our daughter’s learning. We are so glad that we found Tatyana and are thrilled to recommend her to anyone seeking speech therapy for their children.” Matthew and Jane C, Monroe NJ

“When Tatyana first started working with my son, several years ago, he was 4 and a half, understood very little, was very echolalic and spoke in brief 2-3 word phrases. Michael’s language abilities have improved exponentially during the time Tatyana had been working with him. His comprehension has improved dramatically, he now speaks in long sentences, no longer has echolalia and occasionally uses very sophisticated words in correct form. This makes me very proud of him but also incredibly appreciative of all Tatyana’s hard work with him. Thank you so much for your dedication.” Marcia, C, East Brunswick NJ

“Tatyana Elleseff, a bilingual speech pathologist, worked with my daughter Eva for nine months, starting when Eva was 30 months old. At the start, Eva was not progressing verbally at an appropriate pace, so we sought Tatyana’s help. We were thrilled with her work. She was very professional and accommodating. She worked with Eva in our home, communicated with her effectively, and provided lessons appropriate to Eva’s age and level. It was very important to me that she explained to me what she was doing and taught me as well as Eva, so that we could continue developing Eva’s speech skills outside the lessons. She also gave us detailed and clear information about Eva’s abilities and development, not only in her speech but on other dimensions as well. Eva’s progress under Tatyana’s tutelage has been very impressive. She now speaks easily and, for the most part, quite clearly. Her vocabulary is growing every day and it is wonderful to be able to talk to her. Tatyana’s lessons helped not only with speech but with logic and other skills, so that Eva now tops out on aptitude tests and seems to be progressing even faster than children who began to speak before she did. We owe a large portion of this to Tatyana’s work. I recommend her highly and without reservations.” Larisa S, Bedminster NJ

“Tatyana has been providing speech services for our toddler son who was adopted internationally. Her assessments are extremely thorough and she provides great individualized care based on her client’s needs. She also takes the time to give us coaching and feedback to use at home. She continues to provide excellent care and we truly enjoy working with her.” Connie and David M, Milstone Township NJ

 “Dear Tatyana, I wanted to inform you how delighted Marie, my wife, and I are with Jack’s performance. Only last year we were told by our school district that they need to hold him back in kindergarten because he was just not ready and too immature for first grade. The strategy, and hope, was that he would grow out of his lack of ability to understand letters, words, and spelling. We weren’t sure that it was the right decision but we didn’t know where to turn and who to turn to. We got one independent speech language evaluation done but it wasn’t detailed enough and offered no solutions or strategies regarding what needed to be done. And then you were recommended to us! After doing comprehensive testing you put together a solid intervention plan and stated that you firmly believe that Jack should go to first grade and that with ongoing support he will do a great job. I need to recognize that your Speech Therapy has provided such great results. Jack’s results have surpassed our expectations and all the professional that deal with Jack agree that the consistent application and delivery of your Speech Therapy program has helped accelerated his progress. Thanks again for all your incredible work with our son” Lou and Marie R, Bernardsville NJ

Professional Testimonial

“I had first met Tatyana several years ago, when she was recommended to me by a colleague, to conduct a speech language evaluation of a newly arrived internationally adopted child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.   After reading Tatyana’s exemplary assessment report, I’ve become hugely impressed with its thoroughness, technical sophistication, skilled interpretations, practical and comprehensive therapy objectives as well as treatment methodology suggestions.  Since that time I have had countless opportunities to collaborate with Tatyana on a number of mutual complex clinical cases pertaining to internationally adopted, bilingual as well as at risk children with a host of genetic, neurological and medical deficits.  Each time I was enormously impressed not just by the quality of her clinical work, but also by Tatyana’s insights into each case as well as by her dedication and willingness to research and apply the latest evidenced based research methods in order to create highly individualized, unique and effective assessment and intervention for each client.” Alla Gordina, FAAP,  Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics: UMDNJ, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine;  Drexel University College of Medicine

Ms. Elleseff is a highly knowledgeable speech language pathologist with invaluable practical experience in assessing children outside “the bell curve”: those who are adopted internationally or are from immigrant or refugee families. I know that in the speech pathology professional community, Ms. Elleseff’s clinical reports serve as models and learning aids, being appreciated for their depth, thoroughness, clarity, and practicality.  I value her differential diagnostic skills combined with the uncompromised honesty in interpreting clinical data.  She is a also a passionate and dynamic presenter, able to involve her audience emotionally and cognitively, making her point convincingly and eloquently. Ms. Elleseff is an excellent supervisor and a model teacher for young people entering the field of human services. She is a prolific writer who is well known among international adoption parents and professionals alike.  Being a bright and independent individual, Ms. Elleseff is a productive team player. She values colleagues and participates in a number of group projects, professional discussion groups, and professional affiliations. Boris Gindis, PhD, Chief psychologist at the Center for Cognitive-Developmental Assessment and Remediation

• Adolescents (28)
• Ankyloglossia (1)
• APD Validity (7)
• App Review (18)
• Articulation (17)
• Assessment (118)
• Autism (19)
• behavior strategies (14)
• Bell Curve Charting (3)
• Bilingual (17)
• Blogging About Research (25)
• Book Companion (10)
• CEUs/CMHs (4)
• Checklist (23)
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech (6)
• Clinical Assessment (19)
• Clinical Fellows (1)
• CMH Quiz (1)
• Context Clues (3)
• Contextual Intervention (8)
• Controversial Practices in Health Care (7)
• Critical Thinking (22)
• Cues and Prompts (4)
• Development milestones (16)
• Developmental Disabilities (12)
• Differential Diagnosis (20)
• Down Syndrome (6)
• Dysgraphia (7)
• Dyslexia (35)
• Dyslexia Assessment (12)
• Dyslexia/Reading Disability (30)
• Early Intervention (18)
• Elementary (32)
• emotional and behavioral disturbances (34)
• Emotional Intelligence (5)
• Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) (50)
• Executive Function (15)
• Facebook (7)
• Fairy Tales (1)
• feeding (3)
• Following Directions (2)
• Fragile X Syndrome (3)
• Freebie (13)
• genetic syndromes (14)
• Giveaway (71)
• Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) (13)
• Insight (15)
• insurance coverage (2)
• Intake forms (6)
• internationally adopted children (28)
• Kindergarten (11)
• language delay (74)
• Language Disorder (68)
• language stimulation (30)
• Learned Helplessness (1)
• Learning Disability (55)
• Life Skills (3)
• listening comprehension (29)
• Literacy (42)
• Metacognition (4)
• Metalinguistics (12)
• Middle School (24)
• Morphological Awareness (8)
• Motor Speech Disorders (5)
• multicultural (24)
• Multisensory Stimulation (9)
• Narratives (10)
• News Release (44)
• NJAC 6A:14-3.6 (1)
• Nonfiction Text (2)
• orofacial assessment (4)
• Parent Consultation (4)
• Parent Tips (2)
• Phonemic Awareness (24)
• Phonics (9)
• Phonological Awareness (16)
• Picture Books (11)
• preschoolers (52)
• Problem Solving and Verbal Reasoning (34)
• Processing Disorders (25)
• Professional Consultation (2)
• Professional Development (3)
• Psychiatric Impairments (3)
• Reading Comprehension (19)
• Reading Fluency (17)
• Report Writing Tips (12)
• resource websites (33)
• Review (37)
• Rewards (1)
• Russian (6)
• Science of Reading Literacy Certificate for SLPs (1)
• Screening (1)
• Search Tips (2)
• Sequencing (2)
• Severe Disabilities (12)
• SLP Efficiency Bundles (3)
• Smart Speech Therapy Article (77)
• Social Communication (25)
• social pragmatic language (70)
• Social Thinking® Products (2)
• Special Education Disputes (14)
• speech language pathology (208)
• Speech-Language Report Tutorials (12)
• SPELL-Links/Learning By Design (3)
• Spelling (12)
• stuttering (5)
• Summer Learning Loss (1)
• Test Review (16)
• Thematic Intervention (13)
• Toddlers (12)
• Tongue Tie (1)
• Translanguaging (5)
• Treatment Suggestions (112)
• Trivia Night (5)
• Video Modeling (1)
• Vocabulary (42)
• Wh- Questions (2)
• word-finding (12)
• Writing (16)

