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Speech & Language Therapy Blog

4.9

Based on 60 reviews

We've had a consistently positive experience at District Speech. Jennifer Banchini is a skilled speech therapist. More importantly, she's a caring and thoughtful professional... truly dedicated to the success of her clients. We've been fortunate to have her helping our child for the past eight months to overcome a speech impediment. Jen has a gift for working with kids, and she's been able to continually engage, creating an encouraging environment that is fun and motivating for our child. Jen has gone out of our way to accommodate our schedule and to work with our insurance. We can't recommend her highly enough.read more

Eric and K.

My son has been seeing Lee Mora for speech therapy once a week for a year now, I am truly grateful for the attention and how engaged Lee has been with him. The play therapy and... sounding out of the words have helped my son so much! Also, my son has shown so much progress since his visits. He articulates his words more and his comprehension has improved tremendously. I also value the feedback that Lee gives and suggestions on what to do at home to help my son. Bringing my son to district speech was truly the best choice- thank you, Lee!read more

Kathleen K.

I take vocal therapy with Angela and she is amazing! Super helpful and connected me with a Doctor that has helped me create better vocal quality. I really appreciate all of the... work that she has done with me. highly recommend!read more

Julie O.

I have a positive experience with Kristen for a couple of months. She is a skilled and patient therapist. I have gradually noticed my improvement.

Young Z.

We had worked with the school to do an evaluation of our daughter and felt it missed some major issues. We came to Jen who read the evaluations done to date and then tested... Colleen. She was able to diagnose my daughter with dyslexia and recommend some important steps for our upcoming meeting with the school to discuss her IEP. Jen has also asked to join the meeting and advocate for our daughter. Amazing experience and it is just our first visit.read more

Cara M.

Great team of excellent and dedicated professionals who use innovative techniques to execute highly effective results! My son was diagnosed with mild ASD at three years old and as... a young mother in her twenties, I was clueless as to what I should do. With Jen’s support I learned how to implement strategies at home to motivate vocalization and get my child to start communicating.read more

Katie B.

After so long trying to navigate speech and behavior services for my young daughter with autism, it was so wonderful to find District Speech and Language Therapy. Jennifer... Branchini is incredibly responsive. She returns emails and calls within 24 hours including weekends. My daughters' at home assessment and follow up sessions started almost immediately. My daughter loves working with Lee Morra, who has high energy, an assortment of toys and games, and demonstrates incredible patience and persistence. Both Jennifer and Lee share strategies (on line apps, social stories, and visual schedules) to help meet the agreed upon goals. This is a very dedicated team.read more

Melissa R.

Our experience with District Speech & Language Therapy was VERY positive - from hearing our concerns through developing a therapy plan that was conducive and effective for our 3yo... son. Lee was incredibly patient, high energy, and extremely knowledgeable. Our son immediately took to him and looked forward to his sessions each week. Lee provided easy, tactical strategies to use with our son and we have seen such an improvement in his speech articulation. I would highly recommend DSLT!!read more

Melissa S.

COVID-19 has changed the world that we live in but I didn’t want that to be the reason for my son’s speech regression. Schools may be closed BUT Ms. Branchini went out of her way... to schedule time for us to meet with Mr. Morra this week for my son Dominic’s evaluation. I just wanted to thank you for choosing such a dedicating and professional speech and language therapist to work with Dominic. Although Dominic was a bit silly (rolling around, playing with objects, etc.) Mr. Morra was supported, gently redirected Dominic when he provided in incorrect answer and/or if he had difficulty hearing Dominic's response. Mr. Morra noted that in the future we may be able to play a "game" (which I am sure will help Dominic practice sounds) called Hangman. As soon as we got off of our call with Mr. Morra Dominic hopped on YouTube to learn more about Hangman :) Dominic has been talking about meeting "Mr. Lee" and announced to his grandmother and step-father that "Mr. Lee is super cool." As you know this is HUGE! I am thrilled with the level of service your company provides and we are very excited to meet with him in the coming weeks.read more

Colleen F.

Could not be happier with Jen at District Speech therapy! She has been amazing to work with, even from months before we actually started working together. She is a true... professional, but also incredibly warm and great with my son.read more

Lauren E.

"Dr. Jennifer Branchini has a wonderful, charming, and engaging personality. Of course, she's an expert in her field but what sets her apart from other therapist in her field is... her sense of humor and her ability to make her clients feel at ease. She's earned my highest recommendation"read more

Paul M.

