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Queens speech and language support helps young children strengthen communication, early learning, and school-readiness skills through individualized instruction delivered at home.
We provide in-home speech and language support throughout Queens, with remote options available when appropriate. Families in Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Fresh Meadows, Bayside, and nearby Queens neighborhoods can access individualized support without traveling to a learning center.
Many Queens families begin support early rather than waiting for difficulties to become more pronounced. Families also seek proactive support to maintain strong developmental and academic progress over time.
Queens Letters focuses on speech language, literacy, and math intervention that is proactive, early, and enrichment oriented academic and speech language support.
WE TRAVEL TO YOU THROUGHOUT QUEENS:
Astoria, Auburndale, Bayside, Bayswater, Beechhurst, Belle Harbor, Bellerose, Breezy Point, Briarwood, Cambria Heights, College Point, Corona, Douglaston, East Elmhurst, Edgemere, Elmhurst, Far Rockaway, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Forest Park, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Hamilton Beach, Hillcrest, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Holliswood, Howard Beach, Hunters Point, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Laurelton, Lefrak City, Lindenwood, Little Neck, Long Island City, Malba, Maspeth, Meadowmere, Middle Village, Neponsit, North Corona, Oakland Gardens, Ozone Park, Pomonok, Queens Village, Rego Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, Rockaway Park, Rosedale, Roxbury, South Jamaica, South Ozone Park, Springfield Gardens, Steinway, Sunnyside, Utopia, Whitestone, Willets Point, Woodhaven, Woodside.
Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists We Work With
We travel to you and we also offer remote services. Some of the speech-language pathologists we work with are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many of the speech-language pathologists we collaborate with are trained in literacy and offer support with decoding, spelling and reading fluency services. Our skilled speech-language pathologists and therapists work with babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:
We also support families pursuing homeschooling for K–5 students, offering personalized in-home or remote instruction tailored to each child’s learning style and needs.
What This Service Is
Queens speech and language support develops communication, language, and school-readiness skills through individualized instruction delivered directly in the home.
Support may focus on expressive language, receptive language, vocabulary, speech clarity, listening, early literacy, and communication for classroom participation and learning.
The goal is not limited to responding to an established difficulty. In-home support can also help children build stronger foundations before preschool, pre-K, kindergarten, or elementary school expectations increase.
Working directly with families in Queens homes allows instruction to connect naturally with everyday communication, books, play, routines, and early learning activities.
When Families Seek This Support
Queens families seek speech and language support for early concerns, proactive development, and stronger preparation for school.
Families may begin looking for support when:
- a toddler is using fewer words than expected
- a child has difficulty expressing ideas clearly
- following directions or understanding questions is challenging
- speech is difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand
- preschool or school feedback raises a communication concern
- parents want to strengthen language before kindergarten
- a child is progressing well but would benefit from more advanced language or early literacy work
Many Queens families begin support early rather than waiting. Proactive support helps prevent gaps from developing while giving children opportunities to build stronger communication and learning foundations.
How It Works
In-home support allows speech, language, and early academic instruction to connect with a child’s everyday learning environment.
Services are delivered in the home throughout Queens, with remote options available when appropriate. Support is individualized around the child’s age, current skills, school expectations, and family priorities.
Sessions may incorporate conversation, books, structured play, vocabulary development, listening activities, early literacy, and school-aligned learning. The specific approach depends on the child’s developmental stage and goals.
For families in Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Fresh Meadows, Bayside, and surrounding Queens neighborhoods, the in-home model provides consistent support without requiring regular travel to a center.
When Children Benefit
Children can benefit from support when skills are emerging slowly, families want to prevent gaps, or advanced learners are ready for greater challenge.
Early Concerns
Support may be useful when communication, vocabulary, speech clarity, listening, or early literacy skills are not progressing as expected.
Proactive Support
Families do not need to wait for a significant difficulty before seeking help. Early support can strengthen foundational skills and help children maintain progress as school expectations increase.