Letter Templates & Example

Top Letter of Recommendation Template for SLP Grad Students

Are you a Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) graduate student in need of a letter of recommendation? Look no further! We have compiled a Letter of Recommendation Template specifically catered towards SLP graduate students. Our template includes examples that you can easily edit and make your own. Whether you need a letter for your graduate program application, a job application, or anything in between, our template has got you covered. So save yourself the time and stress of starting from scratch, and use our SLP Letter of Recommendation Template to give yourself the best chance of success.

The Best Structure for a Letter of Recommendation Template for SLP Grad Students

If you’re a Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) graduate student and you’re requesting a letter of recommendation from a professor, supervisor, or mentor, it’s important to understand what should be included to make the best impression. A well-structured letter of recommendation can help the reader understand your strengths, abilities, and potential, as well as give a sense of your personality and character. Here’s a breakdown of the best structure for a letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student.

First, start with an introduction that explains your relationship with the person you’re writing about. This should be a brief paragraph that explains how long you’ve known the student, in what capacity, and what impressed you about them. You might also include some information about their work ethic, problem-solving ability, or communication skills that make them ideal for a career in SLP.

Next, provide evidence in support of your recommendation. This is the meat of the letter and should include specific examples of the student’s abilities and accomplishments. Use concrete examples such as projects completed, patient interactions, or presentations given at conferences. Don’t rely solely on general statements or anecdotes; instead, be specific and detailed, including any achievements that set the student apart from others. Also, try to tie in any strengths that you think would be relevant to future careers or opportunities in SLP.

After you’ve provided evidence to support your recommendation, offer an assessment of the student’s potential. This is an opportunity to share your perspective on the student’s future as an SLP. Evaluate the student’s abilities and potential for success, perhaps by comparing them to other successful SLPs you know. Indicate why you believe they have the potential to excel in the field and make a difference in their patients’ lives.

Finally, close the letter with an overall recommendation. If you feel strongly that the student would make a great SLP, be clear and direct. Explain why you believe the student is an excellent candidate, what value they can bring to the field, and why you support their candidacy. Be positive and encouraging but avoid making false statements or exaggerations.

In conclusion, a well-structured letter of recommendation can make all the difference when it comes to a SLP grad student’s future opportunities. Provide specific examples, assess potential for success, and close with a strong endorsement. This will leave a positive impression on the reader and increase the chances of the student getting into their desired program or landing their dream career.

Letter of Recommendation Templates for SLP Grad Student

Letter of recommendation for slp grad student – job application.

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing to highly recommend [Name], who recently completed their Master’s degree in speech-language pathology from [University]. During their time at our clinic, they displayed exceptional knowledge, skills, and professionalism that were consistently reflected in their work. [Name] was an exceptionally diligent student who was always passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of individuals with communication disorders.

[Name]’s clinical skills demonstrate their ability to provide effective and high-quality speech language therapy for clients with diverse backgrounds and needs, including those with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, and hearing impairments. They have experience working with both children and adults. Their patience, empathy, and strong communication skills are what makes them an excellent candidate for the position.

Your organization will benefit greatly from having [Name] as a member of your team. They are a hard-working, dedicated, and passionate clinician whose commitment to putting their clients first is second to none.

[Your Name]

Letter of Recommendation for SLP Grad Student – Graduate School Application

Dear Admissions Committee,

I am writing to highly recommend [Name], who completed their undergraduate degree in speech-language pathology and is now seeking admission to your Masters’ program in the same field. [Name] was an exceptional student who demonstrated a deep understanding of the field and its practices.

[Name] was always eager to learn and was proactive in seeking out opportunities to learn more about speech-language pathology. Their academic performance was excellent, and their clinical skills were equally impressive. They were able to work well in a team setting and communicate their opinions effectively. They actively participated in class and provided meaningful feedback on assignments and group projects.

I am confident that [Name] will continue to shine in your program and make a positive impact in the field of speech-language pathology. [Name]’s enthusiasm for the field, coupled with their academic and clinical achievements, makes them an ideal candidate for your program.

Thank you for your consideration.

Letter of Recommendation for SLP Grad Student – Scholarship Award

Dear Scholarship Committee,

I am writing to recommend [Name] for your speech-language pathology scholarship. As [Name]’s supervisor for their graduate-level clinical practicum, I can attest to their significant achievements in the discipline.

[Name] is an excellent clinician who has consistently demonstrated their passion for the field and a commitment to serving others. They possess a broad knowledge of the latest research, methods, and techniques in speech-language pathology and were active in seeking out new ideas and resources to improve their understanding of the field. Their commitment to evidence-based practice and their ability to critically evaluate research has been particularly impressive.

[Name] is also an exceptional communicator, both with clients and their families, and other professionals in the field, such as our interdisciplinary team of psychologists, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Their ability to connect with clients and their caregivers has proven invaluable, and their ability to adapt their technique and goals to suit clients with diverse needs is remarkable.

Overall, I highly recommend [Name] for this scholarship, and I am confident that they will continue to strive to achieve excellence in speech-language pathology.

Letter of Recommendation for SLP Grad Student – Practicum Placement

Dear [Clinic Director’s Name],

I am writing to recommend [Name] for a clinical practicum placement in your clinic. As [Name]’s academic supervisor, I have come to know [Name] as an empathetic and passionate speech-language pathology student.

[Name] has shown exceptional clinical skills, including initial evaluations, client goal setting, treatment planning, and clinical documentation. They have had experience working with individuals with communication and related disorders with diverse sociodemographic backgrounds, ages, and disorders. They have worked effectively in a team setting and have shown the ability to work autonomously.

