Client Testimonials

• Stuttering

  My daughter started treatment with Ann when she was almost 3.5, after a speech language eval that indicated that her stuttering was "very severe." At that point, she had been stuttering for over a year, for as long as she had been forming sentences. She worked with Ann for a year and, now, at 4.5, her stuttering is negligible and she no longer qualifies for treatment. Ann was flexible and kind, she worked with our daughter using a number of different approaches, directive strategies, like Lidcombe, non-directive strategies and most importantly, oromyofunctional treatment. Although it's not standard treatment for stuttering, we saw a significant improvement in my daughter's fluency after a tongue-tie surgery and oromyofunctional exercises. It was hard work, but Ann supported us all the way and our daughter's speech benefitted tremendously. We are so grateful for all her support and would recommend her without reservation!

• Tongue Tie

  Dear Ann,

  This note is long overdue, but I hope still welcome. I am writing to thank you sincerely for your hard work with my son. You were able to use your expertise to identify that he had a tongue tie within an hour of meeting us -- something that his pediatrician, 18 months of early intervention, and daycare all missed. It changed everything for us, and even with the pandemic, he's now talking my ear off. He receives speech therapy 2x a week through Boston Public School and 2x a week privately. I wish we lived closer to Tewksbury so we could have remained with you! He's not quite caught up, but we're getting close -- and I know in my bones that it wouldn't have been possible without you. Furthermore, thanks to your education about ties, we were able to address my younger son's in a timely fashion and he's right on schedule as a result.

  Thank you, Ann. Your expertise and advice changed our lives, and for that I will forever be grateful.

  Fondly,

  Amelia

  
  

• Orofacial Myology

  "Ann is terrific! She is a very knowledgeable therapist and an empathic, kind person. Our whole family learned so much in the process of her work with our son. He successfully completed a progressive program to improve the way he uses his mouth for better overall oral health and improved breathing. The work also set him up for success in his forthcoming orthodontic treatment. Ann really knows how to talk to kids. She meets them where they are, makes it fun, and she motivates them. Our son enjoyed working with her very much!"

• Articulation

  "My son has a speech delay along with other motor and sensory issues. A few years ago, I enlisted the help of Ann. Her sessions provided my son with a safe, fun and educational environment for him to face his challenges head on. Through games and exercises, his speech wasn’t the only thing to improve. He was able to better express his emotions as well. Three years later I can proudly say that if it wasn’t for Ann, my son would not be where he is today. Thanks Ann!"

• Tongue Thrust

  Ann was very professional, helpful and accommodating. My daughter's speech issue is almost completely resolved in only 2 to 3 months! We would highly recommend her!

• Articulation

  At akspeech, I was able to receive quick treatment for a minor lisp I had struggled with all my life. My lisp made it difficult and embarrassing for me to participate in certain activiteis at school. Ann was very helpful with teaching me how to hear the lisp myself so I can correct it immediately. This skill will allow me to improve my speech in the future. Ann helped me gain self-confidence in my abilities, and I am no longer afraid to give speeches or presentations in school. I am very grateful for the services I received through Ann at akspeech.

• Preschool Stuttering

  Ann’s ability to connect with my daughter has been nothing short of extraordinary. Her effective methods and engaging style have vastly improved my daughter’s fluency in a remarkably short period of time. The results have far exceeded any of our expectations, and my wife and I are extremely grateful for all of her efforts and expertise.

• Preschool Stuttering

  The quality of service Ann provided to Brendan was outstanding. Through her work, research, and attention to detail, Brendan has managed to resolve his stutter. In addition, Ann's approach also helped to build Brendan's confidence, social skills and emotional development. Ann's professionalism, extensive research and commitment to always finding the latest and greatest app, research conferences and newest approaches, were refereshing and enlightening. Lastly, Brendan enjoyed his time with Ann, looked forward to working with her -- it was never a struggle. Thank you!

• Articulation

  I believe Ann was very successful with Jacob, using fun games to get him to communicate and enunciate words he typically has trouble with. This is certainly something my wife and I could not get him to do. Jacob can now speak more clearly and rarely, if ever, do we not understand what he is saying....We thank Ann for her help!

• Feeding and Swallowing

  My adult daughter is a brain cancer and stroke survivor. She was left with a feeding tube, no swallow, and serious problems with saliva management. For two years and with multiple agencies, we were told there was no hope for progress in this area. Then we found Ann. Ann was the most knowledgeable person in all things swallowing we had encountered. Without glossing over the journey ahead, Ann worked with my daughter, while teaching me techniques I could use at home, giving us not only next steps, but hope for continued improvement in quality of life. With a long way to go still, we continue to work with Ann, and are happy to report a swallow where there was none, barely any saliva mismanagement, and the reintroduction of food by mouth! We drive an hour and a half each way to get to therapy, and it is worth every minute.

• Feeding and Swallowing

  Christina's tongue and mouth have gotten much stronger, and she is no longer choking on liquids. Ann helped her so much!

• Feeding and Swallowing

  I had a stroke 8 years ago, which affected the left side of my body. For 8 years I have had drooling, and my face drooped on the left side. Ann treated me for the droop, which went away after one session. I'm not drooling now. I notice in the morning my pillow is not wet. She took it away with her magic wand! My swallowing has become easier too, when I take pills.

• Feeding and Swallowing

  For five years after throat surgery, I'd been struggling with not only food, but even fluids I would find to be stuck in my throat, and I would struggle to get them down. After one session, I felt a 75% increase in my ability to swallow. After the second visit, I felt like I was 100% better than I was for the entire previous five years. Now my food and fluids are going down with no difficulty whatsoever.

