It took almost a year to convince myself to attend a Toastmasters meeting. I wanted to get over my…read morefear of public speaking and gain confidence when speaking in front of people. In July, I finally forced myself to attend a meeting and I am so glad I did! I've been attending Surf City Speak-n-Lead Toastmasters for about 6 weeks now and I've already learned quite a bit. This group's friendly, warm, and safe environment has helped me begin to build confidence in myself and my words without judgment, ridicule or criticism. The critiques are encouraging and is helping me develop into a stronger speaker. As a writer, words come easily, but voicing them out loud always has been an issue. I struggle especially with impromptu speaking and this group helps in not only prepared speeches but also improv speaking skills. The members go out of their way to make you feel genuinely welcome as well as help you with any questions and advice. Meetings are very well organized and the food is surprisingly good (I'm not typically a fan of restaurants like IHOP). I actually look forward to Wednesday nights every week and am excited to continue to learn and grow my skills with the help of this club.

Pretty fun group of people. Meeting every Wednesday makes it easy to get the most of what I was…read morelooking for in a toastmaster club. 5 stars because of the location is easy to get to and park, food available, and long term members who are always there to help. I encourage anyone who is looking for a well organized club to visit and give #6570 a try! :)

As a parent who entrusted ModernBrain with my daughter's education and development for more than…read morethree years, I can unequivocally say this organization has been one of the most transformative influences on her academic and personal journey. My daughter competed on ModernBrain's National Mock Trial Team for over three years, achieving an international ranking, earning numerous Top Attorney and Top Witness awards, and helping lead her team to multiple first-place victories. What makes her journey particularly remarkable is that my daughter has multiple learning disabilities, including apraxia of speech, a neurological condition affecting speech production. For someone navigating these challenges, becoming an accomplished public speaker and competitive trial advocate was no small feat. Through ModernBrain's exceptional instruction, comprehensive and constructive feedback, rigorous training, and mentorship, my daughter strengthened her communication skills, developed confidence, refined her abilities, and, most importantly, found her voice. ModernBrain did far more than teach her how to deliver an argument or compete in a courtroom. Its instructors provided the individualized guidance, high expectations, and opportunities that allowed her to recognize her potential and continually elevate her performance. And the results speak for themselves. Beyond her mock trial achievements, my daughter delivered a TEDx Talk, became a proficient public speaker, and led civic dialogues with audiences nationwide. She became so passionate about and skilled in mock trial that she founded her own collegiate mock trial team, creating opportunities for other students to develop those same abilities. That is the true measure of an exceptional educational institution: not simply producing successful students, but developing leaders who inspire, educate, and empower others. Competitive mock trial demands discipline, accountability, preparation, resilience, teamwork, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. ModernBrain's instructors challenge students to meet those expectations while providing the knowledge, structure, and support necessary to succeed. My daughter's accomplishments are her own, and I am immensely proud of her dedication and perseverance. But I also recognize that her journey would not have been possible in the same way without the extraordinary educational foundation ModernBrain provided. After more than three years of firsthand experience, I wholeheartedly recommend ModernBrain to families seeking academic excellence, individualized instruction, intellectual development, and meaningful opportunities for their children. ModernBrain did not simply help my daughter become a champion in mock trial. It helped a young woman facing significant communication challenges discover the power of her own voice--and develop the confidence and skills to use that voice to inspire others. As a mother, few things are more meaningful than watching your child discover that her challenges do not define her potential. For ModernBrain's role in that journey, I will always be profoundly grateful. Five stars, without hesitation!

Specifically reviewing the ModernBrain mock trial competition team, which is, by far, the best in…read morethe country. Incredibly passionate coaches and amazing win streak (2026 world championship!), but better than that, super strong team culture. Students learn from each other how to be better advocates, more ethical community members, strong competitors, great critical thinkers, good friends. And still supportive of the team members if they leave for their school teams or graduate. Can't say enough good things about this terrific team!

Very professional and had a lot of great input and exercises for not only voice coaching but public…read morespeaking that I couldn't find elsewhere. I highly recommend Patricia as a voice coach!

From the owner: I speak for meetings, retreats, corporate events, and companies, groups, and organizations of all…read morekinds. Well-versed in arts and entertainment and with background in business and education, I am a versatile interview guest and inspirational presenter. Please note: I DO NOT coach individuals. I am an inspirational / educational speaker. Main topics: 'Get on with it! - The just "do it" mindset' and 'Living the Creative Life - Finding and carving your path through the obstacles, ups and downs, detours, segues, and alternate routes'. I am a voice actor (currently audio description for Fox Sports), SAG-AFTRA member, and Emmy Award-winning writer providing voice and on-camera services for podcasts, films, TV, and more. Please note that I do not coach individuals.

Very good place.. it's my kids second year and we love it .. my other son joined this yearread more

As soon as my son first participated in his school's debate program, he finally found his life's…read morepassion. Unfortunately, when he switched to a school without a debate program, he no longer had access to it. New England Academy came to the rescue. My son found it incredibly instructional and supportive. Not only did he improve his speech and debate skills, but he was able to take on leadership opportunities. His critical thinking skills have also improved and have been inherently applied to his school work. Mr. Hughes and Mr. Hobbs are more than teachers. Their individualized instruction and ability to connect with children makes the program resemble a family activity rather than simply an academic program. They have created a safe environment where making mistakes is constructive and team work is emphasized. My high school son is now an OCDL middle school assistant coach, judge, trusted mentor and friend - which are additional life skills he picked up from Mr. Hughes and Mr. Hobbs.