I am confident that [Name] would be an excellent addition to your team and would make a significant contribution to the growth of your organization. [Name] is a hard-working, honest, and open-minded individual with a strong interest in expanding their practical skills and experience in clinical speech-language pathology. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you require further information.

Best Regards,

Letter of Recommendation for SLP Grad Student – Professional Reference

Dear [Hiring Manager/Professional Organization Head],

I am writing this recommendation letter for [Name] who is seeking a position with your organization. I have known [Name] for the past two years during their speech-language pathology program and, in that time, have been impressed with their intellect, diligence, and dedication to work.

[Name] consistently impressed us with their ability to create easy yet effective communication with clients and families alike. They have a unique ability to connect with clients, understand their needs and goals and put them at ease. Their approach is accessible, therapeutic, and professional, regardless of the client’s level of communication difficulty or differences.

Moreover, [Name] has a strong desire to contribute to the field of speech-language pathology and explore ways to publish research in the field. They are confident leaders when it comes to leading research and clinical projects and bringing out the best in their team members. Their enthusiasm for their research interests is contagious and has encouraged others to investigate in the field.

[Name] is excellent in handling work pressure, and they have never missed any deadlines or important appointments. They are always well-prepared, on time, and professional. I highly recommend [Name] for your organization’s consideration. They will be a perfect candidate who will work diligently and make a meaningful contribution to your organization’s growth.

Letter of Recommendation for SLP Grad Student – Program Scholarship

I am writing this recommendation letter for [Name], who is applying for your speech-language pathology program scholarship. As [Name]’s professor and academic advisor, I have been fortunate to work closely with them, and I am highly impressed with their competence, steadfast dedication to work, and excellent communication skills.

[Name] has demonstrated a keen interest in the theoretical and clinical aspects of speech-language pathology. Their outstanding academic performance and clinical skills are evidence of their strong commitment and passion for the field. Their ability to critically evaluate literature and synthesize information has been particularly impressive.

[Name] is also an exceptional communicator who is respectful, attentive, and empathetic to clients and their families’ needs. Their ability to adapt their communication style and techniques to suit clients with different needs has been invaluable, and they are able to effectively communicate with colleagues from many levels extending from assistant to administrative levels.

In summary, [Name] is an outstanding speech-language pathology graduate and one who would make the most of your program. The scholarship would present them with the opportunity they have been seeking for growth in the field. I strongly recommend that you accept [Name] for the scholarship.

Letter of Recommendation for SLP Grad Student – Internship Placement

Dear Internship Placement Director,

I am writing to highly recommend [Name] for your clinic placement. [Name] has completed their Master’s degree in speech-language pathology at [University], and I had the privilege of supervising their clinical practicum. They have stellar skills and would be an asset to any workplace setting for clinical internships.

[Name] has been exceptional in the delivery of appropriate treatment plans and evidence-based practice for their clients. They possess excellent professional skills, an empathetic approach, and an excellent ability to work with clients and their families. Their accommodating and accessible communication has instilled confidence in their clients and colleagues alike.

Furthermore, [Name], committed to ongoing learning and growth, actively seeks out information that can further hone their therapy skills. They are creative and innovative in developing communication strategies and excel in building positive relationships with clients and colleagues.

Based on their exceptional clinical skills, passion for speech-language pathology, and excellent work ethics, I deduce that [Name] would make an excellent addition to your clinic. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions or require more information.

Tips for Writing a Strong Letter of Recommendation for a Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Student

A letter of recommendation for a speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate student is an important document that can help determine the student’s career path and future opportunities. Here are some tips for writing a strong letter of recommendation:

• Focus on the student’s strengths: Identify the student’s unique abilities, skills, and accomplishments and highlight them in your letter. Discuss specific examples of how the student demonstrated excellence in their academic and clinical work.
• Be specific: Use concrete examples and anecdotes to illustrate the student’s strengths and contributions. Avoid vague language and generalizations.
• Use professional language and tone: Be formal but not overly stiff in your writing. Use professional language and avoid slang or overly casual expressions.
• Discuss the student’s potential: Mention the student’s potential for growth and future success in the field of speech-language pathology. This can help the reader understand why the student is a good candidate for the program or job they are applying for.
• Include your credentials: Share your qualifications or experiences that make you a suitable person to write a letter of recommendation. This will give credibility to your letter and help the reader understand why your opinion matters.
• Be honest: Provide an honest assessment of the student’s abilities and potential. Include any areas where the student could improve or areas where they struggled, but also note how they worked to overcome these challenges.
• Keep it concise: Limit your letter to one or two pages and focus on the most important points. Be sure to include a brief introduction of yourself and your relationship with the student.
• Proofread: Before submitting your letter, review it for spelling and grammar errors. A well-written, error-free letter can help make a strong impression on the reader.

By following these tips, you can write a compelling letter of recommendation that showcases the strengths and potential of a speech-language pathology graduate student.

Frequently Asked Questions about Letter of Recommendation Template for SLP Grad Students

What should be included in a letter of recommendation for slp grad students.

A letter of recommendation for SLP grad students should include the student’s personal and professional qualities, academic achievements, involvement in extracurricular activities, and any other relevant information that will support their application. It should be written by someone who knows the student well and can speak to their abilities and potential.

Can I use a template for a letter of recommendation?

Yes, you can use a template as a guide for writing a letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student. However, it is important to remember that each letter should be personalized and tailored to the individual student.

Who should write a letter of recommendation for SLP grad students?

A letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student should be written by someone who knows the student well, such as a professor, supervisor, or mentor. It is important that the letter writer can speak to the student’s personal and professional qualities and provide examples to support their claims.

How long should a letter of recommendation for SLP grad students be?

A letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student should be one to two pages in length. It should include a brief introduction, a body that highlights the student’s strengths and accomplishments, and a conclusion that summarizes the writer’s recommendation.

What is the best way to format a letter of recommendation for SLP grad students?

A letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student should be formatted with a clear and professional font, such as Times New Roman or Arial. It should include the writer’s contact information, the student’s name and contact information, and the date the letter was written. It should also be addressed to the relevant graduate program or institution.

When should a letter of recommendation be submitted for SLP grad students?

A letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student should be submitted along with their graduate school application. It is recommended that the letter be submitted as early as possible to ensure it is received by the application deadline.

Is it necessary to include a signature in a letter of recommendation for SLP grad students?

Yes, it is necessary for the writer of a letter of recommendation for an SLP grad student to include their signature at the end of the letter. This adds a personal touch and validates the authenticity of the letter.

Saying Goodbye

Well, well, well! Looks like we’ve come to the end of our discussion about letter of recommendation template for SLP grad students. It is our greatest pleasure to have shared valuable tips and insights with you. We hope that you are now fully equipped to write a killer recommendation letter as you help mold the next generation of SLP professionals. Don’t forget to visit us again as we bring you more informative articles that could benefit you on your educational or career journey. For now, thank you so much for taking interest in our piece, and cheers to your success!