My 4 year old son has been benefiting so much from his sessions with his SLP Angela at District Speech. His articulation, confidence and overall behavior have improved greatly. He... looks forward to his weekly visits with Angela, and loves that he has a special friend to play new games with. What he has been able to achieve with Angela has blown us away. We would recommend District Speech, and Ms. Angela in particular, to anyone in need of Speech Language Therapy! Thank you, Ms. Angela for all you do for our boy!read more

Jennifer T.

My 11-year-old special needs son has needed speech therapy his whole life. His District Speech therapist is the best one he's had. Organized, energetic, creative, and kind. Lee... shows up on time with an educational plan. My son enjoys working with him and is progressing in his language development. The office has helped me get my expenses covered through my health insurance. You can't go wrong with using District Speech.read more

Shared acct M

Ms.Jen Oh Ms.Jen!! She is amazing!! She has been working with a client of mine for a while but I’ve only known her for a year! I love her no-nonsense yet playful learning... techniques. I've watched my kid's speech improve so much within a year. He sees Jen once a week and his progress with her has surpassed all of my expectations. She makes learning so much fun and exciting You can tell she loves what she does and she’s great as well. We love Jen’s infection energy! Thank You and We Love You!read more

Sammi H.

We worked with Jen for about 18 months, starting just before my son turned 2, and my son just loved seeing her each week. She went out of her way to improve his speech, providing... additional resources and suggestions at each session. Mostly though, her enthusiasm and way with kids really helped us look forward to the sessions and we saw great improvement.read more

Catharine W.

Jennifer Branchini has worked with my son over the past six years. She is flexible and adaptable to her approach and focus of therapy based upon my son's needs as he has grown... and developed over time. She has been an integral part of my son's support system by keeping me informed of my son's goals and progress, as well as providing expert opinions and recommendations to those also helping to support my son both in and out of school. She has even referred us to other service providers when she has recognized a need outside of the scope of speech and language therapy. Jen is genuinely invested in my son's success and for that, I am sincerely grateful to have her on our team.read more

Dee Dee H.

Working with Jen from District Speech has been an exciting and rewarding experience. Jen’s creativity with fun exercises that target and correct the areas of my daughter’s... communication needs are remarkable. As within the short period of time we’ve had sessions, so much progress has been made with my daughter’s articulation. Jen’s recommendation of techniques to use are helpful and I’m able to use them throughout the day after our session times are over. The dedication shown from Jen along with her cheerfulness and preparedness, exemplify some of the reasons why she’s the best and is highly recommended.read more

Valenti D.

As a young professional in DC who has struggled with speech since middle school, I was hesitant to try speech therapy and had minimal expectations when I first started. After my... first session with Lee I knew I had that all completely wrong. Not only is Lee great at what he does, but he takes the time to develop a personal connection with you and he quickly gains your trust. He helped me let my guard down that was impeding my progress and make the honest changes in my mind set that were crucial to me improving my speech. I am very grateful that I took the chance to finally seek help, and even more grateful that I have Lee to help me on this journey to improve my speech.read more

Colby C.

We were very fortunate and blessed to have Mr. Morra as our son's speech therapist. Within the first three months, we saw a boost of confidence in our son's attempt to make the... letter sounds. Now our son can say the words with clarity and wants to expand his vocabulary. He always enjoyed his speech therapy sessions and never had a mention of a dull moment.read more

Leon Edna C.

I've had a great experience working with District Speech and Therapy.In September 2018, I had a major open brain surgery to repair two unruptured aneurysms and as a result... developed repeated stuttering and inability to find and use the correct words in a sentence - which really scared my family and friends into finding me immediate help.In working with Lee Morra, I learned, practiced and was guided through tasks to help me overcome those obstacles each session - and I have! Then once I was nearing an end with my surgery related issues, I learned from an ENT I also needed Lee's guidance to overcome the 3+ year hoarseness that had developed in my vocal cords. The techniques I learned and incorporated in my daily routine are working perfectly.Lee is a great speech pathologist, with a keen ability and patience to help teach, guide, support and encourage clients to continue and reach their goal. There were times I'd confess my doubt how these tasks would work for my issues; but I was encouraged to give them an earnest try, and my brain, speech and voice have really responded to the training.But beyond the specializaed training, Lee is great person to work with which makes you enjoy and look forward to each session.Deb McKenzieread more

Debbie M.

