Everything worst !! The therapist was just on her phone "getting notes " wtff you mean you should be with the patient not in your phone ! Waste of money they charge us twice in 2 weeks, they never know what to do or who will attend for your questions, I do not recommend this place read more

We have been going for almost a year for Speech and Occupational therapy for my daughter. We absolutely love our speech therapist Kathleen, she is the best! We have done speech therapy at other places and I must say she is the best therapist, we love her she is always so passionate my daughter loves her therapies. read more

Kathleen is always so passionate and understanding with my children, she allows my daughter's older siblings to come back and watch her do her speech a few times when they were not in school. She has done an amazing job with my daughter's speech, I would recommend her to anyone who needs speech help with their children's speech. ~Bridget read more

I've seen a huge improvement in my son's speech since starting here in 2021. The therapists are patient, sweet and fun. My son has autism and wasn't talking at all but now says so many words! Their play-based approach was successful with my son and he is excited to go every week. The lobby and rooms are clean. I love seeing him interact with the other kids in the lobby. Definitely recommend Ms. Maddy and Ms. Kathryn!! read more

SmallTalk Pediatric Therapy - My son reads now! - Speech Therapists Near Me - La Mesa, California

An unbelievable Retention of therapists, constant SLP and OT staff leaving ( I can name at least 10) changes over a very short tenure.... The abrupt therapist changes caused my child and other clients a need to adjust to working with a new therapist consistently .... Unfortunately when we brought up some concerns "all of a sudden there was no spot for my child" waitlisted!!!! Ultimately they did not renew our contract. (Punishment to the adult affected the child) I reached out to them " no reply" very unprofessional. If your child dose well with inconsistency this is the place to go, however most kiddos thrive with familiarity, consistency and a dash of professionalism... read more

We have been a client of Small Talk for almost 4 years. My son's therapist, Kathleen, has been fantastic! She is knowledgable, flexible, easy to communicate with, and my son loves her. She has worked hard and has helped him to significantly improve his speech and communication. She makes speech therapy fun and my son always looks forward to his time with "Ms. Kat". We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work with Kathleen, and can't thank her enough for all of the energy, attention and hard work she has put in to help improve his communication skills. read more

We love small talk. My son has been going for over 2 years and has made great improvement. His teacher Kathleen Winger is amazing. He is a very active young boy and she is so patient with him. He loves going every week and is always so happy when his session is done. I know that he is not easy to keep on task but Ms. Kathleen is so experienced that she is able to make practice fun along with educational. I feel so blessed to have her as a speech therapist. read more

Kathleen really cares and has helped my son out tremendously. He is non-verbal and even though we have asked the school for a device they wouldn't consider it and would work with pictures attached to velcro. It wasn't until my son had Kathleen as an SLP that we were able to get a device for my son. He now is able to communicate with us and it has lessened his melt downs and he can communicate. Kat not only helps during speech sessions, she goes out of her way and programs his device remotely and gets it done extremely fast. The requests to customize his device from my son's other therapists is done so fast that when it's time for his next therapy session, his device is customized. She is an indispensable part of my son's team and it's evident that she truly loves her job. read more

Our son goes to the Small Talk office in El Cajon. His speech pathologist is Ms. Kathleen Winger the only one he has seen there. Ms. Winger is patient, kind, dedicated, and caring, she always helps with concerns that arise with our son by giving us helpful guidance. Since his first appointment, she has shown her professionalism and knowledge as an excellent speech pathologist. read more

My child has been in speech for many years and until we finally found Kathleen Winger our prayers were answered! She is amazing and has the sweetest heart, that my child adores as well as myself. You immediately could feel how much she loved helping children and was genuinely interested in the goals and respectfully listened to my feedback. I have ALWAYS had a great outcome with her at the helm! I will never change our therapy from Kathleen, she is the reason we are at Smalltalk. We have been to several other speech companies but have finally found our home with Kathleen! Thank you Kathleen!! Her consistency and kindness sets her apart, and we have been through many therapists!! read more

