A Mother's Perspective and Gratitude
To Other Parents of Children who Stutter
"The best thing about Adriana's approach is: She doesn't expect to do it alone. We weren't asked to sit in the waiting room or behind a mirror. We sat by our son's side- learning together. With Adriana's guidance, we learned to play games and provide positive reinforcement appropriately. My son loved it, and his speech was smoother almost immediately."
"Adriana is brilliant with children. And she's been a comfort and inspiration to us. Her insightful, positive way has helped is through the difficult task of speaking. I know it's distressing to hear your child struggle with speech, especially when it comes so effortlessly to other kids. But when Adriana tells you it will get better, you can believe her. ...You're getting your child the best help available."
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Open Letter for Parents of Young Children Who Stutter
"You are not alone. Your little one is not alone. I've seen first hand the challenges, heartache and stress that accompany a young child who stutters. My son started stuttering when his first little brother was born. Many told me it would pass naturally.
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From a Mother in Support of Adriana DiGrande
"My son 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. She was able to teach me many (easy) day to day things that I could be doing at home that would benefit him.
Adriana 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. 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."
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From a Former Adult Client
"At the outset, I was convinced that I could never be comfortable with myself as a stutterer, that I would always resort to my old patterns of denial. Much to my tremendous surprise, I discovered that accepting myself as a stutterer was, in fact, possible. Most importantly, I am no longer afraid of my stuttering."
From Jackson
"I’ve been working with Ms. Adriana for a few years now and she has helped me a lot with my speech. I now feel more confident reading in front of my class. I used to stutter on most words in a sentence, now I rarely stutter on words and when I do I use my tools that Ms. Adriana taught me. One of those tools is the pull-out method. This tool helps me to stop and slow down so that my speech is much smoother. For kids out there like me, remember to always say what you want to say even if it comes out bumpy- as Ms. Adriana would say, that’s okay, just remember your tools. Ms. Adriana is fun to work with and has the best speech games. "
From Jackson’s Parents, Jeff and Jade
"We are incredibly impressed with the outstanding work that Ms. Adriana has done with our son. She’s provided him with really tailored sessions based on her wide breadth of experience. She has a unique ability to put our 9-year-old at ease during sessions, creating a comfortable and encouraging environment that our son looks forward to attending (even on zoom). She genuinely cares about our son. We would highly recommend Ms. Adriana if you are seeking a skilled and compassionate speech therapist. "
From Jenny
"I have been seeing Adriana for speech since I was little. It’s been fun and Adriana is so nice. She has helped me to speak smooth and loud and clear. She helps me to project my voice. I am still working on fixing my bumps and she teaches me strategies to use to fix them. I feel like she is the right person to help me with that. I feel good about my speech now and I am proud of myself. I love working with Adriana!" ~Jenny
From Jenny’s Mom, Maura
"My daughter Jenny, an 18 year-old with Down syndrome, has been seeing Adriana for speech therapy for the past 11 years. Jenny has received numerous supports and therapies through the years, and speech with Adriana has had the greatest impact on her growth, confidence and independence. Adriana has given Jenny the tools she needs to speak smoothly and clearly. Jenny loves working with Adriana because she makes speech therapy fun and customizes the sessions to meet Jenny’s needs. Adriana also worked with our family and Jenny’s therapists at school so that we all had the tools and knowledge to help Jenny in any setting. Adriana truly cares about her clients and is committed to helping them overcome their challenges and reach their full potential. She has helped Jenny grow into a confident, well-spoken young adult, and we are eternally grateful for the significant role Adriana has played in Jenny’s and our lives." ~Maura
From Dean’s Parents, Julia and Eric
"We thank our lucky stars that we found our way to Adriana. Prior to meeting her, we were lost and felt helpless. While our first grader had always had moments/short periods of disfluency (or bumpy speech) as a young child, his stuttering condition severely magnified when he was entering 1st grade (his first year in school because of Covid). He had trouble with stuttering and complete blocks in every sentence. It was heartbreaking for us to see his struggle and diminishing self-esteem, and harder for him to experience. We felt hopeless. Enter Adriana with her warm and compassionate demeanor and her mindset that smooth speech can be achieved with the right expertise and committed practice. We had a 9 month journey with Adriana working with our son once a week. Adriana guided us through a step-by-step process (using games and fun connection moments every night for 10 minutes). This process helped our son gain confidence in his speech, starting from one word and working our way up to full sentences. We followed Adriana’s plan and his speech and self-confidence improved dramatically. It wasn’t just us who noticed, his teachers talked about the 180 that he did over that first grade year. He has never been more proud than when he earned Adriana’s Smooth Speech Trophy! Now, as a third grader, his speaking confidence only continues to grow. He even volunteers to speak in front of the entire school at all school assemblies! His perseverance and resilience are skills he developed through this process that he will carry with him throughout his life. Adriana changed his life and we are forever grateful." ~Julia and Eric
From Jane
"My time with Adriana and her intensive program was hands-down the best speech therapy experience I have ever had, and one of my most valuable life experiences as a person who stutters. Since I first saw Adriana when I was twelve years old, both my speech and my confidence have improved extraordinarily.
