Brooklyn Letters
1139 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn
- We cannot say enough good things about Effie, the ASL teacher, who was so engaged and effective with our 2 year old daughter from the very first session! Effie gladly included our whole family in the sessions! Her expertise and fantastic … More personality gave our daughter a way to communicate that she was so desperately seeking. The coordinators at Brooklyn Letters were so helpful and communicative…I would highly recommend their services!
- Aileen was INCREDIBLY helpful to us, both in assessing possible origins of my grandson's food aversions, as well as informing us of various available interventions to consider.
I can’t thank you and Brooklyn Letters enough for connecting … More us with Aileen. In all our feeding therapy journey we have not gotten anything near the kind of benefit that we did from her. Her knowledge, professionalism, and responsiveness have put us on the path of progress with my grandson and has also made us feel genuinely well cared for. - Melissa was wonderful. Our daughter warmed to her immediately and by the time she left, had already started "practicing" some of the techniques Melissa had shown her. I will not hesitate at all to reach out to Melissa again, should … More the need arise.
- We were amazed with Allison! She met my son at 2 1/2 years old, not speaking much at all, and over a computer, and she was able to develop a bond and friendship, so much so that he would look forward to his weekly computer time with Allison. … More I was not sure how the speech therapy would go- but we are so happy that we tried it out and continued. It allowed my son to gain confidence in his speech, make a new friend :), and also give him the skills and a bit of understanding of how to shape his mouth or where to place his tongue to make the proper sounds. We were extremely happy with Allison- she was fantastic to work with.
- My sessions with Karen have been extremely helpful. My speech has improved tremendously. In fact, I just finished 2 hours of conducting interviews with a consulting client via MS Teams and I have an upcoming conference call. Both my … More neurologist and neurosurgeon remarked about how good my speech is. Much of the day it is perfect, although I still have some rough spots when I get tired or speak too quickly. One of my granddaughters is a speech pathology student at Ithaca College. She sat in on 2 sessions while she was home for winter break, and she was very impressed with Karen.
- We were delighted with Christie. First, and most importantly, our son made great strides under her guidance. So great, that we felt he no longer needed help! She was incredibly patient and kind with him and our son really responded to … More her. Christie was also great with me and my wife. She provided thorough and informative updates on our son's progress and which exercises she was using with him, so we could reinforce what she was teaching him. All in all, we had a fabulous experience with Christie and would highly recommend her.
- Theo was wonderful and his work with my son has produced some progress. I am grateful for the services Theo provided.
- Highly recommend Jill. She is a total pleasure to work with. After a few months working with Jill, my son is reading above grade level and LOVES to read. Mission accomplished!
- Paige was great and we had been really happy with her. I would highly recommend her! I recommend Brooklyn Letters to whomever asks for a speech therapist.
- Isabel was WONDERFUL and our son absolutely adored her, and he is making great progress with his reading and writing.
- Theo was fantastic with our 4yo son. We were very worried that his progress would fall off when we had to switch to remote sessions, but Theo kept our son happy and engaged through the screen. Highly highly recommend!
- We've been working with Theo from Brooklyn Letters for close to 4 months now and the results are apparent; our daughter has vastly improved her speech in a relatively short amount of time. We make "Theo Day" a celebration … More in our house with pancakes for breakfast, and the enthusiasm is matched in the sessions. Theo is fun, patient, professional, and caring, and he gives us the tools to take the lessons beyond the session. Thank you Theo, and Brooklyn Letters, for helping our daughter express herself.
- I worked with Alina to enhance my pronunciation, tone, and pacing while communicating socially and in a work environment. She was great to work with and clear about goals and learning objectives. The improvement from day 1 has been tremendous! … More
- Cathy has been excellent with us and our son. We will sorely miss her. He has improved significantly with Cathy’s help. Cathy was a true partner with us, especially as we pursued additional help through our son’s school system.
- We really loved working with Alina, she is so fantastic. Patient yet firm, and determined the best course of action very clearly and succintly for us. And it all transitioned so well to Zoom as well. I will definitely be back in touch for … More services for our other child after summer break!
- Vera was amazing! My 11 yo daughter made progress so quickly and really looked forward to her sessions. She was kept motivated and engaged.
- The work that Allison P. did with our daughter over the years has been invaluable to us. Our daughter had such a good relationship with Allison, and it allowed them to work really well together - even remotely these past 6 months. This … More year, Allison went above and beyond by helping us throughout the neuropsych eval we did, trying to re-open our daughter's IEP at her school, and eventually landing her at our chosen school. She was in contact with our daughter's teachers, with the neuropsychologist, and made herself available as a reference to speak on behalf of our daughter's learning differences.
