Berkeley Parents Network: Speech Delays & Speech Therapists

Berkeley Parents Network

Speech Delays & Speech Therapists

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Therapists, Counseling , & Support Groups > Speech Delays & Speech Therapists

Toddlers' Speech & Talking
- late talkers ... delayed speech ... assessment

Preschoolers' Speech & Talking
- delayed speech ... preschools for speech delays ... baby talk ... speech assessment ...

Older Kids & Adults

Speech therapist for 7-year-old
Speech Therapist for Auditory Processing
Speech Therapist for pre-teen
Speech therapist for 7-year-old's lisp
Speech therapist for 6-year-old
Speech therapist for diagnosis/evaluation
Speech therapist for teen
Speech therapist for stuttering 9-year-old
Speech therapist for 6-year-old
Accent correction and lisp in adult
Fast Forward Speech Therapy Program

Related Pages

Speech therapist for 7-year-old

May 2008

My son has some speech issues - pronouncing R's and L's and some other things. He has been in therapy in school this past year, but I do not think it is wise to leave him fallow for the summer. Can someone recommend a therapist for summer visits? North Berkeley/El Cerrito location ideal, but not necessary. Thank you.

Meredith Trowbridge or Angela Korpela at Herrick Pediatric Speech (Associated with Alta Bates), located on Dwight Way. They are both fantastic. My 7 year old completed a successful course of articulatory therapy for a difficult issue with Meredith in only 4.5 months, mostly over the summer in fact (better time to concentrate, less distraction from school). The phone # of their scheduler is 204-6729. (One tip: work hard on the daily homework drills, that's where most of the progress takes place.) Been there.

Speech Therapist for Auditory Processing

Feb 2008

Hi, After the exam by an audiologist she recommended a few speech pathologists for an evaluation. I do not see any reviews so if anyone has experience with the ones listed below I would appreciate the feedback. Speech Pathology Group WC, Jakubowitz Associates San Ramon , Joan Chomak Orinda , Mary McPherson Orinda , Thank you in advance

I would go with Walnut Creek Speech Pathology Group. They are very experienced therapists and work very well with kids. I would not recommend Jakubowitz. They have a few good therapists but they have a high turn over rate and are not consistent. I am not familiar with the other therapists you listed. Good luck. anonymous

Speech Therapist for pre-teen

May 2007

Our daughter had been receiving speech therapy thru OUSD, but due to budget constraints, they have ''cut her loose'' (her speech issues were not 'affecting her ability to learn', so they felt she did not qualify for their limited resources). Yes, I can challenge this thru the District, but I wanted to also pursue other options.

Do any of you have reommendations/suggestions for speech therapists who work successfully with classic lisping, among other, related speech issues? My child dreams of being on stage, and while she is not inhibited by her speech issues, she really does need help w/ her enunciation. I would certainly foresee this being a much bigger issue as she hits her teen years, so I'd like to be proactive NOW. Thanks! Concerned Mom of lisp-er

Have you looked into Cal State University East Bay Speech Langauge and Hearing Clinic. Your daughter sounds motivated and that is a key factor in what they look for in new clients. A plus is that it is much more affordable then traditional speech therapy, but you should consider that you are working with students (grad and undergrad). Good luck! anon

I really liked Hilary Kissack. She does individual speech therapy and does groups as well for some kid's needs. You can email me for particulars if you'd like. Her phone number is 925-324-0158. Her email is hilary[at]cwtherapy.com and her website is cwtherapy.com.

Speech therapist for 7-year-old's lisp

Feb 2007

Our 7 year old son needs some speech therapy for a lateral lisp due to a short frenulum at birth. He has some anxieties about the therapy (''What if I won't like the way I sound when it's done?''). Since the success of the speech therapy depends greatly on his cooperation and motivation, we sense that the personality of the therapist will matter a great deal. We're looking for someone he would click with - he's an extremely bright and creative/imaginative boy who would need someone who would make the therapy games interesting on an intellectual level and engagingly imaginative. He would also respond well to someone with a very cheerful demeanor and a lot of patience. If you have experience with any of the following, could you comment: Katie Pengilly (and any other therapists at Speech Inc.), Amy Faultz, Patricia Dodd, Nicole Karvalo (at Faultz Associates), Herrick Speech, Children's Hospital speech therapy on Clarement Ave, Word Works, Communication Associates (Alameda), Susan Diamond (Alameda). Thanks for any help.