There are not enough superlatives to describe Jen Branchini. Our pediatrician recommended that we work with her, after my then 7-year-old son had a sudden onset of stuttering. We... are so happy we did. She is amazingly creative and empathic, and both we and my son have gotten so much out of working with her.read more

Jodie M.

We are very fortunate to have Ms. Keila and Mr. Morra as our son's speech therapists for over six months now. His progress is great and he always enjoys the sessions with with... both speech therapists.read more

S U

My daughter had speech therapy with Lee Morra once a week for approximately 6 months. Lee was excellent - he made each session fun (I could hear the giggles down the corridor),... and he really got results. My daughter went from accurately producing 'r’ and ‘th’ sounds about 10% of the time to now producing those sounds over 90% of the time, as well as self-correcting. I can't recommend them enough. Oh, and they also accept most forms of insurance, which is huge. For anyone who is contemplating in-school speech services via an IEP vs. private speech therapy, there is no comparison. Thanks to Lee for everything.read more

Dan E.

My child attends speech therapy with Lee. He is great!!! My son loves going to speech each week. At the end of each session, he always takes time to tell me how he did and... give/explain activities to do at home which I appreciate! We have seen good progress in a short period of time. Highly recommend! They also take BCBS which is a plus too :)read more

Kristina W.

My six year old has been working with Lee for just a couple of months, but we have already noticed a substantial improvement! We've been impressed not only by Lee's ability to... identify our child's specific speech issue, but also to keep trying different techniques to help her master the correct sounds. He is a joy to work with and put my daughter at ease immediately - and she looks forward to their weekly sessions. The whole experience has been nothing but positive, and we would highly recommend District Speech without reservation.read more

Erin S.

Angela has been working with my now 17mo son since he was 13mo and had a mixed receptive/expressive language delay. The progress in his speech and receptive language is remarkable... and he absolutely loves Angela. Jennifer is easy to work with on all the insurance/billing issues. Highly recommend this practice.read more

Anna E.

I had a wonderful experience working with Lee Morra. He is a superb listener and is refreshingly kind but he is also remarkably sharp. Maybe the best part about Lee is that he... offered brilliant personal suggestions. He gave advice that made sense of my experience and that taught me things I didn't know before. The exercises that we worked on together were challenging but extremely helpful to me.Also, the front office staff at District Speech is terrific!read more

Tommy M.

Jen Branchini has been treating my 6 year old son since he was 2. She has made an incredible difference in his life in those 4 years. She is hard-working, compassionate and an... endlessly creative problem-solver. She is one of those exceptionally rare people that can combine people skills with extraordinary technical skills. It's so meaningful for children, especially when they are struggling. She truly cares about her patients and their families. I can't believe how lucky we are to have her in our lives.read more

Karma S.

"I found Jen on Yelp and started working with her associate, Angela, within a few days of connecting with them both. I never noticed anything off with my child's speech, but after... we started working with Angela, noticed a difference right away. After only a couple of sessions, the difference became more pronounced to me because her articulation was shifting dramatically for the better. Angela has a wonderfully accessible and welcoming teaching style, and made my child feel safe and comfortable. Couple this with fun and engaging games that are used as lessons and you've got the perfect teaching/learning environment for success. We receive written assessments almost immediately following the end of each lesson, and the invoice at the start of each month. And with home visits, we couldn't be happier!"read more

Jinhee K.

They have friendly staff and speech coach Lee has been very helpful and supportive

Edwin L.

I’ve been working with Angela at District Speech for about 4 weeks now. When I started speech therapy for my son I didn’t know what to expect we had other concerns around his... development and behaviors but I knew for sure he needed speech therapy. After our initial appt. I expressed all my concerns with Angela and she was not only consoling but extremely helpful and supportive, even providing other options and leads for additional resources. My son is already making progress with his speech, Angela has been nothing short of amazing and she truly cares and it shows in the lengths she goes to really help her patients and their families. The District Speech team Angela and Jen, have been beyond supportive and surpassed any expectations.read more

Antonella D.

Arun M.

i met Jennifer in August of 2019, right before i had a feeding tube install, she called me every couple of days when I was in the hospital to check on me, when I got out of the... hospital on August 28, i finally met Jen September 4, 2019, I new she was the right therapist for me, I was schedule to have another swallow test in November, but after a four sessions with Jen, she said i was ready to take my second swallow test. I took swallow test on October 18, 2019 and passed with flying colors, now I'm eating food again i haven't ate any food by mouth since July 21, 2019.I want to say thank you District Speech and Language Therapy, and special thanks to Jennifer who help me get through my hard times, she is a gift from God.read more

Anthony J.