Allison stopped by our house last week to give our daughter cupcakes and say goodbye, and I literally cried with appreciation for what an amazing speech therapist she has been. She has been our daughter's biggest champion. The new families that she will work with this year are lucky to have her. - Sydney was great! Our son was sad to end his sessions with her, which says a lot. We appreciated her honest assessment of his skill level, and he now has materials to self monitor and practice. Thank you!
- Our experience with Theo was terrific. Theo was great with my son. He developed a positive relationship with him based on sincerity, respect, trust and a deep personal connection. In their lessons, Theo was encouraging, creative and kind. … More He helped our son understand how to differentiate the sounds he made when he spoke, and gave him great exercises to practice every week between lessons. Our son was sorry to have the lessons come to an end, but recognized that Theo had helped him as much as possible and it was time for him to stop. Theo explained to him (and us) how to keep working to get the last 5%, and encouraged him to keep working on the exercises on his own. I have recommended Theo to another parent who noticed my son's improvement and inquired for her own son.
We are all grateful to have gotten to know Theo, and we greatly appreciate all the work he did to help our son. - "I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Michelle Macroy-Higgins. We are extremely pleased with her work with our daughter. I was so grateful for my daughter to have a speech therapist who is a researcher (specialty in late … More talkers), graduate professor and practitioner. Her expertise was clearly evident in our conversations and work with our daughter. She was very responsive to my questions and often sent articles and other materials about language development that I found helpful. Thankfully, my daughter's speech improved tremendously. Michelle developed such a warm relationship with my daughter. My daughter was always excited to see Michelle and would greet her at the door with a big hug. Lastly, I would add that Michelle always demonstrated empathy with me as a mother who was initially worried about her daughter's language development. I could go on and on about how pleased we were with Michelle's work."
- Theo is a wonderful Clinton Hill speech therapist. We were really pleased with him. Our son showed drastic improvement, not only in his speech but in his confidence.
- Alexa has been an enthusiastic, reliable, well prepared and caring teacher for our 6 year old daughter. She has been able to improve and increase our daughter's confidence lesson by lesson with patience and competence; through varied … More and productive didactic practice. Alexa has engaged our daughter in several activities that always kept her motivated and eager to learn literacy. My wife and I, both of us are educators, feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to observe Alexa's pedagogical skills. Alexa has had a big impact on our daughter literacy growth. Thank you Brooklyn Letters!
- We were absolutely DELIGHTED with Marsha's services. She was wonderful. We found her to be kind, fun, engaging, very knowledgeable. She provided us with clear instructions and additional written handouts each week. She engaged our … More son with different techniques and toys, and showed us how to use her techniques when we were interacting with him. I actually just texted her on Saturday - Our son finally said "more" - one of the target words we had been working on with her. It was a total joy to hear, and I had to share it with her - she wrote back immediately to congratulate us. I am so appreciative of her expertise, and wish we could have seen her for longer. I recommended her to another family in our neighborhood who is looking for a speech therapist.
QUEENS, NY, SPEECH LANGUAGE LITERACY TESTING
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SPEECH LANGUAGE LITERACY TESTING
One of our areas of expertise is connecting language development with literacy. The best way to understand how we speak and comprehend words is by understanding linguistics, especially from an evolutionary perspective. Let’s examine communication in animals: dogs bark, for example, to alert their owners of impending danger, while dolphins produce high-pitched sounds to communicate their emotional states. These communication behaviors are in-the-moment attempts for animals to express their immediate needs. Yet, to date, there’s no evidence that any other animal species demonstrate the ability to produce and understand grammar. Why is the evolution of understanding and producing grammar significant? Grammar is what makes humans special: it provides us with the ability to discuss past and future events. Humans developed the most sophisticated communication system to date. When you look at the evolution of humans, a written form of language is called literacy, which evolved from spoken and understanding grammar. Schools are built around literacy. Speaking and understanding language existed before we learned how to read and write. We do not need to be schooled to learn to speak and understand our native language. We must be enriched in a stimulating linguistic environment to acquire strong language skills. On the other hand, literacy is not a natural language acquisition process and is taught explicitly and systematically: it takes many years for young children to master this system.
When seeking an evaluation to understand why your child is having difficulties with literacy, the top professionals to choose from are psychologists and speech language pathologists with literacy training. In New York State, licensed clinical psychologists evaluate learning and attentional differences. Next in line are licensed language pathologists who are experts in language (expressive and receptive language and its connection to literacy.) In New York State, language pathologists diagnose language disorders. Language disorders have many names such as developmental language disorder, and research calls it ‘specific language impairment’. Is dyslexia a form of a language disorder? At the research level, academics argue that dyslexia is a language disorder. Dyslexia literally means “bad language.” However, New York State defines dyslexia as a learning disorder which means in New York State, speech language pathologists cannot diagnose learning disorders (this is why psychologists are so vital to your child’s diagnosis). So, whenever your child is having difficulties with literacy, be cautious as teachers and non-licensed therapists cannot diagnose dyslexia and related learning disabilities. However, it is important that professionals recognize that your child is having learning issues and the child is directed to the appropriate licensed/certified professional.