Miss Kat has been fantastic with my son Wyatt!! He was very shy for a long time and she has always been so patient, so warm and friendly towards him! We always get her loving and cheerful self every week! She's very willing to answer any questions or address any concerns we may have! There's not a week that goes by Wyatt isn't exited to go- as he calls it "Miss Kat Day" I'd recommend her for your child's speech therapist!!! read more

My son has been loving SmallTalk! He's been saying so many words (2.5 years old) since we joined about 2-3 months ago. He feels so comfortable with Ms. Hillary! read more

Super friendly staff. I wait in the lobby & witnessed other therapists interact with families. Very welcoming environment. Clean lobby and classrooms. read more

We received a referral from our pediatrician (who we also love and has never steered us wrong!). We see Lily for speech therapy. Lily is warm and engaging with my almost 2.5 year old. We've seen such a huge improvement in just a few visits. We are really happy with her and appreciate her. She always gives us things to work on at home so we can continue seeing improvement. We really love Lily! read more

My son has been treated here for almost 3 years and we are grateful for all the progress he has made because of the hard work from the dedicated therapists at small talk. All of the therapists are friendly and easy to talk to and very knowledgeable in their field. I think some therapists are a better fit for my child's needs and concerns. So if at first you don't see the progress you hope for maybe you need to try out a new therapist. Thank you Kim and Pam for everything you do for my child (tearing up as I type) We are forever grateful for your hard work , for making his life easier and ultimately giving him a better quality of life. read more

Our little guys speech has improved so much with all the guidance and support provided to him by Adele, Caitlyn and Kelly. Our guy always has a story to tell and I have never felt that they didn't want to listen or rush his story. Due to COVID he has been doing speech on zoom calls and all these ladies do a great job of keeping him engaged. When I had questions regarding the billing from our insurance Blythe took her time and made sure I understood. I'm so glad we choose to go with Small Talk for speech! read more

I've been bringing my 9 year old son to the El Cajon location for a out 2 years now. The OT therapists remained consistent, however, the speech therapists did change out quite a lot which caused me to not give the 5th star. Other than that, it's been a great place. My son enjoys going and I've seen good improvement in his skills. I'm really thankful how nice everyone is at SmallTalk and the level of communication with the admin side is really good. They were really great at working with me and my busy schedule also, which is a huge plus in my book! read more

My 2-year-old son has been attending the Poway/Sabre Springs location for the last 7 months. I cannot say enough great things about our SLP Shannon. Her ability to connect to the kids and willingness to try and make the sessions fun is amazing. My son barely said 'mom' when we started. He's now using three and four word phrases. I'm SO grateful to have her as our therapist. We use OT now as well and love Pam, but haven't been going long enough yet to really see the true outcome. The staff are all friendly and it almost feels like another little family there after going there for this long. My only reason for the four stars has nothing to do with the therapists, but just the fact that Smalltalk only gives 30 min sessions if you use insurance, whereas pretty much all other providers in the area give 60 min options. read more

This place has done wonders for my son. They are very professional, the office is very clean and the therapist are great. My son looks forward to his weekly appts. Shanna the office manger will do all she can to fit your child's appt into something that works for you. read more

Small talk has been fabulous with my 20 month old son starting speech services. For a kid that has been only with family since birth due to covid, he loves it there and doesn't want to leave. They are very health conscious and pro at dealing with diverse personalities. Dani is the best! Bah-bah read more

I am glad I found this place. When I found out that my daughter might need speech therapy I did my research on some Speech Therapy centers. From all the places that I called to ask questions and left a message with, Small Talk was the only place that replied to me. The referral process was a breeze and Tricare covered it all. I am happy to say that I am now able to have amazing conversations with my daughter without a translator (my oldest daughter) Speech with Ms. Kelly twice a week and once a week with the School District has helped and still helping. This review is for the El Cajon Location read more

My son had been going here for a large majority of the year and he loves it! He actually enjoys and looks forward to attending two times a week. He sees speech and occupational therapy he loves Mr. Thomas he's always excited to see him and "play" he's learned to self regulate and Mr Thomas always makes My don feel like he's in control even when he's not which is huge for him, and Ms. Chelsea is so kind so patient and really works with my son and understands his struggles. Overall I adore this place and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for these needs for their child read more