Enrichment
Children already developing successfully may benefit from richer vocabulary, stronger narrative language, early reading and writing foundations, mathematical thinking, or more advanced school-readiness instruction.
Why Queens Families Choose This
Queens Letters combines in-home convenience with individualized speech, language, literacy, and early academic support for young children.
Queens families often want support that fits between traditional tutoring and diagnosis-led services. Queens Letters emphasizes proactive development, individualized instruction, and skills that support communication and classroom learning.
In-home support is delivered where children already communicate, read, play, and learn. Families often seek to maintain strong academic progress over time while addressing emerging needs before larger gaps develop.
The service is designed around Queens families rather than a citywide learning-center model, with support available in communities including Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Fresh Meadows, Bayside, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists We Work With
We travel to you and we also offer remote services. Some of the speech-language pathologists we work with are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many of the speech-language pathologists we collaborate with are trained in literacy and offer support with decoding, spelling and reading fluency services. Our skilled speech-language pathologists and therapists work with babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:
- Pronunciation
- Enunciation
- Articulation
- Expressive Language Disorder
- Writing & Speaking Therapy
- Comprehension- Listening & Reading
- Listening Comprehension
- Auditory Processing
- Vocabulary
- Teens – Language Therapy
- Stuttering
- Feeding
- Oral Motor
- Voice
- AAC
- Adult Speech Therapy
- Public Speaking
- Accent Reduction Modification Speech Therapy
We also support families pursuing homeschooling for K–5 students, offering personalized in-home or remote instruction tailored to each child’s learning style and needs.
Training/Certifications
Training/Certifications
Queens Letters is owned and operated by Brooklyn Letters.
BABIES, TODDLERS, PRESCHOOLERS
During an initial consultation or evaluation, your child’s speech and language skills will be assessed to determine if there are any speech or language delays. Analysis will pinpoint where your child is having difficulty with their speech and language development. Pinpointing the underlying difficulties is critical for effective treatment. In addition to language therapy, we provide speech therapy for all ages.
For this reason, we’ve developed a parent’s guide into what an early language assessment is, how a speech pathologist evaluates children, the role of play in understanding communication, and when you should consider professional early intervention.
EARLY STAGES OF COMMUNICATION
Before a child speaks, he/she child relies on non-verbal communication, e.g. pointing, reaching, and handing an object to a parent. Babies and toddlers with communication delays- who are not ready to speak- first need help learning how to communicate non-verbally and some babies and toddlers need help with their social focus, called joint attention. Therapy focuses on increasing the frequency and improving the quality of the child’s communicative gestures and improving their focus during social games/activities.
EARLY EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Early expressive language development is characterized by the quantity and quality of the child’s vocabulary, and the manner in which a child combines words before speaking full sentences. Once the child is speaking in full sentences, his or her development is characterized in terms of how well the words are used to convey more complex ideas or thoughts.
Delays in early language development involve slower acquisition of sounds, words, combining words, less frequent social communicative attempts, and difficulty understanding cognitive or linguistic concepts (such as big vs. small, under vs next to, some vs all, or first vs. last). If a child is having significant expressive language issues compared to peers, he or she may have an expressive language disorder (also known as spoken language disorder) or an expressive language delay (for children 4 years and younger).
LATE TALKERS
While communication delays in some children may not point to an expressive language disorder, some toddlers with a limited vocabulary for their age and exhibit other symptoms may be at risk. In particular, studies suggest that mild comprehension for their age, a family history of language and learning issues, and using few gestures when communicating are indicators that a child could have continuing language delay. This may mean that a child is showing signs of a language disorder (expressive or expressive/receptive language) also known as a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), or language impairment as research calls it.
Stages of babbling:
- 0-2 Months: Crying and cooing
- 3-4 Months: Simple speech sounds (goo).
- 5 Months: Single-syllable speech sounds (ba, da, ma).
- 6-7 Months : Reduplicated babbling – repeating the same syllable (ba-ba, na-na).
