At 16 months old, our son, Steve, was diagnosed with Speech Delay, Significant Developmental Delay and we were told he had Sensory Integration issues. He was not talking at all… an occasional ‘ooooo’ or ‘ahhhh’. Along with not talking, Steve had major oral issues related to eating. We had to puree his food until 24 months because of his texture issues. We were completely terrified and did not know where to begin. Along with Occupational Therapy, Steve began Speech Therapy with Alissa M. Grace at 17 months old. She was an answer to our prayers. Alissa came to our house twice a week and worked with Steve where he was most comfortable. She is warm and loving and is INCREDIBLE with children. Therapy was always fun! Steve looked very forward to working with Alissa…because in his eyes, they were not working, they were ‘playing’. It was such a relief to me to see Steve enjoying himself while working on something that did not come to him easily. Alissa has so much experience working with special needs children that she was able to use a variety of strategies to meet Steve’s needs. Certainly in a special needs situation, the same strategy does not work for every child. She was able to connect with Steve in a remarkable way. I’m crying as I’m typing, because there’s not enough space on the internet for me to express my thanks to Alissa for the work she did with Steve.

They worked together for nearly 2 years and to this day (Steve’s 4 now), he still misses Alissa… and so do weJ. We highly recommend Alissa.

Once again, Alissa, we thank you for all of your hard work with Steve and the support you gave us as nervous parents. The strategies and tips you gave us to work with Steve will never be forgotten. Steve’s speech continues to improve significantly and it’s hard for those that hear Steve speak to believe he was a late talker.

Sincerely,
AEM
Atlanta, Georgia

We have worked with Lisa for two years. She demonstrates a high level of
personal commitment in her work with our son. She is always bringing fresh
ideas and materials to approach goals and keep sessions motivating. Lisa
also makes a significant effort to keep us abreast of our son's progress. We
have worked with countless therapists but continue to be impressed with
Lisa's professionalism, commitment, and compassion. Our son loves working
with her.

There are good therapists and then there are gifted therapists....Alissa is truly a gifted therapist. As a service coordinator for Babies Can't Wait, I have had the pleasure of working with Alissa for the last five years. Alissa is playful, patient and the children adore her! The children make significant progress because she is an exceptionally skilled therapist. I wish I had known Alissa when my children needed speech therapy....she is the best!

D.A., Gwinnett

Lisa Czech has been my son's speech therapist for approximately 15 months and, in the time that she has worked with Justin, his vocabulary and ability to express himself confidently has improved dramatically. I would estimate that his vocabulary has gone from about 40 words to, at least 300, currently. Justin now speaks regularly in 5+ word sentences and can ask and answer questions appropriately.

Her ability to use materials to present information in a variety of ways has been a major factor in the improvement of Justin's expressive and receptive abilities. For example, I'd purchased a toy to help Justin with making full sentences (articles and prepositions included), but upon closer examination, it appeared that the toy may be too advanced for him. I mentioned this to Lisa and gave her the toy at her request. She was able to modify the way the toy was used and incorporate it into a few of their sessions. Justin was able to learn what was intended from the toy and he had a great time with it.

In addition, Lisa formed short-term, achievable objectives while also creating long-term, "big picture" goals for him. She did considerably more than what was required by informing his daycare providers of those goals and essentially "coaching" them on techniques to ensure small successes for Justin, thereby, making real progress possible. Lisa also monitors his development at school and readily makes her professional experience and knowledge of Justin available to his daycare providers.

This facilitation is an essential part of Justin's success because we are all then working as a team to help him achieve the goals that she has outlined. Lisa has participated in Justin's Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings, interacted with the speech therapists at his school and provided her insights into methods have been working for him. She provides us weekly updates on his sessions and hints and practical ways that we can improve his expressive skills at home. Lisa is an extraordinary therapist and has been an integral part of the success that Justin has enjoyed so far.

At 2 years of age my twins boys were still not talking. My wife and I enlisted the help of the Babies Can't Wait Program and they sent Alissa to our rescue. After a few sessions, she diagnosed them with apraxia. She has been working extremely hard with them ever since then and much progress has been made. They now talk and communicate with little difficulty. There was a long period of time when I wondered if they would ever talk or at least call me daddy. Now, we are in a position to have them on par with all their peers by the start of kindergarden. I cannot thank Alissa enough, I will be forever grateful.

SE - Norcross

Lisa started working with my son in February, at that time he was 20 months. My son was not saying words that had two syllables for example mommy or the ending constanant of a word. As a mother that hurts. After different mouth and tongue exercises, within 5 months he was saying Mommy and other 2-3 syllable words, expressing the ending letter and answering me when a question was asked. He was like a different child. Now at 32 months, he asks questions, talks in full sentences and is a very happy child. I don't know Lisa's technique but it definitely works. I am so thankful for having Lisa in our lives, she is wonderful.