Top 10 Grad School Letter of Recommendation Templates to Help You Shine 5 Essential Tips for Using a Grad School Occupational Therapy Letter of Recommendation Template A Comprehensive Guide to Creating a Letter of Recommendation Template for Grad School Applications 5 Effective Letter of Recommendation Template Grad School Samples to Get You Accepted Get a Head Start on Your Grad School Applications with Our Letter of Recommendation Template Grad School Sample Grad School Civil Engineering Letter of Recommendation Template: Tips and Examples

SOAP Notes for Speech Therapy: Ultimate Guide (& Examples)

Having a solid and consistent structure for writing your notes as a speech therapist comes with a range of benefits.

By using a tested format in your practice, like SOAP notes , you can cut down on administration time and improve the quality of care you provide. You’ll also be able to create defensible documentation you can confidently share with insurers, clients, parents, teachers, and other clinicians.

To help you become a master of documentation, we’re going to unpack several SOAP notes examples for speech therapy in this article. We’ll also provide some general tips for producing high-quality documentation and progress notes.  

What are SOAP Notes in Speech Therapy?

SOAP notes are a standardized format for clinical documentation that’s used by all types of healthcare providers (such as occupational therapists , physiotherapists, physicians, speech therapists, counselors, and more) across the globe. [1]

The SOAP format includes 4 elements for a speech therapy progress note, identified by each letter in the acronym:

This section usually frames the purpose of the session and the demeanor of the client.

Lists the concrete observations from the session.

Provides your clinical assessment of the presenting situation.

Gives a clear indication of the next steps for all relevant parties.

Benefits of the SOAP Format

Following the SOAP format ensures that every speech therapy progress note you create contains all the necessary clinical information from a session. It also presents your documentation in a way that is familiar and easy to understand for non-speech therapist readers (e.g., parents, insurers, other clinicians).

Most importantly, however, is that SOAP notes can enhance the quality of care you provide by improving clinical reasoning and decision making. [2] This is because the structure ensures you address all important areas of patient care in each session, then finish with a clear plan.

To show you how to write SOAP notes for speech therapy, we’ll provide some speech SOAP note examples in the following section.

2 Speech Therapy SOAP Note Examples

You can write SOAP notes by hand or onto a blank electronic notes form. However, most clinicians find a template with headings easiest to work with.

Below, we’ve used the ready-made, customizable SOAP notes template from the Quenza app to give some speech therapy progress notes examples.

Patient #1111 FINCH, Jenny

This speech therapy SOAP note was created with Quenza’s drag-and-drop form builder:

Patient #2222 WARNER, Clive

If you prefer to write notes by hand, you can even print out a blank SOAP notes template from Quenza and take it with you on home, school, or community visits.

Here’s a speech therapy SOAP notes example created with the Quenza printable PDF template: 

How to Write Clearly & Efficiently with the SOAP Format

Two qualities speech therapists should strive for when writing SOAP notes are clarity and efficiency.

Clarity is important because it’s essential your notes are easily understood by others. And efficiency matters because spending longer than necessary on documentation means you’ll have less time to spend with patients. 

Inefficient documentation processes can also increase the stress levels of clinicians, due to constantly feeling like you have to “catch up” on your notes.

To improve clarity:

• Stick to the headings
• Focus on the facts
• Don’t forget the plan

To document more efficiently:  

• Use pre-made templates 
• Go all-digital, using a speech therapy app
• Keep your audience in mind

5 Tips for Documenting Progress

The ideal processes for documentation will vary according to each speech therapist’s work setting and personal preferences.

For example, a therapist working in a busy hospital environment might need to approach documentation differently compared to someone in private practice. And a home visiting speech therapist will have different workflows to a practitioner completing all their therapy sessions online .

However, there are some tips for documentation that apply to the majority of speech therapists, which we’ll detail below.

It’s best practice to write your speech therapy SOAP notes as soon as possible after the session. That way, the necessary information will be fresh in your mind. Plus, you won’t have to worry about falling behind on your documentation and getting stressed about having a bunch of unwritten notes.

The SMART framework for goal setting (making goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based) can be very helpful when writing the Plan section of a SOAP note. This framework ensures that you provide clear and actionable next steps, without getting into ambiguous or irrelevant details.

The best SOAP notes examples in speech therapy describe the current session in the context of the overall course of treatment. This might take the form of mentioning the previous session and how this one carries on from it. Or by commenting on the significance of the current session in relation to the patient’s progress so far. 

Most speech therapists use acronyms and abbreviations in their SOAP notes. To ensure that others can understand your notes, it’s very important to be consistent in how you use technical and shorthand terms. For example, if a note uses “discharge” and “DC” interchangeably throughout, the reader may become confused about the meaning of the acronym. Choose one descriptor for each term and stick with it in all your notes.

While the focus in most examples of SOAP notes for speech therapy is on the immediate session with the client, you’ll often need to mention other members of the team. The patient’s “team” might include their teacher, parents, other healthcare professionals, or even a partner or close friend.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we’ve used SOAP notes examples for speech therapy to show you how to create high-quality notes quickly and efficiently. 

Getting comfortable with the SOAP framework helps to cut down the time and effort required for documenting speech therapy sessions. It also ensures that every note you write contains all the essential information in an easy-to-understand format for your target audience.

To make documentation even easier, the Quenza app contains ready-to-use SOAP notes templates that you can print out and write by hand, or even complete directly in the app. All of our templates are completely customizable, allowing you to create your own “cheat sheet” to streamline documentation even further.

To try it out, sign up for a one-month full access trial of the Quenza app for only $1 .   

• ^ Wright, A., Sittig, D. F., McGowan, J., Ash, J. S., & Weed, L. L. (2014). Bringing science to medicine: an interview with Larry Weed, inventor of the problem-oriented medical record. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA , 21 (6), 964–968.
• ^ Podder, V., Lew, V., & Ghassemzadeh, S. (2021). SOAP notes. In StatPearls Internet . StatPearls Publishing.

Leave a reply Cancel

Your email address will not be published.

Download free guide (PDF)

Discover how to engage your clients on autopilot while radically scaling your coaching practice.

Coach, This Changes Everything (Free PDF)

Letter of Recommendation for a Therapist (4 Templates)

Want to crush your interview.

Learn how to ace your interview with superior confidence.

The professional who helps people deal with emotional or mental health issues is called a therapist. They may provide counseling, medication, or other treatments. If you're looking to hire a therapist, it's important to have letters of recommendation from previous clients or colleagues.

A letter of recommendation for a therapist is important because it can help potential clients decide if a particular therapist is right for them. The letter should include information about the therapist's skills, experience, and personality. It can be helpful to have letters from both current and former clients.

Therapists often provide letters of recommendation to their clients as part of their intake paperwork. This type of letter can be very helpful to potential clients in making a decision about whether or not to work with a particular therapist.