Funny comment from the owner of the speech therapy about the filtered reviews... Yelp has filtered those reviews for a reason. Those are posted one day after another by fake accounts setup by your speech therapy center. Yelp is smart. read more

This review is for the location in Poway. We took our son to Small Talk at the beginning of last summer. When he began his therapy with Amy, he had just turned two and had a very limited vocabulary. I was nervous...he was nervous... Amy came out to meet us and we both took to her right away. She explained a little about how the sessions go and let me observe the session. At the end of the first session she gave me some homework to help Henry with his homework. It was so helpful to watch her work with him and so reassuring to see how quickly he responded! In that first session she had him using new words and putting them together for two word phrases. He's been going to Small Talk for 10 months now and he's using 4 or 5 word sentences...and new words every day....he's a total chatterbox! I can't recommend Small Talk highly enough!! read more

Amazing therapists everyone is very kind and there is very awesome waiting rooms at all the locations and the are very accommodating to each kids needs. We've been with one occupational therapist for seven years and was the one who taught our little autistic guy how to tie his shoes and how to use his fine motor skills. Also he goes to a speech therapist here as well and he Is leaning how to use a device. In conclusion if your looking for an awesome provider small talk is definitely the way to go. read more

It doesn't have any structure. When my son first started, I was impressed with this questionnaire sheet with how thorough it was, but my first impression was quickly changed after the 4th session. Every session seems to be very impromptu. There aren't any goals for him to hit and it just seems like the therapist just sits on the floor with him to play games. My husband and I are both active duty military, to have to pull our son out to school during nap time to play with play dough for 30 min is a waste of time. When I asked the therapist Kelli for any type of progress report, she said, "Oh, it's beneficial. He can't say this or that." Ummm lady, he's three. Just tell us the sounds, phrases, or concepts he's having trouble with so we can help him at home. I just wish they started with a baseline analysis and then progressed according to his age group and/or maturity level. Tell me where he is when it comes to kids his age. Tell me what each "game" is doing. Thank you. read more

This review is for the location in Poway though we originally started out at the El Cajon location. My children have been attending Small Talk Speech since each was 18 months old. Both are diagnosed with ASD and are now 7 and 9 years of age. We started with the company when Jen (the owner) started working out of her home and moved with her to the El Cajon location and now the Poway location which is down the street from my house. I have been nothing but amazed at what the therapists have been able to accomplish with my children. Both are now talking in full sentences (neither spoke a word at the age of two), are able to have conversation with another person and are working well in their OT classes. The staff has always been extremely friendly, listen to my concerns and are using the IEP goals in the therapy sessions as well. I could not imagine my children anywhere else than at Small Talk. Would reccomend to anyone looking for a great speech therapist and/or OT. read more

Ms. PJ has been our daughters speech therapist for a few months now and I couldn't be happier! She is an absolute joy to be around and our daughter just has so much fun while working on her speech. PJ takes the time to find out what games or tools works best for your child to get them to enjoy being at speech therapy. We look forward to seeing her every week. read more

This review is for the OT location. My 3 y/o son started speech therapy in June 2017. He has been seeing one speech therapist the entire time. We have a set schedule once a week at the same time. My son has been enjoying his therapy and he has improved his speech, language and articulations. I even got to sit-in on some of his sessions, and that has inspired me to continue my education in communication disorders. I highly recommend their services for your child. They are experienced to work with anyone in need of Speech Therapy. They also provide occupational therapy, and most of these services should go hand-in-hand. They can sometimes do both therapies together if time is an issue. My only complaint is that we're a military family and will be PCSing soon, and Ms. Kelly isn't able to relocate. read more

My daughters' have been going to Small Talk Speech Therapy for years and I'm grateful for the outstanding care we've received. My daughters' are not just treated like a diagnosis, but are approached holistically as the unique individuals that they are. We primarily see Hilary, Keriann, and Melinda and we absolutely love them. My girls have great relationships with each of them and are still excited every week to go to their appointments. We've always seen steady growth in their skills and are updated routinely on their progress and goals. We also attend Small Talk's annual summer camp and my girls look forward to it every year (when they got in the car after the last day this year they were so sad to have to wait an entire year for the next camp). I cannot recommend Small Talk more highly! read more