We've been coming to OC Speech Services for over a year now, and I'm so thankful we found them. My…read moreson receives both OT and speech therapy here, and it's been amazing to see how much he's grown since starting. We've had the opportunity to work with several wonderful therapists, and we're grateful for all of them. I'd also like to mention his speech therapists, Ms. Dana and Ms. Jena, and Mr. Joseph (OT therapist) to who have been such an important part of his progress. They've taken the time to get to know my son, incorporate his interests into each session, and keep him engaged and motivated to learn. They also do a great job keeping us involved by sharing his progress after each session and giving us ideas for what we can continue working on at home. Watching my son grow in his communication skills has been incredibly rewarding. We know that progress didn't happen overnight, and we're so grateful for the patience, encouragement, and dedication his therapists have shown him. We're so thankful we found OC Speech Services and couldn't ask for a better team to be part of my son's journey.

Arianna has been an amazing speech therapist for our daughter, Lucille. Over the past two years,…read moreLucille has gone from using very few understandable words and struggling to produce many speech sounds correctly to speaking in full sentences, asking and answering questions, following conversations, and expressing her needs much more clearly. Her speech intelligibility has improved tremendously, and her confidence has grown along with it. Arianna is patient, knowledgeable, and consistently made therapy engaging while giving us practical activities to reinforce skills at home. Her dedication and genuine care played a huge role in Lucille's progress. We are incredibly grateful for everything she has done and highly recommend her.

Our daughter just graduated/completed her speech here in just about over a year or so. Weekly on…read moreSaturdays for the most part, only switching to a weekday for the last few months at the end of summer. Her speech is beyond what it was when we brought her in, and now, she can identify and self-correct herself. She's amazed at how she spoke and sounded when watching old videos of herself. The staff has always been caring and professional. Sure, there were scheduling conflicts, both planned and unplanned, on their end as well as ours. All of it handled well in light of ever-changing situations. They've been responsive to our inquiries, and kept us in the loop about our daughter's progress. We are thrilled we found Speech Point, and even more so that they were able to help our daughter correct her speech!

After going to 3 other speech clinics that wasn't helping my daughter, I took her here and got the…read morecorrect, precise assessment done. For the past 10 months we've worked with Andrea and Kelsey. My daughter says words with sounds she wasn't able to do before. She also has so much fun. The sessions are engaging and the toys are always different so it motivates her to target goals. From what I've seen, all the therapist are super positive and ready to jump in and WORK HARD. The SLP's use every moment as an opportunity to help target my daughter's speech goals. At first I didn't think 30 minutes would be enough time. Nope, I was wrong. Without Andrea and Kelsey's expertise, my daughter wouldn't be saying the words she says now. I've been with other clinics with my other children too. Speech Point really is a top notch clinic. I have to add: The owner is really nice and easy to talk to. She's busy doing assessments all the time but she'll make time to chat when requested. Just ask. Courtney and Temika are on top of the scheduling and behind the scenes tasks. They always respond via text, email or by phone. There's some scheduling issues at the moment due to short staffing but management has been giving updates and the owner is stepping in to help. I can't thank the team enough for helping my daughter so much this past year.

Made huge improvements in only 2 days! Mr. Powers is very kind and easy to work with. I recommend…read morethis program to anyone who suffers from stuttering!

I don't even know if this guy is still in business, but this is long overdue. I worked with Mark…read morePowers several years ago and what a waste of time and money. I had to take time off work to see him and when we did the speech excerises he put me on this machine and made me read out loud while he sat on his computer online shopping. I would not recommend and I still stutter even trying his "techniques". I swear you can find all the material he gives you on google. It's a joke

Dr. Ansari is both brilliant and and intuitive. Her team is spectacular (we are BEYOND impressed…read morewith therapist, Christina!). My daughter is actually EAGER to attend her educational therapy sessions to learn how to work with her learning disabilities. The extremely thorough testing is extremely multi-layered & comprehensive - and they are compassionate and willing to help find a way to make the pricing and payments work. Once the results are in, they are MORE than equipped to help their clients over come their issues. BEYOND impressed!

Very nice people to work with and excellent advice. Both my boys were having problems with…read morestandardized testing and I found out much more to help them academically from having them tested. One of my sons was very depressed and felt safe in their care to express how badly he was feeling. It sounds dramatic but this office saved his life. Looking back as a parent, sending my boys to this office was one of the best things I ever did.

Finding Jessica Owens at Seaside Speech Therapy was such a relief. She truly helped me understand…read morewhat speech therapy involves and made me feel comfortable with the process for my daughter. Jessica worked with our schedules and was understanding and supportive of my coparenting situation. Her patience, flexibility, and compassion meant so much to me. I'm grateful to have found someone who made us feel supported, and I highly recommend her to families looking for a caring speech therapist.

Jessica was absolutely wonderful with our daughter! She was 6 years old at the time and needed help…read morewith articulation and phonology, and couldn't pronounce her "R" sounds. Jessica made speech therapy fun and comfortable, and our daughter absolutely loved working with her. She helped her correct her "R" sounds in less than a year, and we couldn't be happier with the results. We're so grateful for Jessica's patience, kindness, and expertise. Highly recommend her to any family looking for a speech therapist.

So after a great cup of coffee and a pleasant hike along the back bay of Newport we found this…read morelittle gem with the cutest trails and nature center with waterfalls, native plants for sale and a total escape from the city. If your looking for a tranquil spot to refresh or just a quiet place to walk or maybe a place to bring younger ones to experience what orange county was like...then make this your next adventure.

We went this weekend and it was what the kids are calling very mid. We were under the impression…read morethe butterfly garden would be a more prominent thing and it kinda fell flat. The staff was non-existent to ask for help and the gift shop was closed. We made the best of it. If you're looking for somewhere to wander on a warm day, I'd suggest here.