When requesting a letter of recommendation from your therapist, be sure to give them enough time to write a thoughtful letter. They may need to contact former clients for information, and they should be allowed enough time to do so . It's also a good idea to provide your therapist with any information they may need about you, such as your current mental state, the reason you're seeking therapy, and any goals you have for therapy.

Here are four samples of letters of recommendation for therapists.

Sample Template #1

Dear ___________,

I'm writing to recommend XYZ as a therapist. I've worked with XYZ for the past year, and she's been an instrumental part of my treatment plan. She has a great sense of humor and is always willing to listen. Her knowledge of psychology and therapy has helped me to make great progress in my recovery. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a therapist.

(Your Name)

(Your Email)

Sample Template #2

It has been my distinct pleasure to work with ____________ as my therapist for the past year. _______ is an incredibly skilled and compassionate individual who has helped me through some of the most difficult times in my life.

I cannot recommend her highly enough. Her skills in therapy are obvious, but what makes her truly special is her ability to connect with her patients and make them feel heard and understood. She has a unique gift for creating a safe and supportive environment, which allows her patients to explore their thoughts and feelings honestly and openly.

If you are looking for a therapist who can provide you with the support and guidance you need, I would highly recommend _________. She has changed my life for the better, and I am certain she can do the same for you. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sample Template #3

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing today to offer my strongest possible endorsement of XYZ as a therapist. I have known XYZ for over five years, and during that time I have seen her work miracles with patients who were struggling with a wide range of mental health issues.

She is always professional, yet personable, and has an uncanny ability to connect with people from all walks of life. I firmly believe that XYZ is one of the best therapists in the business, and I would recommend her without hesitation to anyone in need of her services.

Sample Template #4

Hello __________,

I am reaching out to you today because I would like to strongly recommend XYZ as a therapist. I have worked with XYZ for a number of years now and she has helped me through some tough times.

My doctor recommended her to me, and I am glad she did. She is always professional and has a wonderful personality. Her understanding of psychology and therapy has aided in my recovery's progress. I would strongly suggest her to anybody searching for a therapist.

Thank you for your time.

Bottom Line

A letter of recommendation can provide personal insights about the therapist that may be helpful to potential patients. When looking for a therapist, it is important to find someone who is qualified and experienced in treating your specific condition or problem.

You can verify a therapist's qualifications by checking their license and certification. Additionally, you can ask for letters of recommendation from any therapists you have seen in the past.

Recommendation Letter Templates

More recommendation letter resources.

• College Student
• Eagle Scout
• Graduate School
• Scholarship
• How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
• How to Ask Someone to be a Professional Reference

Letter Resources

• Letter of Recommendation
• Reference Letter
• Character Reference Letter
• Business Letter
• Letter of Interest
• Employment Verification Letter
• Termination Letter

About the author

Patrick Algrim is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), NCDA Certified Career Counselor (CCC), and general career expert. Patrick has completed the NACE Coaching Certification Program (CCP). And has been published as a career expert on Forbes , Glassdoor , American Express , Reader's Digest , LiveCareer , Zety , Yahoo , Recruiter.com , SparkHire , SHRM.org , Process.st , FairyGodBoss , HRCI.org , St. Edwards University , NC State University , IBTimes.com , Thrive Global , TMCnet.com , Work It Daily , Workology , Career Guide , MyPerfectResume , College Career Life , The HR Digest , WorkWise , Career Cast , Elite Staffing , Women in HR , All About Careers , Upstart HR , The Street , Monster , The Ladders , Introvert Whisperer , and many more. Find him on LinkedIn .

Fact checked: Our small and dedicated team rigorously evaluates every article, guide, and reference to ensure the information is accurate and factual. Learn more .

Popular Resources

35+ Phone Interview Questions & Best Sample Answers

Phone interviews have become a core part of the process when attempting to find a secured placement for an open position. Companies receive massive responses from potential candidates for any..

12+ Best Questions To Ask A Recruiter

Concerning a job search, you might receive numerous offers from your recruiters. Before you choose one, you need to assess all the conditions, for which it is vital that you know everything associated with the offered position..

Answering "What Makes You Unique" In A Job Interview

Answering this question during a job interview requires more than knowing why you are unique as an individual. Yes, the true scientific answer is made up of two main components: your..

250+ Ice Breaker Questions for Life

An ice breaker question is a question that’s asked from one person to another person in order to act as a conversation starter. It brings a connection...

10 Best Answers to "What Motivates You?"

Open-ended questions like “What motivates you?” can elicit a deer-in-the-headlights reaction from job candidates if they are unprepared. It’s a broad question and can leave the interviewer..

Answering "How Did You Hear About This Position" In An Interview

A lot of interviewers ask this question - how did you hear about this position? This way they can judge you if you are a passive or an active job seeker..

8 Best Thank You Emails After an Interview (Samples, Free Templates)

Writing a thank you note after an interview says a lot about you as a potential employee. Most notably, it says that you care about the opportunities presented..

Writing a Resignation Letter (How To Write It, Samples)

Writing the perfect letter of resignation is more of an art than it is a science. And we’re going to cover how to master that art form in this full guide..

How to End a Letter (Example Salutations, Sign Off's)

Knowing how to end a business note or email is an important skill to develop. It helps portray a sense of confidence, respect and tone to your message..

Help us by spreading the word

• Internships
• All Resources
• Cover Letters
• Job Descriptions
• Interview Questions
• Most popular
• Trivia Questions
• Trivia Questions for Kids
• 555 Meaning
• 333 Angel Number Meaning
• Most Likely To Questions
• Good Pick Up Lines
• Cute Names to Call Your Boyfriend
• Funny Insults
• Paranoia Questions
• 777 Angel Number Meaning
• Bad Pick Up Lines
• Funny Names

© Copyright 2024, algrim.co - Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy - Illustrations

• Conditionally
• Newsletter Signup

Here's How to Actually Give Your Therapist Feedback

By Casey Gueren

Most of us think of therapy as a place where we'll get all sorts of helpful insights, skills, and observations. So it can seem awkward—if not impossible—to be the one giving feedback to the mental health professional in the room. But as uncomfortable as it may seem, giving your therapist feedback can be incredibly powerful and sometimes even necessary when it comes to getting the most out of your sessions .

Maybe you're just not sure if you're meshing with your therapist or their style of therapy. Or maybe they did or said something that really rubbed you the wrong way. Maybe they're consistently five minutes late, and that bugs you. The point is, if something is getting in the way of you feeling open, engaged, and productive in therapy, that's worth bringing up.

"The therapeutic alliance is crucial in therapy, so it's important that a patient not keep those things to themselves, because it can actually impede their progress," Monica Johnson , Psy.D., licensed psychologist and host of the Savvy Psychologist podcast , tells SELF. "Holding onto these feelings or these thoughts won't help at all in that process."

So, here are a few tricky therapy scenarios you might find yourself in, and how to bring them up with your therapist.

