There's simply not enough wonderful things I can say about Danielle and her team at Hand Over Hand…read moreLearning. The below are just three of many areas in which this group shines so brightly. Excellence in Academic Teaching: Over the past six months, I've witnessed Danielle use tailored, individualized teaching techniques to significantly improve my daughter's (3rd grade) academic performance. In our most recent parent-teacher conference, everyone from her homeroom teacher to the administrators enthusiastically reported that my daughter was exactly where they expect a mainstream student to be at this point in the school year. This is a SIGNIFICANT change from years past. Excellence in Executive Function and Non-Academic Teaching: Not only has Danielle unleashed my daughter's inner-scholar, but Danielle has also instilled a learning tool box of tips and tricks to keep my daughter organized, on task, and engaged throughout her day. Dependable Partnership: Danielle and her team thrive on collaboration. As a parent, I was never out of the loop. Danielle got in touch with school teachers, counselors, and we parents to get everyone on the same page, headed for success. Moreover, Danielle has never unexpectedly missed a session and is invariably a consummate professional whether the session is in our home or on Zoom. I highly recommend Hand Over Hand Learning!

I highly recommend Hand Over Hand for children in need of extra support. Danielle has been working…read morewith my daughter for several months now, and I can see a noticeable difference in her skills and confidence level in academic areas that have been really challenging for her. Danielle is extremely patient and kind, well-organized, and an excellent communicator. The services have been really helpful!

I'm posting an update to my initial review, since Linda has replied to it…read more 1. As I stated in my original review, Linda did honor our request that our son work with her. But it remains true that initially she had him working with different graduate students from week to week, and she did not discuss this with us first. We were charged the full amount as well. 2. I did ask for the worksheets to be sent to me, after discovering the website we'd been directed to wasn't working, but was told no by some of the therapists/students we'd worked with initially. Linda only stopped in briefly to check in during our sessions for the first month or so, and I barely had a chance to talk to her. Then when I did get to see Linda more and talked about the website not working, she told me to search for worksheets on Pinterest instead. I was very disappointed that this was her response. 3. If working on one sound at a time is standard, and having two sessions per week is also standard, I respect following that protocol. But neither Linda nor any of the therapists/students we worked with ever explained either of these issues to me as a treatment plan. In fact, we were told to expect the opposite, that his issues were minor and could be addressed with once weekly sessions in a limited time frame. In our last session, Linda expressed surprise at "discovering" another articulation issue. She said something like "Guess what we found," while as stated in my original review, this had already been identified in my son's initial evaluation. I've taken the time to compose these reviews only in hopes of sharing information with other parents seeking assistance for their children.

My daughter has been blessed to have been under the care of Linda and her staff for 8 months at the…read moretime of this review. At the time we started attending my daughter's ability to understand or communicate with us was extremely limited. Her own frustration was manifested in aggression and she went into her own world quite frequently. Due to the skill, compassion and diligence that Linda has brought to my daughter, she has become a completely different little girl. She is no longer frustrated to the point of aggression, she is frequently able to have long conversations with us about what she had done, her likes, and her dislikes. She is able to communicate her needs effectively to us and is present to us in the moment. Linda has just been such a gift in life for my daughter! 5 stars are way too little for this superstar speech pathologist.

From the minute I walked in, I knew this was the right place for my child. The atmosphere was…read morewelcoming, bright, creative and not cluttered. The staff are very caring and attentive. I admire the Reggio-Emilia approach as it gave my child the leg up into getting into a Gifted and Talented Program. I've never been to a school with a dedicated "Artist" on staff. If you're seeking a place where your kids are safe, well-looked after and and environment where they can be themselves and create and grow, this the place. The toys are specifically chosen for creative thinking. No TV! Love it.

This place is nothing short of amazing. My son goes to summer camp here and he loves it. The…read moreactivities, the trips, the reasonableness of the fees charged, which include free before and aftercare, are just a few reasons why you might choose this camp for your child. There is a very good mix of educational activities along with some good old-fashioned fun, and lots of time for the kids to jump and play and spend time outdoors. But the real difference is the people. Well trained, courteous, and most importantly really love and know how to handle children. They bring out the best in kids.

Debbie has been working with our son for about 4 months, since a little after he turned two, when…read morehe was saying only a handful of consonants and one vowel. He learns something new almost every session (he said a new word after just their first session, after not saying any new words for 6 months!), and now his speech is really taking off. Debbie is PROMPT-certified, and this type of therapy seems to be very efficient in treating our son's speech motor planning difficulties. During their sessions, she can now cue him to say complete words, component by component. I am blown away listening to it. She has built an amazing rapport with our son so that he somehow sits still, completely engaged, for half-hour long sessions, tries to make sounds on command, and has fun the whole time. She is so positive, and encourages him to try without ever making him feel pressured. She also quickly got to know him and what would hold his interest. We are constantly impressed with her skill, professionalism, patience, and resourcefulness, and highly recommend her to anyone looking for a speech therapist! I should also add that she has been very helpful providing me with all the necessary information to try and get speech therapy covered by insurance. And she is consistently on time or early to sessions. We feel so lucky to have found her, through the recommendation of the dentist that did our son's tongue tie surgery.

