Testimonials – Skill Builders

I. Love. Skill Builders.

Since the initial phone call to all the services provided, I have been so pleased. I didn’t feel like my sons were clients but children that the therapists truly get to know and want to help succeed find their voice or find their way to understand their schoolwork without frustrations.

I am truly thankful for everyone at Skill Builders.

Carla R.
Gabriel, age 5
Emilio, age 8

After many sessions of speech therapy at a different provider, we had not seen any improvement in our son’s ability to communicate so we decided to look elsewhere. The minute we stepped into the Skill Builders offices, we immediately saw the difference. The therapy rooms are spacious and colorful and welcoming. We were invited to stay during the session to observe and never felt like we weren’t welcome to do so. At our FIRST therapy session at Skill Builders, the wonderful, engaging and patient Amy Bereiter was able to elicit his first word! Our experience at Skill Builders has been excellent. Symon is now speaking in half sentences and is able to tell us what he needs, observes and thinks. His receptive language is still a work in progress but I know that Amy and the other dedicated staff will be able to help him progress. He has also had great success in his OT sessions, going from being many months delayed to now being in line with his peers. We can’t say enough good things about Skill Builders.

Larysa
Son, age 2

I am so thankful for Skill Builders for identifying my daughter’s language and processing issues almost one year ago. My husband and I had sensed that something wasn’t right but we couldn’t put our fingers on it, and her preschool teacher didn’t see any problems. After a 20 minute screening, Skill Builders identified a problem — one which Fairfax’s Child Find program later independently confirmed. During the time we spent going through the Child Find process, we started working with Skill Builders and immediately started seeing results. Even though we now receive additional therapy through Child Find, we continue to have our daughter work with Skill Builders, which has done wonders to give our child the tools she needs to navigate her language and processing challenges. We are so happy with the progress she has made and continues to make.

Wendy
Daughter, age 4

Elizabeth McKenzie has been a godsend to our son — and our family. She has a tremendous tool box to help children deal with all manner of speech and language issues. Over and over in the past four years, we’ve found that Elizabeth doesn’t let our son hit walls or even plateau for a while. She finds new and ingenious ways to press ahead and make progress. Skill Builders is so lucky to have such a tremendous therapist.

Katie
Timothy, age 7

When I brought my son to Skill Builders we were overwhelmed and unsure of how to help him. Cassie worked so well with our son. Each week he was so excited to attend his sessions. She helped me better understand him and what to do to help him. When he had difficult days, because of course he had plenty of those but the love, kindness and compassion she showed him was above and beyond. It wasn’t just her. Every therapist we interacted with was fantastic. I am forever grateful for Skill Builders helping me better understand my son’s needs and how I can help him. The progress he has made is phenomenal as well.

Adriana
Jackson, age 4

We started occupational therapy at Skill Builders when my son was just over two years old. A few months later, he was diagnosed with Autism. So, our therapist was with us from the very start, through countless tantrums. She was incredibly patient and eager to help. She added strategies consistent with our ABA therapy to encourage our son to participate in tasks that he avoided. Our son made incredible progress thanks to her sensory diet suggestions and fine motor skill work (which he always resisted but has done well in Kindergarten because of it!) We had the same wonderful experience once we added speech at Skill Builders. I can’t say enough about their professionalism and compassion!!!

Tracy
Son, age 6

Our daughter, Isobel, is 16 and has been coming to Skill Builders since she was three years old and diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. Someone like Isobel has a constellation of issues, and her needs go beyond traditional speech therapy. What we’ve loved about Skill Builders is that they offer a variety of services to meet an individual’s needs. While our daughter has mainly received speech and language services at Skill Builders, she also received occupational therapy for several years.

Michael Lemieux has been our daughter’s speech therapist for twelve years now and is fantastic! Isobel has primarily been in individual therapy, although when she was young, she also participated in a dyad to improve interaction with other children. We appreciate that Michael can help her with multiple issues, including behavioral, and helps bridge school and home. Isobel’s therapy has included everything from pronunciation and pragmatics to auditory processing, and now higher-level thinking skills such as the theory of mind, processing speed, executive functioning, and more advanced conversational skills, among other issues. Michael has been terrific throughout and adaptable as our daughter progresses, and through his vast experience is one of the first people we turn to when various issues arise at home or school, including new ticks or other behaviors or issues with friends or siblings. He has also been a wonderful resource for our IEP meetings and in helping us structure interventions and management strategies at school. Michael’s tough, he pushes kids to progress, and he doesn’t let them get away with bad behavior, but always with gentleness, patience, and humor.

Helen
Isobel, age 16