If you're not quite feeling seen or heard in therapy…

Let's say you sometimes feel like your therapist is making observations and insights that don't really ring true for you. While it might seem awkward to correct them (in the moment or afterward) that's a great thing to give feedback on.

"A good therapist will always be open to correction," Jessica Stern , Ph.D., clinical psychologist at NYU Langone Health, tells SELF. "Sometimes therapists will get things wrong—they'll make incorrect observations or incorrect conclusions." So don't be afraid to correct them when it feels appropriate—your therapist should actually welcome that feedback. "The truth is oftentimes when people correct their therapist, that's actually an indicator that they're capturing something really important in themselves."

Or maybe after reflecting on your last session you wonder if your therapist actually "gets" you. "Maybe they said something that you don't think fully fits, or maybe you got the impression that they didn't quite understand what you were trying to explain," Pooja Lakshmin , M.D., board-certified psychiatrist and writer, tells SELF. "A great strategy is that next week to say, 'Hey, actually, I was thinking about this more and I'm not quite sure if we got it right.' Or 'I'm not quite sure if you understood exactly what I was trying to convey. Can we dig deeper into that?' And a good therapist is going to be delighted that you're bringing this up."

Remember, your therapist isn't a psychic that you're expecting to get everything just right in order to validate their expertise. "There's never a right answer. It's more about exploring and figuring out what's going on," says Dr. Lakshmin.

"However, if you're constantly correcting your therapist or you feel like your therapist is on a totally different planet than you, that's a major problem," warns Dr. Stern. In that case, it may be time to look for a better fit.

If they said or did something that offends you…

As with any other relationship, it's possible your therapist may say or do something that makes you feel hurt, invalidated, or offended. "Therapists are human beings too," says Dr. Johnson. "They're not infallible." Maybe they misgendered you or said something insensitive about your race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or another aspect of your identity, and you're left wondering if this is someone you can trust to be fully honest and vulnerable with. This is absolutely something to bring up with your therapist. You might try one of these lines suggested by the experts:

"I'd like to address something that happened in our last session.…"

"That didn't sit well for me. I felt offended by that statement. Can we talk about this?"

"This is challenging for me to bring up, but in our last session, you said/did [blank], which made me feel [blank]. I would appreciate it if we could explore that together."

Being direct, specific, and honest is key, says Dr. Johnson. "Microaggressions can and do happen in therapy," she says. "If microaggressions are addressed appropriately in therapy, then the therapeutic alliance can be rebuilt and therapy can proceed, and there can be a benefit to the patient moving forward."

Unfortunately, this does put an additional burden on the patient, particularly patients who belong to marginalized groups, says Dr. Lakshmin. But it can also be really great practice for having these conversations out in the real world. "It actually can be such a growth process to deliver feedback to somebody who is in an authority position and be able to work through that."

While one insensitive comment or action isn't necessarily a reason to break up with your therapist , it really depends on the severity of the situation and their response to your feedback. "Do they welcome that feedback? Are they willing to explore that with you and do better next time?" asks Dr. Lakshmin. If you don't get a response that satisfies you—they don't apologize, they seem to brush you off, they continue to misgender you, etc.—then that's a sign that this probably isn't a safe, supportive environment for you. In that case, you may need to look for another therapist, and it could be worth prioritizing someone with more experience (whether that's lived experience or specialized training) around issues that relate to your specific identity.

"If you're BIPOC or gay or trans, these factors have to all also be addressed in therapy appropriately because of things like racial trauma and minority stress and the additional mental stressors that that puts on the individual," says Dr. Johnson.

When looking for a new therapist, if you’re at all uncertain about their cultural competence , Dr. Johnson suggests asking about the last time they did any continuing education on a diversity-related topic, and also paying close attention to the language and imagery on their websites. "If I go to somebody's website and there are 34 pictures and every single one is of a white person, that doesn't give me an indication that they know how to treat BIPOC people," she says. "Or if I have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the web page where the footnote is for them to say, 'Oh, yeah, we see gay people here,' that doesn't communicate the message that you're going to provide me with affirming treatment." Know that you are not being picky by looking for a therapist who will treat you as a whole person.

If you don't seem to be getting anything out of your sessions…

We all go into therapy expecting some sort of results , and it can be frustrating to feel like you aren't getting anywhere. If that's the case for you, definitely speak up. "Remember, you are the consumer here," says Dr. Stern. "If you're paying for a service, you should be satisfied with that service."

By Audrey Bruno

By Jenna Ryu

Try not to worry that you'll offend them and remember that a therapist's ultimate goal is to get you the treatment you need. "If I'm not the one who can do that for you, I'm always very happy to get you to a person who can," says Dr. Johnson. "Because that's the thing that's most important to me."

And while it can be tempting to just stop showing up, the experts advise using this as another opportunity to practice your interpersonal skills and articulate your needs. "There's a phenomenon of ghosting in therapy," says Dr. Lakshmin. "But just like in relationships, there's a lot of healing and growth that can happen in delivering direct feedback and saying, ‘This isn’t working out for me, I've decided that I'm going to find another provider, thank you so much.'" You could also do this over email or a phone call if you're sure of your decision and don't want to pay for another session.

The bottom line is that therapy should not be viewed as a one-way flow of skills and insights, but as an exploration and collaboration between you and the therapist. Your sessions are yours to use to process through whatever you're feeling and thinking—even if that includes the dynamic in the therapy room (or virtual room).

"I see a big part of therapy as a willingness to engage in experiments. And I would see this as another experiment. If it goes well then you have more evidence that it is okay for [you] to take up space and set boundaries," says Dr. Johnson. Yes, it might be uncomfortable, but...a lot of therapy is uncomfortable.

"This is what we're here to do,” says Dr. Johnson. “We're here to help you work through awkward moments."

See more from our Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health here .

• 13 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Every Therapy Session
• What Do When You Don’t Know What to Talk About in Therapy
• 13 Signs It’s Time to Consider Therapy

SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

Therapy Brands Celebrates Mental Health Providers!

Mental Health Awareness Month

How to create a speech therapy observation report using my emr.

We explain how an intuitive, easy-to-use EMR solution can streamline your entire report-writing process

Besides direct clinical work, writing a speech therapy observation report is one of the foundational skills of any SLP.

Whether it’s for parents, caregivers, payers, referrers, or other clinicians, you’ll often need to write a report to communicate your assessment and recommendations about a client. 

But like client notes — report writing can be very time-consuming. 

Without a good system in place for collecting information and generating a report, the process can take much longer than necessary, resulting in a loss of valuable clinical time and unnecessary stress for the practitioner.

However, with the right EMR , report writing doesn’t have to be a challenge.

In this article, we’ll detail how a good EMR can make report writing faster and easier, beginning with an overview of what a speech therapy observation report is. 

What Is a Speech Therapy Observation Report?

In a general sense, a speech therapy observation report is exactly what it sounds like: A formal report written by a speech therapist that details observations and assessment of a patient in a particular situation.  

