Paige Crawley is a miracle worker. My daughter had almost zero intelligible/functional speech a couple months before her 3rd birthday and her Early Intervention (EI) speech therapist recommended we seek private therapy. Paige listened attentively to the issues we described and also conducted her own evaluation before determining my daughter had apraxia, a neurological motor speech disorder. We started working with Paige twice a week, 30 minutes each time and within weeks, we saw progress that blew months of EI speech therapy out of the water. She tailored the exercises to my daughter's needs and made it fun for her. She provided "homework" for my husband and me to reinforce at home what they did in therapy. After 16 months of therapy, my daughter spoke like an "average" 4 year old!
If you have a speech-delayed child, you know there is no greater joy than hearing your child is on par with their peers! And 16 months may seem like a long time but when you think about how slowly a child learns to speak (typically), to go from infantile babbling to full, complete sentences in just over a year is, well, miraculous :). My daughter is 6 1/2 now and she never stops talking!
My son started seeing Paige in March. He has been in EI for a couple years and overcame a mild-moderate speech delay with them. However, his articulation has remained poor enough that he continues to qualify for speech through the school district (he turned 4 in April). He seemed to plateau there though and, after a year of no real progress, we reached out to Paige. Just 4 months in, his speech is so much more intelligible that, for the first time, people outside our immediate family can understand him easily.
I don't know what it is about her but Paige finds a way to engage with them and connect on a level that EI and school therapists have been unable to reach. I believe she genuinely loves her students and is committed to their success. Her rate is reasonable and fair. She will help as long as you want her to but she is also honest about when she herself can't do anymore for your child (e.g., making "L" and "R" sounds that just come with age). I can't say enough good things about her (in case this novel isn't indication enough :)! read more