‘I Wish I Found Expressable Sooner’: 7-Year-Old Sees Huge Gains with a Few Months of Speech Therapy
Abby Barnes, M.S., CCC-SLP
When your child is having trouble communicating, you look for ways to help them. That’s what Abigail did for her son, Alex. When he was a toddler, she noticed he wasn’t communicating easily or using many words for his age. He began receiving speech therapy at age 2.
Today, Alex is an easygoing, upbeat 7-year-old who loves Minecraft, swimming, and basketball. Although he started speech therapy several years ago, his progress truly skyrocketed when he started working with his Expressable speech therapist, Nirali Chauhan, M.S., CCC-SLP. Here’s how it happened.
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Alex had done in-person and online speech therapy with different therapists at another speech therapy company. But it wasn't until his mother, Abigail, found Expressable and Nirali that speech therapy made a difference. Abigail found Expressable through her insurance company and decided to try a switch. And as she explains, she’s very glad she did.
Alex began speech therapy with Expressable in September 2024. From the beginning, Nirali and Alex formed a special relationship. As Nirali puts it, “Alex is the sweetest kid. He always logs onto our sessions with a good attitude and asks how I’m doing.”
Nirali set speech therapy goals for Alex that helped him make steady improvements in his overall communication. His speech therapy has focused on using longer, better structured sentences with correct grammar. Therapy has also targeted Alex’s articulation to help his speech become clearer, specifically the [th] and “L” sounds.
‘Since switching to Expressable and having Nirali as his therapist, his teachers have been able to understand him more clearly.’
Nirali also works with Alex on his conversational skills. She’s seen major growth in his ability to hold a back-and-forth conversation with others. She points out that when Alex asks her, “How are you doing?,” that’s a direct result of his progress with conversational skills. “He wasn’t doing that at the beginning of our time together,” Nirali notes.
Abigail has noticed the changes, too. Within three months of starting at Expressable, she saw a “huge improvement” in his speech. “Before, he was really shy. He had a hard time communicating with others when teachers would ask him questions,” she says. “Since switching to Expressable and having Nirali as his therapist, his teachers have been able to understand him more clearly. When he was at a Christmas party, he spoke to people with confidence, which is huge! And in phonics tutoring, we’ve seen him speaking and reading more quickly, too. That's a big improvement for him.”
How online speech therapy helped Alex improve
Expressable’s services have been the perfect fit for Alex’s needs. His mother says she appreciates the flexibility of having speech therapy at home.
Nirali uses a variety of activities and online games to keep Alex engaged during sessions. That helps motivate him to participate and practice.
“Alex is so easygoing. He always acts like every game is just the best,” Nirali says. This also points back to their strong relationship. When there’s good rapport, kids are often more willing to participate and follow their therapist’s guidance. And that, of course, leads to better progress!
“Alex loves attending speech therapy!” Abigail says. “In fact, he asks to have speech therapy every day, because of how much he enjoys doing it. I love how Nirali customizes it to his needs and what he likes. She keeps him engaged in sessions so he doesn't lose his focus and concentration.”
Parent involvement makes a difference
One of the keys to successful speech therapy is parent involvement. It’s often easier for parents to attend sessions online than at a clinic or school. Nirali praises Abigail for how engaged and supportive she is: “She comes to every session and doesn’t leave Alex’s side.” This way Abigail can see exactly what Alex is working on and then help him at home, between sessions.
Alex’s family is diligent about practicing at home. They take full advantage of Expressable’s online client portal, which features:
Learning Paths that help reinforce strategies taught in therapy
Demo videos showing how to use therapy techniques
Fun practice activities the whole family can get involved with
“Alex’s family is amazing about completing the home practice I send,” Nirali says. She reports that this has positively affected his progress, especially his ability to use a variety of words in sentences.
‘His growing confidence has really helped him’
For speech therapy to be successful, it’s important for the child, caregiver, and therapist to communicate openly and honestly. At Expressable, we strive to build those relationships with all our clients.
Abigail says that Nirali truly listens to her and her concerns. She had felt for a few years that Alex needed to focus on his speech sounds, but previous speech therapists hadn’t targeted this. However, Nirali quickly identified this as a goal for Alex. She says that learning to speak more clearly, as well as using more complex sentences, is helping him sound more mature and representative of his age.
‘Whether he’s talking to a teacher, neighbor, or friend, he’s able to express himself much better.’
It takes a lot of trust and communication to build a strong client-family-therapist relationship. With that rapport in place, Alex is continuing to make gains in speech therapy, and his family sees the impact on his life. Abigail says that working with Nirali is helping Alexi interact and communicate with others. Whether he’s talking to a teacher, a neighbor, or a friend, he’s able to express himself much better.
Abigail adds, “He’s gained confidence now to where he’s able to say things to people. I notice it during swimming lessons. When people greet him, he will say, ‘Hi!’ or ‘Bye!’ His growing confidence has really helped him.”
Find the right speech therapist for your child
At Expressable, we know speech therapy is a big commitment for families. Therapists like Nirali work hard every day to ensure that each session, and the time and money that families invest, is more than worth it. If you think your child might need help with their speech, talk with a speech therapist. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The earlier intervention begins, the sooner your child will start making progress. As Abigail says, “I wish I found Expressable sooner!” You can start the process to get matched with a speech therapist here.
