We cannot recommend Kristin enough, she was a huge help for our family.

Kristin worked with 2 of our daughters who were experiencing some speech disfluencies. Kristin had a strong connection with both our girls, she was very accommodating and consistent with her approach and taught us strategies so that we could better support our children at home. She also provided feedback to their school teachers which was incredibly helpful.  – N.V.

I wasn’t sure how remote speech would go with a two-year-old.

I have nothing but gratitude for Kristin and how much my daughter improved during her speech therapy. Each week Kristin would bring something that interested my daughter and make speech fun! She would incorporate a baby dolls bath time and a dollhouse family with furniture to help engage her with her words. Kristin would provide me with the tools and resources by emailing me pictures and games to do at home to help her practice too! I’m so thankful for how far my daughters speech has come. She is truly thriving since her remote speech sessions with Kristin.  – A.F.

Kristin worked with our family for three years, from 2015 to 2018.

Our son has dyspraxia. Due to the fine motor coordination involved in speech, his dyspraxia severely impacted his speech development. When he met Kristin at age 2, he could only make a handful of starting consonant sounds combined with the “ah” sound. He was unable to talk to anyone about his wants or needs or interests without many, many attempts and frustration. It was hard for all of us.

When we started working with Kristin, she immediately gave us hope. She was realistic, straightforward, and came up with treatment goals and a plan that made sense. Our son loved working with her. She was so patient and made him feel valued and special. She also chose games and activities that he really enjoyed and kept the selection fresh so he was always excited to see what they would play that day.

One day, Kristin took our son outside and taught him how to jump with two feet. This motion just comes naturally to most children but because of the dyspraxia, our son wasn’t able to do it. We had tried to teach him but we couldn’t. Kristin evaluated the situation, modeled the motion for him and alongside him – repeatedly – and gave him specific instructions for the steps involved. She encouraged and reassured him, too, because he was a little bit scared to fall. It was amazing to see. I will never forget it. I’ve tried to use Kristin’s approach to teaching someone how to jump in many other situations since that day and it is such a helpful strategy.

Kristin was great at explaining her thinking and why she thought a particular skill or sound should be the next target. She was also a great source of knowledge about resources for our son. Kristin could also very quickly bring new session participants (e.g., my parents, other service providers) up to speed on our son’s therapy goals and progress. She was effective, efficient, and tactful. She welcomed and engaged with any additional session participants, regularly including my parents and our son’s younger siblings. Everyone loved working with Kristin!

Kristin has worked with so many kids and families in so many different settings. These experiences seem to have given her a perspective that is well-informed and realistic. Her approach is practical and effective. Kristin worked with our family to make a clear plan for therapy. If a better path toward a goal presented itself or if priority of goals changed, Kristin would discuss the options with us and then we’d have a better plan. Working with Kristin, we always felt like our son was on a clear path toward his speech goals.

Kristin was a great advocate for our son with the school district. We had no previous experience with Special Education. Kristin came with us to an initial planning meeting and helped familiarize us with the system. She consulted with us to make sure that appropriate evaluations were conducted and, furthermore, that the services and accommodations provided by the district would allow our son to access the curriculum.

Looking back at Kristin’s specific concerns about the impact our son’s speech would have on his academic performance in 3 to 5 years, she was 100% accurate with her predictions. Her wealth of experiences and decades of work in the area allow her to recognize potential problems and prevent them.

Kristin was professional and fun, no matter what. On one occasion, our cat strolled into the middle of the session and peed on Kristin’s coat. I swear that our cat has never done anything like that before or since in the 11 years that we’ve had her. Despite this completely shocking turn of events, Kristin joked it off and continued the session. She even came back the next week!

Kristin not only taught our son how to jump, but she also showed him how to blow bubbles, put puzzle pieces in their places, and make the Eeeeeee sound when he smiled. If you tell our children to smile, there’s a good chance that they will start making the eeeeee sound.

Kristin helped our son learn to make all the vowel sounds and diphthongs and multisyllabic words. Our son was more than 2 years old when he said “Mama” for the first time. A little later on in therapy, our son was still omitting W, R, and L sounds because he just didn’t know how to make his body make the sounds. Kristin helped him develop the W first and that one sound made such a difference in his intelligibility. Then they worked on L and it seemed like he had these two new sounds in just a few weeks, after having gone years without the ability to make them. They tried out R but it’s a tough sound for many younger children and people in the Boston area. Throughout it all, our son was very engaged and interested in trying to make the new sounds. He was willing to work hard because he wanted to be understood and Kristin gave him a clear, solid path to his goal; she also gave him the feeling that it was safe to try.

They worked on D/G, T/C, V and F, S and Z, blends (that aren’t sh-, ch-, or -ing), voice, prosody, and a bunch of other things. We would still be working with Kristin if she hadn’t advised us to transition him to school services. We would definitely work with Kristin again any time! My son and daughter both remember Kristin fondly because she made such an impact on their lives.

When we met Kristin, we honestly weren’t sure if our son would ever be able to speak understandably to most people. We just didn’t know what to expect. Kristin not only reassured our son and us but she also followed through. Our son can speak (and jump! Bonus!) and be understood by his peers and teachers. This is the result of a team effort between our son and Kristin. It’s amazing.  – H.O.

Working with Kristin was great.

My 6-year-old boy really enjoyed seeing her and he made remarkable progress during his time with her. Kristin was also wonderful in explaining everything to me and giving me peace of mind that my child was where he needed to be and moving towards his speech goals.  – I.E.

My son was referred for speech services at the age of 22 months.

His speech was assessed to be that of a typical 13-month-old in some areas in others that of a 9-month-old. Otherwise, he was hitting all his developmental milestones. We started working with Kristin virtually due to the restrictions of the pandemic. I was a little nervous that he wouldn’t connect virtually and that he wouldn’t get as much out of remote services as he had with his in-person services, especially meeting a new provider. But my worries were needless. My son made a strong connection with Kristin, he loved to show her books, share his experiences, and looked forward to his weekly sessions! On our speech day, I would pick him up at daycare and say “We have to hurry to go see Kristin” and he would always get ready quickly and be excited to see her. Kristin has such great knowledge in her field, she was able to observe him in his home routine and engage him in simple activities then point out specific speech patterns to me and suggest small interventions we could work on that week at home. She would help me, as his mom, to focus on small speech goals, she gave great tips and advice and I always felt that the goals we set together were attainable and realistic. My son “graduated” services when he turned 3. He no longer is in need of speech interventions, he communicates with his family and friends easily and in an age-appropriate way now. I can not even begin to fully express how much the services and guidance Kristin provided to my son and my family meant to us and continue to mean to us. My son is able to express himself and in turn, is less frustrated and happier. He is able to express his emotions and make connections with his family now and also at his daycare where he couldn’t before and was starting to be labeled as a “tough kid”. In short- Kristin is amazing, her approach is genuine and kind, and smart. Your family and children will benefit from her knowledge and expertise just as mine has.  – S.K.