To the parent looking for speech therapy, I would absolutely stay away from all practitioners at Faultz Associates. We took our son there for a short time and were horrified at how he was treated. One example- he was chastised for not having his homework done and he was only four years of age. Additionally, the therapist would meet with my son for about 12 minutes of the 30 minutes. She spent the rest of the time letting him play or bringing him into the waiting room 7 minutes early. For $50. per/ 30 minutes I expected a lot more. Anon

I missed the original post but I had to write after reading a review of Faltz & Associates. My son (then age 5) saw Amy Faltz for several months because he was repeating many syllables & words. Amy is extremely professional and engaged and I believe that she truly cares about my kid. My son loved spending time with Amy; he knew she was really listening to him and present for him. I am so grateful for her efforts to help my family-- she observed my son & talked to him about his ''bumpy words'' and she helped my husband and me support him at home. In fact, just today, a few months after my last visit, I got an e-mail inquiry from Amy asking how my son was doing. Amy Faltz is a gem. I recommend her wholeheartedly!!! Anon for the sake of my son

Speech therapist for 6-year-old

Dec 2006

Looking for a speech therapist for our six year old daughter to help her learn ''l's, r's, and assorted other sounds. We have Blue Cross thru UC, but will pay out of pocket if we have to. Looking for someone who connects well with children (our daughter is not excited about getting help with this issue), so a wonderful speech therapist in Oakland is what we are looking for kelly

You are entitled to speech therapy through your school district. Though I don't have experience with OUSD speech therapists I have had good experiences with both WCCUSD and BUSD. Speech therapy is offered from early education through 12th grade. You can receive these services by first testing and then getting an IEP (individualized education plan) for you child.

We had a wonderful experience with Sarah Thompson at WordWorks in Oakland--at 318 27th Street (corner of Broadway, where the VW dealership is). Tamara Mueller is also excellent. Tel: 433-0123. Good luck! anon

Try Faltz Associates. Amy Faltz is the owner. She specializes in Pediatric Speech Therapy. I don't have her number but she is probably in the phone book. I believe her office is on Piedmont Ave. Is your daughter's school addressing her speech issues? If they brought this to your attention, they should have a speech therapist assess her. good luck Anonymous

Kelly, I am usually too jammed to respond to most of these inquiries unless I am passionate about a recommendation and one that is soooo important! It is an emotional process to handle a child who is falling behind in their communication...for both the kid and parents. I got teary thinking about my son falling behind. But, lo and behold, I was given the recommendation for Speech Inc, from my neighbor at the time, who is a very respected Pre School teacher at Lakeshore Pre School. She told me of the near miracles they'd made with kids she'd referred. Because I had such a trusted source I felt great relief knowing that this part of the process was secure: I had found a great partnership with the therapists at Speech Inc. Apparently they are so good that people from the east bay had been driving to SF (typically twice a week!!) for their help. Last year they decided to help their clientelle out this way by opening up an office on Grand Avenue! They have done marvels with our son who adores them and runs into the office to begin their play! Wishing you well, comfort and the relief of progression! Their number in SF is 415-563-6541 geri

Speech therapist for diagnosis/evaluation

April 2004

Looking for speech therapist who can also do diagnosis/evaluation. I've checked the archives, but there's not much there. Thanks!

I took my 5 year old son to Robin Sperry in Oakland. She did a initial evaluation and discussed further tretment options. He is not currently seeing her as a patient. We were able to go through the school district which is a lot cheaper. I liked that she suggested that over having to pay her a lot of $$$$. I believe she is on Broadway. There is also a facility in Hayward through the college that sounded interesting. klyn

the Alameda County has many options: here are a few-
- Children's Hospital in Oakland
- Faltz Associates on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland
- Alta Bates Medical Center, Herrick Campus on Dwight in Berkeley

If the child is age three or above, evaluations can also be done through the local school system. Call the office of special services/special education and request an appointment for an evaluation.

If the child is below age three, ask your pediatrician for a referral (perhaps to one of the centers listed above). If your concerns are speech/lang. related and another concern (example, movement, social skills, eating) you may want to look into Early Start or Regional Center of the East Bay. Discuss these with your child's doctor.

Speech therapist for teen

March 2004

Hello all -- this is a follow-up request for a recommendation for a speech therapist who works well with teens. I may have missed it, but I don't think I saw any referrals for a speech, voice, or diction coach -- or even some advice about where to look for such a person -- who has success helping teens with a speech articulation disorder. We are past the games and sticker rewards that are used with younger children. Thanks for the help!

for the person looking for teen speech (voice) therapist. My daughter (16) has been seeing Dr. Rhoda Agin on Solano Ave. in Albany. Dr. Agin does not work on pragmatic speech, but on voice, articulation, prosody, etc. She deals nicely with teens. She meets with my daughter once a week and gives her daily exercises to do at home. My daughter progressed very nicely. Dr. Agin's numcer is 510-549-1359. She'll be away in April. Varda

Speech therapist for stuttering 9-year-old

Jan. 2004

I'd love to hear updated recommendations for speech therapists specializing in dysfluency (stuttering). The website listings are a little old and tend to pertain to younger children -- I'm looking on behalf of a nine-year-old.

We had a visit with Kris Baines in Walnut Creek and liked her very much, but couldn't mesh our schedules (we're on her wait-list, though). We're looking for someone who is pragmatically oriented, as she seems to be.

Mary Gage Herman's name keeps coming up -- do people still like her, and/or is it impossible to get on her schedule? Does she work outside the Children's Hospital environment (private practice)? I think that our health insurance won't work with Children's.

