Testimonials

Testimonials

Our son was diagnosed with Autism which has resulted in a delay in his speech. We persisted with the support provided by the NHS and became increasingly frustrated by their poor service. We therefore thought to search for a private speech therapist to see what impact this could have on our son. We found Helen, and are truly grateful for all that she has done over the past year. We do not have one complaint about the service she has provided to us during this time. Helen has supreme knowledge and gets the best out of our son by the methods she uses. She also exhibits characteristics that shows she is in this profession as she enjoys the work, as evidenced by suggesting a reduced fee for a session that is shortened due to our son not being “in the mood”. It is refreshing to deal with a person who is genuinely true to their work and not a rip-off merchant. Looking back over the past year, our son has had a massive development in his speech and we thank Helen for this – you can’t put a price on the improvement that we have seen in our son.

Keith and Sylvie

When we first took Helen's Services on, our daughter could barely manage to say a handful of words at the age of 4. Within a few months and a solid diagnosis of Verbal Dyspraxia from Helen, she is now talking in sentences. We will be eternally grateful for what Helen has done for us.

Mr and Mrs Mason

Heading off to an education tribunal to question my sons special needs school placement, I needed to have a speech and language therapy report. Helen Pearson was recommended to me. When I phoned Helen she was both pleasant and friendly.

Helen came to my home to test my 14 year old son who has autism and ADHD. He needed lots of time, patience, reassurance and empathy all of which Helen has lots of.
My son was totally at ease with Helen and concentrated well and worked hard on the tests with lots of positive praise from Helen.

Within a week we had a full and comprehensive report specifying my sons strengths and weaknesses and ready to take to tribunal.

When it was time for me to attend Tribunal, Helen accompanied my husband and myself and was very professional throughout.

After the Tribunal we had further reports to read and add to, which Helen was only too happy to help with.
I would highly recommend Helen as an exceptional speech therapist that always has the child's best interest at heart and has an exceptional empathy towards children with special needs.

Margaret Ellis

My 3 year old son Harry has been seeing Helen since May 2010 at our home. From our first meeting I was impressed with Helen's professionalism and her connection with Harry. Harry has been diagnosed with Autism, however the main issue is his lack of speech and understanding of language. From Helen's early visits she was able to work with Harry in getting him to complete tasks. She has always been able to bring resources that really bring out the best in Harry's communication and concentration. She is patient and encouraging and makes all her sessions fun and engaging. Most of all, I have loved watching the growing relationship between my son and Helen. She has also given invaluable advice to my husband and I in connection with the Statementing process and other aspects of education for Harry. Always positive and willing to adapt if necessary, she is a pleasure to work with.

Fiona

We moved to the UK in March 2010 from Norway. Shaun entered Reception at his school in the Summer Term and was recommended to see a Speech therapist because he was not easily understood by the teachers and his peers. Helen was highly recommended to us by the school and we started therapy at the end of May 2010. Shaun did not take long to be comfortable with Helen and enjoys his sessions with her. Helen adapted her sessions to help Shaun learn in a way that he enjoyed, for example, Shaun liked to play games so she incorporated this in their sessions. Helen also made herself available for sessions during holiday time so that he would catch up before the new term.

We have seen great improvements in Shaun's speech and language as well as his self esteem. This was also shown as improved grades on the standardised tests that was given. It was a good to see tangible proof of his progress which attested to his present successes in class.

I find that Helen keeps me informed of what happens in their sessions at school, of future targets for Shaun and when he has achieved them. The lines of communication are always open. I am very happy to have Helen on our team.

Mrs Vieira

Helen Pearson has worked at Copthorne Prep School and Coachhouse Nursery for 4 years as a private speech and language therapist. During this time she has assessed children and written reports for the teaching staff and for parents.

She prepares detailed programmes of work for individual children and provides specialist support to children individually and in pairs.

She has a warm personality and the children enjoy their time with her.

I have found Helen punctual and reliable. Her reports are informative and helpful. Her manner is approachable, and parents and staff appreciate her energy and her genuine interest in the children and their progress.

Catherine Passmore
SENCO

My son at 3½ years had speech problems. He didn't speak at nursery and at home his speech was unintelligible. School was approaching and the NHS support was lacking.

We contacted Helen in February 2010. Helen explained her procedures and fee structure clearly, she visited Harry at our home, which made things easier for Harry. After the initial assessment we received a prompt report and agreed a plan of action. With weekly visits and lots of practise the difference in Harry was noticeable within weeks. He became confident and chatty at nursery.

He started school in September 2010 and has settled well, he talks and reads beautifully! It has been hard work and we still practise some of his sounds that he finds hard to make, but it has been worthwhile. Calling Helen is probably the best thing we have done for Harry.

Emma

Helen has been our daughter's SLT for almost two years now. I have always found her easy to approach. Her communication is excellent, maintaining good flow of information with us at all times. She is always willing to answer my numerous questions any day, any time. She really cares for the well being and development of our daughter. She is always positive and encouraging with a fresh and dynamic approach to her sessions. Our daughter really enjoys her sessions and has improved enormously. She is very pro-active in her search for ways to help her. Helen's advice is always easy to follow and understand. We could not have chosen a better SLT for our daughter.

Mr and Mrs Patel

Helen has made a huge difference to our daughter who has Verbal Dyspraxia over the last 18 months. I have no doubt that with the very little NHS support, without Helen, our daughter would not have progressed to a level where she is able to express herself confidently in short sentences and we can understand most of what she says. Prior to Helens involvement she was only able to say a handful of words, some of them only discernable by close family. She also had a very restricted mouth movement and was unable to say most of the first sounds. Helen has helped and advised us on getting a Statement of Special Education Needs and we are happy to say she is now in a school with a Speech and Language Unit attached. I have always found Helen to be extremely knowledgeable (being the first person to give a meaningful diagnosis of Verbal Dyspraxia in view of her sporadic speech), unfailingly friendly, professional and always willing to go that extra mile. I would definitely recommend her to any parents of a child with speech difficulties. My husband and I are both extremely grateful to her for the support she has given to us and our daughter.

Mr and Mrs Cove

My 3 year old son Austin was diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. At the time he was just 2 years old and we had always been told that early intervention was crucial to Austin's development. We pushed for speech therapy for him within the NHS but he was put on a waiting list. We decided to use a private speech therapist and searched over the Internet for someone local. Our luck certainly changed when we found Helen. She was very professional and friendly. Austin took to her straight away and really enjoyed his sessions. She was very patient with him; it was amazing to see his progress. His communication improved and he learnt how to use picture exchange cards to ask for things. His concentration with the activities he enjoyed playing seemed to get better and better. I remember feeling a bit emotional at one session because I could really see his progress. I would definitely recommend Helen if you ever need a speech therapist. She has given us so much help and advice.

Georgie

Helen has been an absolute magician, working wonders with our son Finlay with whom we first noticed a speech delay back when he was 3 years old. After attending therapy sessions provided by the NHS for the next 3 years we decided that Finlay needed additional and more consistent support which they were unfortunately unable to provide. From the outset Helen has been consistent in her professionalism, working with a clarity in direction and with an obvious love of working with children. Her pleasure from the achievements Finlay has made is obvious. Her warm and friendly approach has meant that Finlay enjoyed his time with her from the start, feeling both secure and being challenged. She values the importance of good communication and has worked closely with both us and Finlay's school so that a consistent approach has been achieved. Detailed verbal feedback is given after each session and reports on formal assessments written promptly. Finlay's speech has made dramatic progress over the 2 years that Helen has been working with him and as parents we now see a child achieving their own goals both academic and personal with a growing conviction and confidence

Sarah and Jonnie