- 8-9 Months: Variegated babbling – mixing different sounds (ba de da).
- 10-11 Months: Jargon – complex babbling with simple words (baba da ma ball da).
- 12 Months: Real words gradually take over.
By 1 year of age, most babies will:
- Look for and be able to locate the source of a sound.
- When you call their name, they usually respond.
- Wave goodbye.
- Look where you point when you say,
- Babble with intonation (voice rises and falls as if they speak).
- Take turns “talking” to you, paying attention and listening when you speak, and then babbling when you stop. Say “da-da” to their father and “ma-ma” to their mother.
- Say at least 1 word.
- Make sounds while pointing to items they want that are out of reach.
By the age of two, most toddlers will:
- Point to various body parts and common objects.
- Point to common images in books.
- Follow 1-step commands without a gesture, such as, “Put your cup on the table.”
- Be able to say about 250 but cut off is 50 spontaneous words, and they are combing words Dadda Up
- Say a few two-word phrases, such as “Daddy go,” “Doll mine,” and “All gone.”
- Perhaps say 3-word sentences like “I want juice” or “You go bye-bye.”
Know more about late-talking in this interview with Dr. Michelle Macroy-Higgins, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist, associate professor in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Program at Hunter College, New York, and author of Time to Talk: What You Need to Know About Your Child’s Speech and Language Development. She speaks with speech-language pathologist, learning specialist, and Brooklyn Letters CEO Craig Selinger about the signs and symptoms of late-talking and how to diagnose it in young children.
Everything You Need to Know If You Have a Toddler Who Is a Late Talker and FREE pamphlet on Late Talking!
What is the relationship between language and learning disabilities
During this early stage of expressive language, toddlers also begin to acquire and develop their narrative skills. This is crucial as young children expand their use of language and communication by retelling or describing stories, experiences, or past events. Narrative development is directly correlated with a child’s success in school and academic achievement.
Typically developing children commonly acquire all grammatical morphemes by age four (see chart below). But for children struggling with narrative language, parents may notice some delays or missing aspects in their child’s language skills. At Brooklyn Letters, support is provided for students who struggle with narrative development.
Another condition is Social Communication Pragmatic Disorder (SCPD). Learn more about social communication pragmatic disorder, its symptoms, causes, and strategies parents can employ to support their child with this disorder.
Read about Early Childhood Developmental Milestones.
Narrative Development in Children
According to research, narrative development can play a significant role in determining a child’s later success in school and literacy. This is because the narration and relaying of a previous experience allows the child to communicate and use language that is beyond the present context or the “here and now.” This determines the child’s grasp of linguistic structure and the words chosen. But what exactly is narrative development? And how do you know your child’s progress is appropriate for his or her age?
A child’s narrative skills refer to his or her ability to use language in telling or communicating a story. As children develop their narrative skills, they learn to follow the rules of story-telling. This involves sequencing of events, organization, introducing characters, establishing the plot or main idea, and taking perspectives.
Narrative skills are first developed and introduced in very young children through storytelling or bedtime story sessions with their parents.
By listening to stories and being exposed to story-telling, children begin to understand and develop narrative structure. In most cases, children with speech and language problems or conditions struggle with comprehending and executing narratives. At Queens Letters, we support children with narrative language difficulties and speech and language delays.
What is an Expressive Language Disorder?
Unlike speech sound disorders, which involve difficulties in producing spoken sounds, language disorders refer to problems using spoken language compared to peers. These expressive problems manifest in at least one of these areas: spoken vocabulary, complexity of what the child is saying (grammar), and social use of words (pragmatics). These issues become more apparent when children, older than 4 years of age, have difficulties telling stories and making friends.
Language Disorders are classified as two types:
Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder – Difficulty with comprehension or understanding the words or complexity of what the individual understands compared to peers and has an expressive language disorder.
Expressive Language Disorder – Receptively, the individual is age-appropriate but there are significant issues expressing oneself compared to peers.