We highly recommend Debbie Shiwbalak for speech therapy. Debbie worked with our 2-year-old son (LP)…read moreon his speech delay, and she was amazing. LP's language comprehension was excellent, but he was saying very few words, but because he had no other delays, we didn't qualify for city-sponsored Early Intervention. We hired Debbie (reimbursed by our health insurance) and are glad we did. We loved the way Debbie immediately and directly engaged with LP, without any bureaucratic BS or adult-to-adult evaluations that might have made our kiddo uneasy. Instead, she went right to play time and language training, and LP, who can sometimes be reserved around new people, quickly and completely connected with her. Their playtime together was energetic, fun and most of all productive for his spoken language development. Debbie's manner of encouraging the flow of speech the course of natural interactions was very comforting. Her structured play time let LP have fun while it was also making it clear to him that he was there to learn. Her method of touching his face and mouth to encourage speech was gentle and natural, and LP clearly took to it. Meeting once or twice a week for about less than two months, Debbie taught us a lot about how to help LP talk more, and pretty soon he "graduated," as he's now repeating our words and excited to talk. All in all, we couldn't recommend Debbie more, so if your child is having any kind of speech issues, definitely contact Debbie.

Wow, if I had read that review I wouldn't have enrolled my daughter. Good thing I somehow missed…read moreit. My daughter started at POA at 3 months and I've had a terrific experience. The teachers are fabulous, very caring and loving. The Director is fantastic (two of her kids also go to POA at that location) and runs a well organized school. I was torn between doing the nanny thing or daycare and this school has set the bar very high. My little one eats better and naps better at school than at home. The experience has been wonderful. I have no complaints at all about this place. I'm sorry to see the negative review below. My daughter is thriving.. eating well and is an early walker, very social, very happy all the time. I know her experience at the school fueled all this. I am thankful and recommend POA to any parents. Please message me if you have any questions.

My son started here at 4 months and we have felt great about it! The staff is truly caring.. The…read moreteachers are high quality and when you walk in - the whole place feels welcoming. They helped get my little guy on a schedule, but always met his individual needs. True professionals. We are very happy here.

My son has been attending this daycare since he was 4months old and the past 3 months has been pure…read morebliss. No place is perfect beside in there parents care. But I have never once questioned his safety or if he's being treated well. Comfortable child care is hard to find and I'm happy I found this gem and the staff their. They are truly wonderful people.

This is not your average day care center. This is the start of your child's education. My older two…read morechildren went to Montessori which is a wonderful school and a child's experience is even better which i never thought was even a possibility!!! The owner has put an immense amount of her time (I'm sure along with her experience in the field) making this school incredible exceeding every expectation i had personally. Every aspect of your child's day has been taken into consideration to make sure that your child will be learning and not being just babysat while you're at work like some other day care centers. My daughter is excited for the first time ever to go to school. She sees the owner and runs up to her and hugs her and loves all the staff. This truly is more than just a day care this really is a school environment and has structure and an amazing curriculum not that has been set by a corporate office to be followed but by an owner who wants to set your child up to love learning and be excited to to go to school! It's amazing how noticeable it is all the hard work and time and thought that has been put into creating a successful school for both the child and the parent. I cant day enough good things about this facility. What a wonderful journey we have begun sailing thanks to the amazing staff and owner!!!! If you want more than a babysitter and want to set your child up to start his or her education on a high note so your child will be excited to go to school and learn this is the place to go!!!!! Plus they have an amazing food program and even an app where you get updates everyday of what your children are doing. (I'm telling you the owner has really put her time into finding the best resources and utilizing them) best child care I've experienced thus far in eleven years!!!

I was hesitant to write about my disturbing experience with this school, but the recent incident in…read morea Philadelphia Starbucks made it clear that this is a story worth telling. A few weeks ago my wife and I visited this school to see if it was a good fit for our child. We met with the school director in her office, which is just inside the main entrance and has a large window from which she can see the front door. During the one hour that we met with her ten or fifteen people came up to the entrance and rang the bell. Each time she glanced at the door and quickly buzzed them in. Although we didn't notice it yet, all of these people were white. Then a young African-American woman, maybe 25, rang the bell and the director stood up, apologized to us for interrupting the meeting, went to the front door and opened it just a crack, and said "Can I help you?" I was stunned. I turned to my wife and asked, "was that some racism?" My wife agreed. I would be inclined to give the director the benefit of the doubt--perhaps she knew all of the people she had buzzed in and simply didn't recognize the young black woman--but my wife and I had arrived separately and were each buzzed in immediately, and she had never met either of us. The character of an organization comes from the top, and this type of subtle racism and discrimination is not something we want our child exposed to.

My children have attended this school for five years, and it's be a great experience. My sons were…read morevery prepared for prek and developed a real love of learning and reading. (They also learned Mandarin!) It's a wonderful option for working parents, since it's open early and late and doesn't close as frequently as other day cares. But the best thing I can say is that the environment is warm, loving and safe. I left my children every day knowing they would have a wonderful time and be taught by teachers who were exceedingly caring. I couldn't ask for more. I have to address the negative review accusing the director of racism. The staff there is very diligent about not letting strangers in the building -- which I applaud as a parent! They absolutely stop people that they don't recognize, regardless of race (including my mother and mother-in-law when they came for pick up.) It's an extremely diverse staff and more diverse school than many in the neighborhood.

I didn't see that many reviews of City sounds when I was looking a few months ago, so wanted to add…read moreour experience. My 4 yo son attended daycare on the UWS and qualified for speech services. We worked with 3 city sounds speech therapists over the past 8 months. He had AMAZING improvement in the clarity of the speech and every single one of the therapists were so nice and fantastic! Main office for the most part was very responsive and helpful in communicating with us and keeping us informed.

I cannot say enough good things about City Sounds and all of the amazing therapists who work there…read more My son had the privilege of working with two of City Sounds therapists over the course of a year and a half. His significant processing and articulation delays not only disappeared, but he was able to move on to work that was ahead of his age-level. He is now thriving in a gifted and talented program! I recommend City Sounds to the highest degree. Good luck!