The Speech Space DC — Local services in Washington

Our family LOVES Rachel. Our son has been in speech therapy for expressive language delay since he was 20 months old. For the first seven months, he received treatment at a different practice where he made progress on certain foundational milestones but still had only a handful of words. Because of circumstances beyond our control, we needed to find a new practice, and having had the benefit of prior experience, we felt strongly about finding a therapist who would conduct in-person therapy sessions and would provide our son with tools to get him talking. The Speech Space came with a fabulous recommendation from a family friend, and after discussions about my son, they recommended that he work with Rachel. And we are so grateful they did. Mere hours after his first session with her, he said the word "mama" for the first time and my heart soared. In less than two months, he has become a regular chatterbox and copies new words he hears on an everyday basis. Rachel uses a play-based approach with our son but in a programmatic fashion that has gradually developed his sound and word vocabulary. She used cards as the foundational blocks to help him learn and prompt sounds. And she ends each session by drafting a summary of the lesson from the day and the plans for continued working at home. She encourages participation by caregivers in the lessons and makes time to discuss any concerns or questions that we may have. To say we have been overjoyed by our son's progress in such a short amount of time is an understatement. Because he can express himself, he's less frustrated and more confident in social settings and around other children and adults. Rachel has such a warm and encouraging manner in working with our son, and he absolutely loves going to his...

We began using the speech space services last year My then three Year old was nonverbal. She said no and maybe another word. Just a bit of background for parents that are looking for a speech therapist and was in our situation; she is not autistic, has no other delays at all. A perfectly regular playful smart 3 year old who just did not speak at all- she was great at non verbal communication-&understood mostly what was said to her. During her first year of preschool she started therapy with Rachel who has been God Sent to our family. After each session we receive a paper of what they’ve worked on and how we can practice at home. Exactly a year later our 4 year old is speaking as I would expect her to! She is basically where she needs to be. Her communication is great! Completely different child. We her parents, as well as strangers can easily understand her. She can count to 20- knows her colors- animals and other information you would expect a four year old to be able to communicate. She is doing spectacular. Rachel and her have accomplished so much. If you are at all a bit hesitant about the speech space please move forward. I promise you will not be disappointed. I have tears in my eyes as I write this now, there is not a word for how grateful I am to Rachel and their services at The...

If you were to cross Mother Teresa, Mr. Miyagi, your favorite teacher and your child's best friend you would end up with Megan. I've never met someone so adept at moving at the speed of my sonic-the-hedgehog like toddler -- while actively and strategically working with him on his speech. My son looks forward to Megan's visits (every morning he asks if she is coming to play) and refers to her as one of his best friends. Okay, he can't quite say "friend" clearly yet, but I have every confidence that with Megan's help he soon will. It's so refreshing to know that our son looks forward to his therapy playtime, as much as we look forward to seeing his improvements.

It was Megan who adeptly and accurately diagnosed our son's oral motor planning issues (Childhood Apraxia of Speech). Thus, our son will need continued SLP services for quite some time. It's our hope that Megan will be with us for the foreseeable future as she continues to be an endless resource to us: friendly, responsive and always there to answer any question or concern we have as parents.

She has an expert's mind and a child's heart. I simply cannot think of a better person to be working with our son (or advocating with our...