There is no such thing as just a receptive language disorder. If a child is misdiagnosed with this label, either the child has significant attentional difficulties, or the child’s expressive language skills were not thoroughly assessed. Licensed speech-language pathologists are the best professionals to thoroughly assess expressive language skills.
Spoken or expressive language disorder is a lifelong condition and appears in early childhood. It is often developmental in nature but may also be caused by traumatic brain injury. An individual with expressive language disorder exhibits normal comprehension skills but has difficulty with written and/or verbal expression. This can impair academic achievement and make it more difficult to socialize in groups with peers.
What Are the Signs of an Expressive Language Disorder?
In many cases, signs of an expressive language disorder may be invisible to parents and teachers. Some signs and behaviors may not directly imply a language problem. According to research, one of the early signs of a language disorder in children is late talking. The Hanen Centre defines a late talker as a child between 18 and 30 months with a good understanding of language and typical development in other areas (hearing, vision, motor, and cognitive skills) but has a limited spoken vocabulary compared to peers for their age. However, late talking becomes a more serious concern for children who also exhibit other risk factors, such as:
- Quiet or little babbling as an infant
- Has a history of ear infections
- Limited consonant sounds
- Does not link pretend ideas and actions together during play
- Does not imitate words or sounds
- Uses mostly nouns and few verbs
- Difficulty interacting or playing with peers
- A family history of communication, learning, and academic difficulties
- Mild comprehension delay for their age
- Uses few gestures to communicate
Other signs of Expressive Language Disorder also include:
- less developed vocabulary than their peers
- often uses fillers like “um,” “uh,” and “huh”
- having no problems with understanding, but struggle with speaking, asking questions, or answering
- using short phrases or sentences or say the same words or phrases over and over;
- struggling with telling stories
- for toddlers, relying on using gestures
- lacking intonation and modulation when talking
- shying away from the conversation and avoid social situations or group interactions
- may say a lot but not make much sense
Signs of a child who needs expressive language therapy:
- Difficulty naming items and objects.
- Does not link words together or may use sentences that are shorter than those used by children of the same age.
- Uses sentences that are not grammatically correct and, therefore, can sound immature.
- May use jargon (made-up words) when talking.
- Speaks in sentences that are ‘jumbled’ (i.e., words are in the wrong order, lots of stopping and starting, creating a lack of flow).
- Can be misunderstood by unfamiliar people.
- May have difficulty finding the correct words to use when describing something or having a conversation. The child may use techniques such as ‘circumlocution’ (talking around the word) or a word with a similar meaning to help them express themselves.
PBS.ORG, Average Number of Words Produced
- At 15 months= 14 words
- 18 months= 68 words
- 23 months= 200 words
- 24 months- 200 to 300 words Dr. Rhea Paul, Ph. D.
- 30 months= 570 words
Diagnosing Expressive Language Disorder
As with all speech or language disorders, it is always important to first ensure that there are no hearing issues affecting language development. A hearing assessment by an audiologist is necessary to rule out any issues with hearing (ears). Even undetected ear infections can interfere with acquiring language in younger children.
To get your child diagnosed with an expressive language disorder, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) must do a thorough evaluation. A comprehensive assessment must be conducted with the help of the child’s family and teachers. This evaluation process includes both informal and formal assessments. Formal evaluation comes in the form of standardized tests, while informal evaluation involves interviews, observations, checklists, and language samples.
While both types are essential in providing accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment goals, it is the language sample that provides a clearer picture of the child’s language abilities and conversational skills. Through language sampling, an SLP is able to gain a better understanding of the child’s strengths and weaknesses with regards to key language areas. These areas include syntax or grammar, semantics or word meanings, morphology (suffixes and prefixes), and pragmatics or social skills. Speech-language pathologists at Queens Letters conduct language sampling in order to accurately diagnose and assess the needs of your child using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts or SALT program. The typical expressive language development in young children, aged 12 months to 47 months onwards, is outlined in the Acquisition of Sentence Forms Within Brown’s Stages of Development. This framework is an invaluable tool used by SLPs in conducting a structural analysis of a language sample.