Also, several years back I heard that the then-departing speech therapist at Easter Seals in Oakland was really great -- any leads on that person, or the current speech therapist at Easter Seals? We were pleased with the OT we got there at that time.

Finally, any more thoughts/recommendations for the Scottish Rite program that is mentioned on the website? Thanks in advance --

We worked with Kris Baines for a year or so when my son was younger, then with Sara Thompson at Faltz Associates. Both were excellent. There is also a fabulous private practitioner, Martha Wagele. My son's concerns were not with stuttering but rather with pragmatic language and general delays, but I would go to Martha again in a New York minute. Good luck. Nancy

Speech therapist for 6-year-old

Nov. 2003

I'm looking for a speech therapist near Kensington for my 6 y.o. He's been stuck on the ''r'' for several years now, and it's time to get him some help. The website lists Oakland area folks - anyone nearer? We'll probably have to self-pay, so affordable would help too. Thanks Valerie

Try Faltz and Associates for speech therapy. They have an office on Solano, I believe. The number here is for their main office in Oakland. 510-654-3381 S A

Louise Fender, who comes to your home, is FABULOUS! her # is 655-2175. She has a different activity suited to your child's interests for every week, and has helped my 6-year-old son make great progress with his r's.

Accent correction and lisp in adult

April 2003

Looking for a speech therapist to deal with a lisp and foreign accent reduction in an adult. Thanks Lisa

I am an active member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, not a ''speech therapist,'' but I have specialized in accent reduction for many years, as do many voice teachers. Also, true that a ''lisp'' is most often the territory of a ''therapist,'' but in the context of working with the voice in general I have incidentally had good luck in correcting a lisp. Let me know if you'd like to brainstorm a bit about how you might proceed. The Voice and Speech Trainers Association is at http://www.vasta.org/ and my website is at www.interarts-training.org. Good luck.

Fast Forward Speech Therapy Program

April 2003

Has anyone enrolled their child in the Fast Forward program? Was it worth the cost? Did your child improve their reading skills? Thanks. A.M.

Years ago I considered Fast Forward for my child who has auditory processing/expressive language problems. The reason I did not pursue this program was that there was very little specific data to show how effective the program was for remediating specific language issues. In contrast, the Linda- Mood Bell programs give a lot of data supporting the effectiveness of their (expensive) programs. Another factor that we considered was how well our child could sit at the computer each day. The years when we considered the program were when my child was young: preschool and beginning elementary, when the necessary 90 minutes per day seemed too long for his attention span. Good luck. Kathy

Nov 1999

For speech therapy the Scottish Rite Speech and Language Clinic offers testing and speech and language therapy, including language-related reading problems. They are funded by the Masons and all services are free. Call them at 839-1513 (510) The Director's name is Jane Gould-Caulfield.

Nov 1999

Kaiser Oakland referred us to Faltz Associates on Piedmont Avenue for our then 4 year old son who needed work on his articulation. They did not have speech therapists on staff for his level of problems (or possibly any at all-sorry I don't remember.) At Faltz Associates we dealt with Martha Wagele whom we all really liked. My son was sorry to 'graduate' this summer. Dealing with the speech problem has done wonders for his self esteem and was well worth it. Faltz 510-654-3381

April 1999

Faltz Associates on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland, specifically Martha Wagele. My developmentally disabled daughter sees her twice a week and Martha is excellent. She is a private speech therapist.

If you want the school district to pay for it, you will need to contact the school district so your daughter can be evaluated. If the evaluation determines she should receive speech therapy, you will have an IEP meeting (Individual Education Plan) with Oakland to setup services. The speech would be provided by a speech therapist contracted by the school district. I hope this helps. Susan

April 1999

Our daughter needed speech therapy, she was 4 at the time, and she had terrific results with Louise Fender. Louise works out of Le Conte school in Berkeley, but also sees kids privately who are out of district (our case). She is absolutely wonderful with little ones, our daughter loves her and has responded wonderfully with her. Stephanie

April 1999

My daughter (now 6) was part of the early intervention speech therapy program at SFUSD when she was 4 & 5. I don't know if Oakland Public Schools has one but you should definately check into it. She saw 2 different speech therapists, the first was not a good match for her, wanting her to sit still for long periods, not playful enough, she began to dread going. I then went to the head of speech therapy for the entire district and asked for a different referral and she saw a fantastic pre-school speech therapist Jane Johnson, I cannot say enough about Jane, my daughter was always excited to go to see her, they did small art projects, played games, read books, etc. Be sure to find someone good to work with your child and be your child's advocate throughout the process. The testing was relatively simple word questions and matching geared for the specific age level.

April 1999

Gage Herman is a genius, a wonderful person, and extremely supportive to me when I brought my daughter in for speech therapy. I cannot say enough about her. Kathy

April 1998

We used Gage Herman at Children's Hospital. I highly recommend her. Jean

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