• Orofacial Myology

  I decided to seek the help of a speech therapist for my 4 year old daughter. She had attended speech therapy for her entire pre-K year with very minimal results. At my daughter's initial evaluation, Ann discovered through a series of exercises, that my daughter had some underlying reasons that were causing her to not be able to pronounce many letters. Ann gave me strengthening exercises for me to stabilize her jaw, correct the placement of her tongue, etc. Between working with my daughter on a daily basis and her weekly sessions with Ann, she has made a lot of progress. I would highly recommend Ann to anyone with a speech concern.

  Ann is extremely knowledgeable. She is patient and caring and she explains everything thoroughly. She also creates a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for her clients and keeps her young clients engaged and having fun, so it is a pleasant experience for all.

  
  

• Orofacial Myology

  Ann was very professional, helpful and accommodating. My daughter's speech issue is almost completely resolved in only 2 to 3 months! We would highly recommend her!

• Orofacial Myology

  Amazing service! Very holistic in nature -- you did not just work on articulation, but got to the root of the problem, and worked up from there. Highly recommended. I brought my child to other speech pathologists, and they didn't have half the expertise that you have. More speech pathologists should be like you!

• Stuttering

  My three year old daughter developed a severe stutter. Many people said to "see if it goes away on its own" and "she'll outgrow it" or had stories of kids they knew who had stutters. However for me, it was painful to watch my child tell me she can't talk anymore or ask me when this is going to go away. As a mother, I felt the need to advocate for my child who was now living with anxiety and embarrassment from the sudden onset disfluency. A three year old shouldn't feel these insecurities. When we met Ann, my daughter immediately felt welcomed and excited. Every week she looked forward to seeing her "talking teacher," as she called Ann. I was blown away by the depth of knowledge Ann had about speech development. From the science of the brain, the shape of the palate, the strength of the tongue, Ann knew how to navigate strategies to help my daughter; not to mention the therapy was always designed with an aspect of fun in mind. Within two months, we saw an improvement in not only the stutter, but in my daughter's happiness and confidence. Honestly, the last session was so bitter sweet. We were happy to not need the therapy anymore, but we'll miss the fun sessions. Ann left off with an openness to call her whenever we needed to. I cannot express enough how helpful her services were to my daughter and our family.

• Stuttering

  We began going to Ann due to my 13 year old daughter Isabella's stutter (disfluency). We had been to two different speech therapists prior and we were told that Isabella didn't require speech help at that time. When we found Ann, we were so pleased. Not only was she kind and welcoming, but she started working with Isabella from the very first visit. She would do exercises with her such as have her read in different speeds until she found the speed Isabella was most comfortable reading at and was fluent while doing so. Ann would always give Isabella praise with whatever they were working on. We could see Isabella's confidence boost almost overnight! She would come home and work on strategies that she had worked on and practice the skills she was learning.

  Isabella has learned a great deal from Ann in such a small amount of time. At any point in the future if we see that Isabella is struggling and we feel that she needs to see Ann again, we will most definitely bring her back. We can't thank you enough Ann for all you have done for Isabella and all you continue to do with all the people you see, each and every day!!

  P.S. I have to share this with you: at dinner last night, Isabella said "I raised my hand to read in social studies today and I raised my hand in math and I got the problem correct!!" Yaaaay!! We are so proud of her and I know that her confidence is because of all you taught her : ).

  
  

• Voice disorder(s)

  My 14 year old daughter, Maggie, loves to sing, but she was constantly losing her voice and having a painful throat. Choir and music lessions were very frustrating because she couldn't participate. She was diagnosed with early nodule formation by an ENT doctor, who examined her vocal cords. Maggie then started speech therapy with Ann Kulichik. Ann was very knowledgable and knew exactly what to do with Maggie. Ann took objective measurements, which progressively improved with Ann's recommendations and exercises. Although it would take us 1 hour to travel to see Ann, Maggie and I felt that Maggie was successfully learning how to protect and use her vocal cords effectively. Visits with Ann were always fun and interesting and building on the previous week's lesson. Ann always explained what she was doing. In a return visit to the ENT physician, we learned that Maggie's vocal cords are clear of nodules and normal! Maggie has learned life-long skills to help her singing and has returned to participating in choir without limitation, thanks to Ann Kulichik!

• Voice disorder(s)

  Ann and her program exceeded my expectations for improvement in my voice. I've had Parkinson's Disease for nine years and was losing my voice. It's now stronger, clearer and I'm enunciating my words more distinctly. People understand me over the phone much better now.

• Tongue Thrust

  I highly recommend Ann Kulichik (akspeech). My daughter went to her for 3 years (3 years old to 6 years old). Early on Ann picked up on things that were causing setbacks that Early Intervention, our pediatrician and day care provider did not pick up on in the prior 3 years. She is always researching information and learning the latest techniques and is very passionate in her work. Her patience and compassion are admirable. My daughter has made enormous strides in the past 3 years but she will miss her visits with her.

• Tongue Thrust

  I brought my daughter to Ann in June of 2016. I feel that I am truly blessed to have found her. Instead of taking just an articulation approach, she looked at it from a muscular aspect. Had Ann only come from an articulation standpoint, my daughter would have been in speech for around 5 years, instead of what Ann accomplished in 1 year and 1/2.

  When the muscular stuff was corrected, i.e. tongue thrust, air conservation, unstable jaw, etc., the articulation came a lot easier and quicker than if the muscular approach had not been taken. Ann has also been helping my daughter through food play.

  I would recommend Ann to anyone with any type of speech issue. I would go as far as to call her the 'miracle worker of speech pathologists.