(Related: Find out more about language sampling in this article on the Structural Analysis of a Language Sample.)
During this phase, speech language pathologists will need to know the child’s:
- full case history (including birth and medical records; history of language, speech, reading, or academic difficulties in the family; languages or dialects were spoken at home; and, the family’s and teacher’s own observations and concerns)
- spoken language skills (phonology and phonological awareness, semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics)
- level of reading and writing (if the child is school-age)
AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORDS A CHILD PRODUCES/SAYS
-
Age 3 1/2: 4,200 words
- Age 4: 5,600 words
-
Age 5: 9,600 words
Read more about:
- Acquisition of Pronouns
- Pragmatics Milestones
- Expressive Vocabulary
- Questions Answering and Asking Milestones
- Language Development Milestones (birth- 60 months)
How to Treat Expressive Language Disorders in Young Children
Once a diagnosis is made, the SLP will conduct further analysis and observations before creating an individualized program. However, it is important to remember that therapy will not offer a permanent “cure” for the disorder. Instead, SLPs can equip children with strategies and techniques to help them manage their condition.
Therapy methods can vary, depending on the therapist and the child’s needs. Modeling target behavior is one technique where the therapist models and reinforces aspects of speech that need to be targeted, such as sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical structure.
Some areas that SLPs address are:
For preschoolers (ages 3 to 5):
- enhancing phonological awareness through rhyming, blending, and segmenting spoken words
- improving vocabulary and understanding of semantic relationships
- increasing sentence types, length, and complexity
- improving conversational skills
- developing narrative skills
- increasing language flexibility in different contexts
- building and encouraging literacy skills
- The Beginning with Babble app is a mobile tool designed to help parents and caregivers interact with their children from birth to five years old through research-based, developmentally appropriate tips and activities. Licensed speech-language pathologists at Queens Letters coach families on effectively using the app, so parents can confidently apply its tips and strategies when the SLP isn’t there, fostering language-rich interactions and building foundational language and pre-literacy skills independently.
Queens Letters’ new chatbot (hosted on their parent company Brooklyn Letters’ website) offers quick, evidence-based answers to your developmental pediatric speech and language questions. It helps you make informed decisions without the hassle of sifting through extensive information online. It’s an excellent resource for parents, SLPs, psychologists, and other professionals seeking concise guidance on speech and language development, including understanding the crucial difference between chronological and linguistic age, speech sound acquisition, and language milestones.
FAQ
Queens families can use in-home support for emerging concerns, proactive development, school readiness, and enrichment.
When should a family consider speech and language support?
Families may seek support when communication is not progressing as expected, when preschool or school raises a concern, or when parents want to strengthen skills proactively.
Does a child need a diagnosis to receive support?
No. Families may seek proactive support before a diagnosis or significant difficulty is present, including preparation for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school.
Is support provided in the home?
Yes. Queens Letters provides in-home support throughout Queens, with remote options available when appropriate.
Can children who are already doing well benefit?
Yes. Advanced learners may benefit from enrichment in vocabulary, narrative language, early literacy, writing readiness, mathematical thinking, and other school-aligned skills.
Which Queens neighborhoods are served?
In-home services are available throughout Queens, including Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Fresh Meadows, Bayside, and surrounding communities.
This work is designed for families seeking proactive and enrichment-oriented support, not only for children with clear developmental delays.
Check out our rates here!Check out our rates here!
MEET QUEENS LETTERS SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPISTS AND PATHOLOGISTS WHO TRAVEL TO YOUR HOME
Michelle L.
M.S. CCC-SLP, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Andrea S.
M.A., CCC-SLP, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Christina R.
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSHH, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Amanda
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Kathleen E.
SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Theo W.
M.S. CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist
Liza B.
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
FREE CONSULTATION!!!
Call & Text: (917) 426-8880
Email: queens@brooklynletters.com
(we respond to email right away!)