There is no single standard or structure for observation reports in speech therapy. But the style of each report is usually heavily influenced by the setting the therapist is working in and the purpose of the report. 

For example, an observation report of a stroke patient in a skilled nursing facility is likely to be quite different from one for a 5-year-old in an early childhood setting. And in both these cases, the audience and purpose of the report will influence the style as well.

In the case of the 5-year-old, a speech therapy observation report to give parents or caregivers strategies to support language development, would be laid out quite differently to a report for insurance purposes. 

Below are some common settings where observation reports are utilized by speech therapists, followed by a list of topics that are often addressed.

Common Settings for Observation Reports

Observation reports tend to be mainly used in situations where a patient has difficulty giving a clear account of their symptoms and challenges due to age or cognition.

For example, a speech therapist might observe:

• A young child at play or when interacting with their family
• An elderly patient with dementia and swallowing difficulties during mealtime
• A teenager with autism while undertaking daily activities with caregivers
• People of any age who have suffered a stroke or acquired brain injury during tasks such as talking with family and friends, or making a phone call 

During the observation, the therapist would generally take notes. Or as is more common nowadays, the entire session can be recorded by video (with appropriate consent).

After observing, a report is written to detail the speech therapist’s assessment, insights, and recommendations.  

Looking for more free resources for your practice? We have a point-of-care documentation guide for therapists on-the-go .

Topics Often Addressed in a Speech Therapy Report

As already discussed, the exact content of a speech therapy observation report will depend on the purpose of the report. But some topics that are commonly covered in most settings and situations.

In general, as speech therapy observation report will include:

Patient name, demographics, and a summary of the presenting problem

For example, “Max is a 7 year old boy with language delay due to verbal dyspraxia.”

A short statement about the purpose of the report

“Max’s teacher and parents requested an assessment to provide recommendations of strategies to assist with language development in the classroom and at home.” 

Description of the event being observed

“ Observation took place for 1 hour during class at Max’s school on 3rd March 2023. Max was also observed with his parents during a free-play and reading session of 45 minutes in the clinic on 10th March 2023.”

Key insights and observations

List and describe all important observations from the session(s), such as:

• Receptive and expressive language
• Attention and listening
• Communication skills
• Non-verbal communication
• Fluency and tone

Assessment (formal and/or informal)

Make note of any formal assessment tools that have been completed and describe the results. Give an assessment of the situation, including a diagnosis of the problem if appropriate. 

Recommendation

Give a recommendation based on your observations, assessment, and clinical judgment. It’s fine to include several recommendations, just be sure to address the specific purpose of the report.

Why Observation Reports Are Important

Speech therapy observation reports are an important source of formal communication between the therapist and other involved parties. 

Depending on the situation, a speech therapy observation report might:

• Result in an insurer approving a course of therapy for a patient
• Provide vital education and information to caregivers
• Make a formal diagnosis or give an expert opinion
• Outline a treatment and rehabilitation regime (either stand-alone or as part of a multi-disciplinary approach)
• Give a comprehensive overview of a person’s communicative strengths and weaknesses

Common Challenges with Report Writing

By far, the biggest challenge with writing a speech therapy observation report is the time creating the report takes.

At a minimum, writing a report involves:

• Reviewing the referral and background information
• Gathering collateral from the client, referrer, and/or caregivers
• Scheduling and planning the session
• Completing the observation (may require more than one session)
• Conducting any testing or assessments required for the report
• Writing the speech therapy observation report
• Sending the report and answering any queries
• Completing any follow-up tasks

With this many moving parts, clinicians stand no chance of completing an observation report without a rock-solid system in place. Such a system helps ensure the entire process runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Fortunately, with the help of the right EMR, you can streamline many of the steps in completing a speech therapy observation report.  

How an EMR Helps Create Speech Therapy Observation Reports

A good EMR, like Fusion , is capable of providing end-to-end support and assistance with the creation of speech therapy observation reports.

Fusion is a simple but full-featured EMR solution designed specifically for speech therapists, PTs, and OTs. It’s made by therapists, for therapists, so you can be assured that the platform is designed to improve your efficiency and the quality of care you deliver.

On a broad level, the software allows clinicians to utilize streamlined systems and pathways that cover everything involved in writing a report, from intake and scheduling, to assessment and report creation, and even communication with stakeholders.

At each stage, you can use the ready-made templates in Fusion as is, or customized to your exact needs.

For example: 

• Need to include a specific language or swallowing assessment in your session? No problem. Just add it to the observation template.
• Have a questionnaire you’d like clients and caregivers to complete before the observation? Make it available through our secure client portal, so it can be completed and submitted online.
• Want a checklist to ensure you’re efficiently moving through every step of the report creation process? You can create custom workflows to keep you and your team on track. From the point of receiving a referral for a speech therapy observation report to completing follow-up tasks, every step can be documented and standardized.
• Sick of having to spend ages pulling together all the information you need to write a report? With Fusion, when it comes time to write, every piece of information you need to write a speech therapy observation report will be at your fingertips. Many of the details can even be set to auto-populate on your chosen report template.
• Worry that you won’t remember what to take note of in the observation session? Use a customizable template to ensure you cover all the essential components that need to go into your report.

Make Report Writing Easier

Report writing might not be the most enjoyable part of being a speech therapist. But remember, a well-written speech therapy observation report can be life-changing for your client.

Getting payer approval for therapy. Making a diagnosis for a child struggling with language delay. Giving parents and caregivers actionable advice to reduce stress and provide better care. These are all things that can really move the needle in a positive way for your clients. Often in a different, yet complementary way to 1:1 clinical support.

So to deliver the best care to your clients, while reducing your stress levels, give Fusion a try today. 

Our intuitive and customizable EMR solution for speech therapists, PTs, and OTs includes everything you need to streamline observation report writing, and operate your entire practice, all in one place.

To find out how Fusion helps you work smarter, not harder— bo ok a demo now.

• Therapy Brands
• May 3, 2023

Related Posts

Medical Billing Explained: How Revenue Cycle Management Can Improve Your Business

Behavioral Health Revenue Cycle Management KPIs

Electronic Prescribing Regulations and the Burdens Relieved by Certified Software

All-in-One Pediatric Therapy EMR Software

Which States Require EPCS?

Maintaining Substance Use Recovery Patient Motivation Through Treatment

Essentials for Rehab Facility Financial Operations Planning 2023

6 Things You Need to Know Before Offering New Therapy Services

How BCBAs Can Best Collaborate with Teachers

Does Light Therapy Help Seasonal Depression?

Letter of Recommendation for Speech Language Pathologists

• Word Document File

Description

Are you unsure about crafting a letter of recommendation for your Speech teacher? Is your Speech educator up for tenure, seeking new opportunities, or considering a transition to the hospital setting? Here's an excellent template for a recommendation letter tailored for a Speech Language Pathologist. Feel free to use it as is or customize it to suit your requirements. Thank you for considering my resource.