I’ve been going to District Speech for a few months now and would definitely recommend it. Lee has been very helpful in correcting some of my speech patterns. He is very friendly,... professional and encouraging.read more

Sarah M.

My child has had several years of early intervention. It wasn't until Lee and Jennifer began investing and collaborating on addressing my child's needs did I finally see... significant progress in short time. Lee identified additional special needs and modified the approach. My kid has fun and enjoys going. I feel that all the staff at District Speech really care about my child and are invested in seeing her reach her full potential. I feel like my kid will succeed thanks to them.read more

Sarah B.

Our son 4 year old son had a very positive experience working with Lee, and made strides with his speech pronunciation. This helped him to gain confidence in his communication,... which made him a happier boy! Several months later, my son still talks about going to Lee's office! Lee was patient, kind, and best of all, he made it fun! Highly recommend.read more

M T.

Jen Branchini has been a fantastic therapist. She is dedicated, resourceful and consistently provides helpful strategies to implement at home. So happy to have found District... Speech.read more

Laura A.

Jen Branchini is a colleague with whom I consulted about my son due to concerns about his attention and receptive/expressive language . She was not only extremely knowledgeable,... but also went above and beyond to understand his level of functioning and make recommendations that would help him, while also keeping in mind the feasibility of her recommendations in our everyday life. She is a professional who does not rush in to recommend therapy/interventions unless these are truly warranted. She helped me navigate many of my concerns for my little one and I am so grateful to her.read more

Irene Tseretopoulos, P.

I have worked with Jen over the past five years as both a teacher and now a parent. Quite simply, Jen and her practice are top-notch. Jen is not only an expert SLP, she is an... expert on kids. She just gets them! She understands the power of building relationships and works with children in such an approachable and fun way, they simply adore her and enjoy working with her on meeting their speech/language goals. Behind the scenes, Jen remains committed to the children she works with, regularly going above and beyond to advocate, secure additional resources, and check-in with parents. Fast forward a few years and now I've had the pleasure of working with Jen as a parent. She completed thorough evaluations on both of my sons (the older for proper sound production, the younger to evaluate the impact of a facial cleft on his speech). My boys are timid and introverted, but they immediately warmed up to her and played through their evaluations. We are at ease knowing that we have Jen on our team, and we would highly recommend her or any of the therapists at District Speech.read more

Jodi A.

Cannot say enough good things about my son's experience with District Speech, especially both Lee and Jennifer. After sessions, I would notice my son utilizing the skills he had... picked-up to initate conversations with passengers on the Metro. Moreover, Lee and Jennifer have been actively engaged in lending their expertise to help develop my son's IEP and ensure adequate speech/language objectives and goals are put in place to meet his needs. I would recommend District Speech to looking for Speech and Language Therapy.read more

Anthony S.

I met Ms. Branchini while working as a contracted psychologist for a Tier 1 charter school in Washington DC. I had the opportunity to observe her conducting speech therapy with... students, consulting with teachers and other paraprofessionals, and reviewing assessment results in meetings. I was incredibly impressed with her ability to connect with the students (of various ages) and use therapeutic strategies that were both effective and engaging. The children always enjoyed working with "Miss Jenn". In meetings, Ms. Branchini was able to express her expertise of speech language weaknesses and disorders, and treatment in a manner that was understandable and relatable. Her speech-language evaluation reports were thorough and included helpful and relevant recommendations. I highly recommend Ms. Branchini for speech therapy services, speech-language evaluations, and for consultation with other paraprofessionals and schools.read more

Jami T.

Angela has been working with our toddler for almost a year now for his speech delay. We have seen solid improvement in his speech during this time. Jen and her team are flexible,... reliable, available, and always professional. Additionally, our therapist, Angela, always gives us great feedback from the session, provides us with tips, and assigns us extra work we can do at home to reinforce his learning. We and our son alway look forward to our speech therapy sessions—highly recommend!read more

Craig W.

The professionals at District Speech are both very dedicated individuals, who truly care about the welfare and progress of their clients! They are very knowledgeable in their... field, and have years of experience, that will certainly help your child with his or her needs. I highly recommend that you contact them for any speech and language issues your child may have.read more

Ada S.

