From a Mother, in support of Adriana Digrande
To: Parents
I am writing this memo in support of Adriana DiGrande, Fluency Specialist. My son, Michael, has been participating in Adriana's speech (stuttering) therapy for the past two years. He has made enormous gains since beginning this program and I am so pleased and proud to say that he is now basically stutter free. He started out as a 5 year old boy who had very "bumpy" speech who was being made fun of by older children because of his stuttering. This was starting to effect this self esteem, self confidence and his interest in speaking out loud.
I was recommended to Adriana by several people for an initial evaluation. Michael immediately took to Adriana and truly enjoyed her program. She was always creative in ways to make speech fun for him. He looked forward to his visits with her each week. She displayed caring ways and made sure he was aware that she had his best interests at heart. She was excellent in making sure she involved me in his therapy and was creative in offering suggestions of ways that we could help him at home. A very beneficial idea that she gave us was to get a clicker/counter to wear throughout the day to count how many "smooth" words that Michael would say. Michael loved this "game" and was very excited to keep track his smooth words on a chart and try to beat his record each day. This was one of the most effective methods in his program. She was able to teach me many (easy) day to day things that I could be doing at home that would benefit him (i.e. talking slower, always listening, never interrupting him when he was bumpy). Adriana also taught him ways to switch gears and try to say his words smoother and easier. She was amazing at incorporating her speech lessons into fun games and activities. She would always listen closely to him and take an active interest in what he had to say. Adriana would model slow, easy speech and it was amazing to watch how he would follow her lead and try to talk easier like her. Michael just received his "smooth speech" trophy from Adriana and I do not think he has ever been more proud of anything in his life.
I highly recommend Adriana DiGrande. She has been patient, wonderful and has made a huge difference in Michael's life. He is now confident in his speech and feels good about himself. There are no more worries about speaking in public or being teased. As a parent, this is worth more than anything in the world. I do know first hand, how painful and heartbreaking it is to see your child struggle with stuttering. We have come leaps and bounds to get to the point where we are today. It has been a long and hard process. I would be happy to be a resource to any parents that have questions or need advice, just email or phone Adriana for my number.
Jennifer T.