I’ve come to realize achieving fluency was not the end goal, but my journey toward it is the real source of my personal growth. Although the program is hard work, the progress and self-assurance that come as a result are so worth it. Before I found Adriana, stuttering was my greatest obstacle. I was ashamed to have a stutter and felt the need to hide it–my first speech therapist wouldn’t even say the word “stutter". Now, looking back on my progress from when I began speech therapy to now, making speeches and self-disclosing my stuttering to strangers, friends, teachers, classmates, and family alike, I now know that none of it would have been possible without the tremendous and unwavering support of Adriana, her clinicians, and her other clients. Her warm, funny, and sympathetic personality really helped me open up to her and to the world. I am no longer afraid to stutter. I am no longer ashamed to stutter. It is part of who I am, but it's certainly not the most important part. I have my experience with Adriana to thank for bringing me to this point, and for making me who I am today. "
“There aren’t many things I love more than traveling. This is me in Copenhagen over the summer.”
From Vivian
"I have been working with Adriana for several years and it has helped me so much. She has taught me many strategies for managing stutters, while also helping me become more comfortable with my stutter. Adriana has helped me to combat fear of speaking and to implement the strategies I learned in my everyday life. Through my time with Adriana, I’ve gained so much more ease and confidence with speaking and I will always be grateful for the wonderful experiences I’ve had working with her."
From Steven G.
"I came to meet Adriana as a lifelong stutterer who had had enough of forcing myself through conversations, shying away from taxing social interactions, and swapping out the words of what I wanted to say for the words that were easier to say. As a person who had received speech therapy throughout my primary school years with some positive short-term results, I came into Adriana’s program skeptical of whether her process would be any different than what I had been exposed to in the past. Adriana started at square one by evaluating my level of stuttering, but more importantly she asked me why. Why did I want to engage in speech therapy. Why did I want to work on my speech. She gets to know her patients, she creates a bond that develops into trust. Not only will she teach you how to work through a plosive block, use an easy relaxed approach to help with those troublesome words, she helps stutters face the stigma of stuttering, making one realize that it’s ok to talk about it. How it’s healthy to let people know what is going on, not to hide your stutter, which in essence takes away its power.
One afternoon at Emerson College I was lucky enough to see firsthand the impact Adriana has on people who stutter and the future of speech therapists. I was honored to be invited to speak at one of Adriana’s graduate seminars where she asked my wife and I to discuss stuttering and our life experience with it. Adriana, as always, was so welcoming and comforting that while speaking in front of 20 students, I didn’t have one instance of stuttering during our hour-long discussion. Adriana’s process works. My stutter will never go away, as even “fluent” speakers have trouble from time to time, but with Adriana’s help I have learned how to work through the difficult sounds and words, and I am always improving and learning more about how to manage my speech. Adriana has changed my life and I am forever grateful."