Questions & Answers

Learning with la rocca.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

Here is what Stormy Daniels testified happened between her and Donald Trump

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

Porn performer Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday in the hush money case against former President Trump, who looked on as she detailed their alleged sexual encounter and the payment she got to keep it quiet.

Prosecutors allege Trump paid Daniels to keep quiet about the allegations as he ran for president in 2016. Her testimony aired them very publicly as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee seeks to win the White House again.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels , and his lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial midway through her testimony.

It was a major spectacle in the first criminal trial of a former American president, now in its third week of testimony in Manhattan.

Here are some takeaways from Daniels’ testimony:

Who is Stormy Daniels?

The case centers on a $130,000 payment to Daniels from Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say it was part of a scheme to illegally influence the campaign by burying negative stories about him.

Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump in occasionally graphic testimony

The porn actor’s testimony, even if sanitized and stripped of tell-all details, has been the most-awaited spectacle in Donald Trump’s hush money trial.

May 7, 2024

His lawyers have sought to show that Trump was trying to protect his reputation and family — not his campaign — by shielding them from embarrassing stories about his personal life.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told jurors that she started exotic dancing in high school and appearing in adult films at age 23, eventually moving to direct more than 150 films and winning a roster of porn industry awards.

World & Nation

Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial

Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial shifts to opening statements Monday, followed by the start of witness testimony. Who’s who in the case?

April 21, 2024

Meeting Trump

Daniels testified she first met and chatted with Trump at a 2006 Lake Tahoe celebrity golf outing where her studio was a sponsor.

He referred to her as “the smart one” and asked her if she wanted to go to dinner, she said. Daniels testified that she accepted Trump’s invitation because she wanted to avoid dinner with her co-workers and thought it might help her career. Trump had his bodyguard get her number, she said.

When they met up later in his penthouse, she appreciated that he seemed interested in the business aspects of the industry rather than the “sexy stuff.” He also suggested putting her on his TV show, “The Apprentice,” a possibility she hoped could help establish her as a writer and director.

She left to use the bathroom and was startled to find Trump in his underwear when she returned, she said. She didn’t feel physically or verbally threatened but realized that he was “bigger and blocking the way,” she testified.

“The next thing I know was: I was on the bed,” and they were having sex, Daniels recalled. The encounter was brief but left her “shaking,” she said. “I just wanted to leave,” she testified.

Stormy Daniels alleges in new documentary that Donald Trump cornered her the night they met

‘I have not forgiven myself because I didn’t shut his a— down in that moment’ in 2006, the adult filmmaker says in ‘Stormy,’ premiering March 18 on Peacock.

March 7, 2024

Payments for silence

Daniels was asked if Trump ever told her to keep things between them confidential, and said, “Absolutely not.” She said she learned in 2011 that a magazine had learned the story of their encounter, and she agreed to do an interview for $15,000 to make money and “control the narrative.” The story never ran.

In 2016, when Trump was running for president, Daniels said she authorized her manager to shop the story around but did not initially receive interest from news outlets. She said that changed in October with the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged about grabbing women sexually without asking permission . She said she learned that Cohen wanted to buy her silence.

Former tabloid publisher testifies about scheme to shield Trump from damaging stories

Trump is back in a New York courtroom as his hush money trial resumes. In D.C., the Supreme Court considers if he should be immune for actions while president.

April 25, 2024

Mistrial push

Midway through her testimony, Trump’s lawyers moved for a mistrial.

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Daniels’ testimony about the alleged encounter and other meetings with him had “nothing to do with this case,” and would unfairly prejudice the jury.

The judge rejected it, and he faulted defense attorneys for not raising more of their objections while she was testifying.

Before Daniels took the stand, Trump’s lawyers had tried to stop her from testifying about the encounter’s details, saying it was irrelevant in “a case about books and records.”

Prosecutors countered that Daniels’ testimony gets at what Trump was trying to hide and they were “very mindful” not to draw too much graphic detail. Before Daniels took the stand, they told the judge the testimony would be “really basic,” and would not “involve any details of genitalia.”

While the judge didn’t side with Trump’s lawyers, he acknowledged that some details were excessive. The objections could potentially be used by Trump’s lawyers if he is convicted and they file an appeal.

News analysis: Why Putin is raising the specter of nuclear weapons again

Russia announces plans to hold drills near Ukraine simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons.

May 6, 2024

Cross-examination

Trump’s lawyers tried to attack Daniels’ credibility, suggesting she was motivated by money and that her account has shifted over the years.

“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked Daniels at one point. Daniels acknowledged she did.

“And you want him to go to jail?” the lawyer asked.

“I want him to be held accountable,” Daniels said. Pressed again whether that meant going to jail, she said: “If he’s convicted.”

The defense pressed Daniels on the fact that she owes Trump hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees stemming from an unsuccessful defamation lawsuit, and on a 2022 tweet in which she said she “will go to jail before I pay a penny.” Daniels dug in at times in the face of pointed questions, forcefully denying the idea that she had tried to extort money from Trump.

Trump whispered frequently to his attorney during Daniels’ testimony, and his expression seemed to be pained at one point as she recounted details about the dinner she says they shared. He shook his head and appeared to say something under his breath as Daniels testified that Trump told her he didn’t sleep in the same room as his wife.

On the way out of the courthouse, Trump called it “a very revealing day.” He didn’t address Daniels’ testimony explicitly but claimed the prosecutors’ case was “totally falling apart.”

With oil funds and Formula One, Saudi Arabia steamrolls its way onto sports’ hallowed grounds

Saudi Arabia’s oil riches have rocked soccer, golf, even esports, and the autocratic kingdom is expanding in Formula One car racing. What’s behind the push?

May 2, 2024

Jarring split screen

Trump’s appearance in court Tuesday, like all other days he’s stuck in the courtroom, means he can’t be out on the campaign trail as he runs for president a third time. It’s a frequent source of his complaints, but Daniels’ testimony in particular might underscore how much of a distraction the trial is from the business of running for president.

While Trump was stuck in a Manhattan courthouse away from voters and unable to speak for much of the day, President Biden was attending a Holocaust remembrance ceremony and condemning antisemitism .

It’s an issue Trump has sought to use against Biden in the campaign by seizing on the protests at college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war .

Associated Press writer Price reported from New York, Whitehurst from Washington. AP writers Michael Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this story.

More to Read

Litman: Michael Cohen started testifying against Trump. Here’s what prosecutors need from him

May 13, 2024

‘Stop this from getting out’: Star witness Michael Cohen implicates Trump

Abcarian: The porn star with a well-deserved place in American history

May 12, 2024

Start your day right

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Controversy follows Gov. Kristi Noem as she is banned by two more South Dakota tribes

Dr. Cyril Wecht, celebrity pathologist who argued more than 1 shooter killed JFK, dies at 93

Canadian wildfire smoke chokes upper Midwest for second straight year

Melinda French Gates resigns as Gates Foundation co-chair, 3 years after her divorce from Bill Gates