Between my two sons we've been coming to Small Talk in Sabre Springs for over five years. We've seen just about everyone who works here in that time and they have all been wonderful. They are very flexible in scheduling and dealing with my crazy life :-) Couldn't possibly recommend them more!!! read more

My son was born with a structural malformation in his mouth, so he couldn't speak properly. When Kaiser denied our request for speech therapy because he was "too young" at 1.5, and he had "structural issues", we started seeing Amy at the Old Town office of Small Talk. At first, we saw Amy twice per week and then, once. Every single time my son looked forward to see Amy and by the time he was 4, he was fully intelligible. She taught him how to make all of the sounds of speech and he didn't even notice it; he thought he was playing all the time. I cannot say enough good things about Small Talk and about Amy. Suffice to say that she changed my son's life (and mine) and my family is eternally grateful. If you are looking for THE BEST speech therapists in San Diego, look no further. read more

After loosing TriCare insurance coverage from my last speech and OT provider for my 5YRO Son. I by chance found this place at the old town location. I could not be more happier with all of the Therapists who provide for my Son. We have been to numerous locations trying to find the right therapist and I feel we hit the jackpot with SmallTalks. New techniques to unlock my sons mind are being observed from us and am seeing improvements with his development. From a Father who is very critical regarding my sons therapies. I highly recommend SmallTalks. This post was 6 months in the making to provide an accurate assessment. read more

Michael has been attending speech here for over a year and we just love Small Talk! He has made such excellent progress since we began therapy here and we have seen excellent gains in his expressive speech and communication skills. Hillary does a wonderful job with him and he is so responsive and eager to learn and participate with her. She always provides educational material to work on at home for good follow through and she gives us thorough feedback on each session. Michael also participated in Speech Camp which offered multiple therapy experiences combined with fun activities and he had a wonderful experience. He tries to sing and do yoga now! I would highly recommend Small Talk for all your therapy needs with a greatly skilled, professional staff! read more

My 3 1/2 year old started Speech Therapy at Small Talk (Old town) in July of this year and has made nothing but progress since he first met Chelsea. I am so glad that my pediatrician recommended Small Talk and even though we pay out of pocket because my insurance stinks, it is worth every penny. My son loves coming to see Ms. Chelsea and the positive feedback given at the end of every session reminds me that I made the right choice. Most young children learn through play, and Chelsea always picks games that will peak my sons interest and keep it. His vocabulary has continued to increase, he's saying full sentences, improved telling stories about his day, and he even sang Happy Birthday to me without missing a beat for the first time. If I could bring him to Small talk every day, I would. They are just that great. -Krystina M. read more

Dr. Lily is absolutely amazing with our little girl. She keeps her motivated & eager to learn, we've noticed such an improvement. She listens to our concerns and never rushes us out the door, she also gives us suggestions on what to work on for the following week. We cannot thank SmallTalk enough for all the help and support they offer our family. read more

My son did both OT and Speech in El Cajon location. Mostly pleased with therapist. OT was great experience. Speech was so so. It was hard for my son to stay in a small room and OT room was full most the time. All staff was friendly and professional. read more

Fraudulent billing. They highly encourage hour sessions but because insurance only covers thirty minute sessions they will bill the insurance twice, documenting two separate dates for that hour session. Not only is the insurance misinformed but they charge the client the extra copay for a different day of service that you never went to on a different day. The therapists are also inexperienced and have the revolving door treatment style with the kids. Minimal progress noted after six months of treatment. Very disappointed. read more

This is a great place for speech therapy! We've had two therapists and my son has benefitted tremendously and had fun in the process as his speech is improving!! Want to give a shout out to Mr Joe and Miss Hillary for being amazing at what they do!!! Knowledgeable and super kid friendly creating a great experience for myself and my child!!! read more

My son has been going to Small Talk for the past two years and they have been absolutely amazing. My son was first evaluated in our school district and I found the experience to be cold an impersonal. That was not the case with small talk. The initial phone conservation was warm and inviting. My son felt so comfortable he did not even realize that he was being evaluated. Both his speech and occupational therapist have been absolutely wonderful. They are kind, informative, and patient. It's because of their work he has a new confidence in kindergarten. I can't say thank you enough! read more