Working with Lee was an incredible experience that I wish I had begun sooner. He is personable and genuine with his patients, creating a relaxed environment. Working with him gave... me verbal tools and skills that I can use in the real word on a day to day basis. It also inspired me to pursue a different course of study at GW. As a speech, language, and hearing science major, I aspire to help others just the way he did for me.read more

Izzy M.

My 5 year old has benefited from services with therapist Jenn. He started 2 years ago and his speech, conversation and grasp of expressive /receptive language has improved, its... amazing how speech services can positively impact a child’s ability to communicate. Jenn is patient, very kid friendly and tailors her session to the client needs. She is very inclusive of my sons preferences during the sessions and finds savvy ways to encourage participation and makes therapy fun. Moreover, Jenn always provide updates on my son’s progress and provide takeaway activities to implement with him at home to include role play, online apps and other resources.read more

Tara H.

I worked with Lee over the course of four months. I really appreciated his ability to tailor each session to my specific needs. Lee's thorough knowledge was helpful in explaining... specific and intricate details in simple terms. Through his help I was able to learn to talk to correctly and fluently without crutches. I like to think of it through the analogy, he taught me how to walk as opposed to giving me a wheelchair.read more

Mike M

Virginia D.

District Speech is awesome! The therapists and the administrators have been so helpful and offer guidance and advice that's best for our family and our little guy who needs some... extra support. They're really good about trying to new ideas and finding new resources to fit the needs of an individual.read more

Sandra V.

I went through speech therapy with Miss Jen because I have a stutter and we focused on various exercises to help me in daily professional life. During our weekly sessions we... would go to stores or make telephones and I would practice purposeful stuttering while monitoring my stress level, pauses and practice breathing exercises that would making the conversation easier. She also encouraged me to start informing my audience about my stuttering. Consistently doing so took away the stress of trying hiding, made my audience better listeners, more understanding, and the communication was much better.At the end of my time with Miss Jen I had become a strong speaker, more confident in my communication skills on the phone and in person. I was no longer embarrassed of the stutter. I highly recommend her.read more

Abdoulaye M.

Very happy with the results. My five year old took speech therapy with Jenn and the results were fabulous!!

Gabriela Morales R.

Lee morra is the best speech therapist hands down and I have learned alot from him since my stroke and I can also talk to him about life he is hands down the best... 👍👍👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌👌👌read more

Vincent M.

stephanie B.

I am 26 years old and this is my second attempt at speech therapy. I'm am very impressed and have improved my speech more then I ever thought possible. Definatly recommend! Worth... it!read more

Coleman L.

Jen Branchini has been a colleague for many years, and she is the only SLP therapist that I trust. As a neuropsychologist, I frequently need to consult with a speech therapist... regarding patient matters. Beyond being highly knowledgeable and intelligent, Jen is exceptionally kind and patient, and she always goes above and beyond to understand my patients’ needs and how best to help. She makes feasible recommendations for remediation that are also highly effective. I would highly recommend her to my patients and family/friends alike!read more

Jackie B.

My 7-year-old daughter worked with Lee over the course of the last 8 months and he did a remarkable job! Not only is she pronouncing words SO much more clearly, but he made it fun... for her. My husband and I could always hear her giggling from the waiting room. It was totally worth the drive from Bethesda every week and we can't thank Lee enough for helping her with her speech!read more

Victoria T.

I worked with Lee Morra after an ENT referred me to vocal therapy to address my vocal cord nodules. Lee was always prompt, friendly and professional. The office was clean and... sessions were one on one with Lee. Lee kept excellent notes on each visit so we could start off where we ended the last session. He also incorporated a survey that showed where I was at the beginning of our sessions and at the end. Thank you Lee!read more

Alexis T.

Lee's warm demeanor and upbeat disposition immediately disarmed and engaged our 4 year old son. Throughout the speech consultation, our son thought he was just playing a fun... game as Lee expertly evaluated him. After the consultation, Lee did not try to oversell us, by recommending unnecessary sessions simply because our insurance would cover them. We would recommend Lee Morra and District Speech to anyone!read more

Glenderlyn H.

I loved working with Jen Branchini. She made such a difference in my post-surgery recovery, working on bringing back my speech to what it was and increasing my muscle control. ... She was detail oriented and was able to adjust and change up my therapy as I was making progress -so much, that after about 6 months of working with her, my speech is fully back to where it is, and now I also have exercises and tools to continue to improve and exercise. Jen was also so warm and friendly in our interactions - I really enjoyed working with her and I would definitely recommend this practice to anyone who is looking for speech therapy.read more

Marija B.

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