A CONFIDENCE BOOSTER:
The loving staff demonstrated by the professional staff at Word of Mouth made me comfortable that my middle-school daughter's emotional and academic needs would be met. Furthermore, it made my daughter's experience not only comfortable, but helpful. Her confidence rose in a couple of short sessions and so did her grades. Thanks to all her testers and tutors at Word of Mouth.
- Parent of a USN student
TELEHEALTH
Our speech pathologist has been so great and easy to work with, especially during such and uncertain time. My child has begun teletherapy with her while at home from school, and it has been a very smooth process for us. He always looks forward to it. It is always very age and developmentally appropriate and fun for him. Thank you for finding a way to continue to offer these necessary services.
-Parent of a Walnut Grove Elementary student
ACADEMIC SUPPORT:
Word of Mouth has provided our daughter with a support system to help her turn her academic struggles into positive learning experiences. As a parent, I can say that my daughter's therapist is her biggest cheerleader. Word of Mouth assists me as a parent by providing many creative ways to incorporate speech therapy techniques into home life. I am always amazed by the creativity and amount of preparation that goes into each therapy session.
- Parent of a Harpeth Hall student
TELETHERAPY GREAT PROGRESS :
All three of my children (ages 8, 6, and 5) have been doing speech teletherapy with Miss Elizabeth. It is amazing to me that Miss Elizabeth is able to keep each child focused for a 30-minute session. Each child has made great progress while doing teletherapy. In fact, the youngest child has graduated from therapy! I am absolutely thrilled to be able to continue speech during this time.
-Parent of Lipscomb Elementary student
SELECTIVE MUTISM:
At 3.5 years old, our son went an entire month not speaking to us. He communicated only with gestures and signs. He had gone from typical communication to nothing, just like that.
He had always been a shy child and did not speak to strangers, but standing in the middle of Disney World with my son screaming when I tried to put him on the carousel, and no words to communicate what was wrong, I knew in my heart that something just wasn't right. I have been a special education teacher for 15+ years and have lots of experience with children with communication difficulties, but this was so different from anything I had ever experienced.
The pediatrician said "selective mutism," and my research began. At fi
rst, I really focused on the mutism, and not so much on the anxiety. Over the next year, I would come to understand that the anxiety was the much bigger piece of the puzzle. We learned that much of the challenging behaviors that we were dealing with (tantrums, aggression, anger) were all a direct result of the anxiety and our little boy trying to find control of his little world.
I was skeptical that would occur with my son, but I was wrong. We started therapy with Kristin five months ago, and the progress that we have seen since then is quite amazing, Kristin uses exposure therapy that is so appropriate for children with SM. She started in the clinic getting him to talk to her, and then we gradually introduced other people and settings.
He didn't speak to his swim teacher for three years. Kristen came to one session and his swim teacher actually had to ask him to be quiet so that he could hear the instructions at his last lesson! He also started speaking at school after his teacher came to a therapy session. I am so thankful that we found Kristin. Not only she our son's speech therapist, but she is also his cheerleader. She is just as happy when he makes progress as we are. I know that we are still at the beginning of this road, but I know that we have the right support, resources, and people in place now to help him grow up to be healthy, happy, and to
meet his potential!
-Parent of a Mill Creek student
MORE CONFIDENCE:
When we began my son's therapy six short months ago, he was difficult to understand and his testing indicated that his articulation accuracy was only in the 4th percentile. After working with Lynne and another therapist, my son gained confidence and mastery over the sounds and words that were difficult for him. Best of all, he has loved every minute of working with them... I had a five-minute phone conversation yesterday with my 5-year-old son, and I understood everything he said. Thank you!
- Parent of a pre-K student at Woodmont Christian Preschool
A STRONG-WILLED CHILD:
My daughter is a strong-willed, but also sensitive child. She's not used to being away from us, and we were concerned that she may not succeed in speech therapy sessions given that she has separation anxiety and a strong personality. Since being paired with her SLP, we have been absolutely blown away by her progress. She adores her time with her SLP and her speech is flourishing. We have been so pleased with out experience at Word of Mouth and are so grateful to have them as a partner in our sweet girl's growth and development.
-Parent of a Franklin Road Academy student
FINALLY, SOME EYE CONTACT AND CONVERSATION:
She is participating in class and in group. She has asked for help and is raising her hand. She is in hip hop class now and they have to do weekly dance solos. She's doing them without issue. If she's not comfortable speaking, she is at least making some eye contact and smiling at the person which is pretty huge. We've talked a lot about how people feel if you ignore and don't make eye contact, so if a stranger greets her in some way, she's smiling at them and will answer basic questions. This past week, we went to see her old swim coach. She was nervous but made eye contact, smiled and answered direct questions from her. I know that was extremely difficult!
- Parent of an Oak Hill student
TEACHER NOTES SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT:
The student in my class started the year off with very limited communication skills and no play skills in the classroom setting. He required a significant amount of prompting to complete any classroom task and would very seldom respond to teacher or peer questions. The student looked down a lot of the time or would cover his eyes. He lacked confidence in the classroom setting and was extremely hesitant to try unfamiliar tasks. On the playground, he would only go on the swing and would refuse to play in any other area or with any of his peers. His speech therapist would come once a week to work with him in the classroom and helped to encourage communication between his peer and teachers. The SLP was able to provide us with strategies we could use in the classroom and she came up with a reward chart to encourage his independence and to promote peer and teacher interactions. Shortly after he started working with the SLP in our classroom we began to notice small changes in the student. He required much less prompting and seemed much more confident and comfortable in the classroom environment.
After a few months of classroom-based therapy with the SLP, the student started making significant improvements. Now, at the end of the year, I see a student who is confident, kind, silly, smart, and who enjoys playing and communicating with both his peers and teachers. It has been amazing to watch all the growth and change that has happened in the course of the year.
-Teacher at Westminister School