At Brooklyn Letters, we offer a variety of language and literacy evaluations. We use assessment materials that are scientifically validated for identifying both language and literacy disorders. We know how to interpret these tests which are crucial for your child’s progress. We use an integrated approach which recognizes the connections between speaking, listening, reading and writing. Without putting these pieces together, it is nearly impossible to understand language learning and potential literacy issues. We also work closely with neuropsychologists who diagnose dyslexia. A full language and literacy evaluation provides you with a comprehensive profile of your child’s strengths and weaknesses and best positions your child for maximal progress.
Based on learning how your child is struggling, we act as detectives to thoroughly investigate your child’s spoken and written language skills at the word, sentence, and discourse levels. We explain how one area negatively impacted can spill over to other areas of literacy. For example, if a child is struggling with reading, it could be due to difficulties at either the sound (phoneme), grammar (passive or complex sentences), vocabulary levels at various modalities involving listening (auditory, no text), written, and spoken levels. Poor listening comprehension is highly correlated with weak reading comprehension skills.
Based on the evaluation’s results, intervention goals are developed based on where your child is demonstrating weaknesses, such as phonemes, grammar, and vocabulary in connection to the modality levels (listening, speaking, comprehending text, writing). Recommendations for modifications and accommodations for students with language and literacy disabilities are also provided for families and school staff. These evaluations should not be a substitute for a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. We work closely with some of the top New York State neuropsychologists. Neuropsychological evaluations are crucial for understanding learning and attentional differences and are more comprehensive than our evaluations. Neuropsychological evaluations dive deep into how attention, memory, cognitive, language, and social/emotional functioning can negatively impact learning. Our assessments can also provide you with invaluable information if you cannot afford a neuropsychological evaluation, you cannot wait months to receive the results of a neuropsychological evaluation, or if your child is suspected of having a language disorder. On average it takes us two weeks to produce the report. Our goal is to provide you with objective data to help you figure out your next steps to intervention or additional testing.
SPEECH LANGUAGE LITERACY TESTING
One of our areas of expertise is connecting language development with literacy. The best way to understand how we speak and comprehend words is by understanding linguistics, especially from an evolutionary perspective. Let’s examine communication in animals: dogs bark, for example, to alert their owners of impending danger, while dolphins produce high-pitched sounds to communicate their emotional states. These communication behaviors are in-the-moment attempts for animals to express their immediate needs. Yet, to date, there’s no evidence that any other animal species demonstrate the ability to produce and understand grammar. Why is the evolution of understanding and producing grammar significant? Grammar is what makes humans special: it provides us with the ability to discuss past and future events. Humans developed the most sophisticated communication system to date. When you look at the evolution of humans, a written form of language is called literacy, which evolved from spoken and understanding grammar. Schools are built around literacy. Speaking and understanding language existed before we learned how to read and write. We do not need to be schooled to learn to speak and understand our native language. We must be enriched in a stimulating linguistic environment to acquire strong language skills. On the other hand, literacy is not a natural language acquisition process and is taught explicitly and systematically: it takes many years for young children to master this system.
When seeking an evaluation to understand why your child is having difficulties with literacy, the top professionals to choose from are psychologists and speech language pathologists with literacy training. In New York State, licensed clinical psychologists evaluate learning and attentional differences. Next in line are licensed language pathologists who are experts in language (expressive and receptive language and its connection to literacy.) In New York State, language pathologists diagnose language disorders. Language disorders have many names such as developmental language disorder, and research calls it ‘specific language impairment’. Is dyslexia a form of a language disorder? At the research level, academics argue that dyslexia is a language disorder. Dyslexia literally means “bad language.” However, New York State defines dyslexia as a learning disorder which means in New York State, speech language pathologists cannot diagnose learning disorders (this is why psychologists are so vital to your child’s diagnosis). So, whenever your child is having difficulties with literacy, be cautious as teachers and non-licensed therapists cannot diagnose dyslexia and related learning disabilities. However, it is important that professionals recognize that your child is having learning issues and the child is directed to the appropriate licensed/certified professional.
At Brooklyn Letters, we offer a variety of language and literacy evaluations. We use assessment materials that are scientifically validated for identifying both language and literacy disorders. We know how to interpret these tests which are crucial for your child’s progress. We use an integrated approach which recognizes the connections between speaking, listening, reading and writing. Without putting these pieces together, it is nearly impossible to understand language learning and potential literacy issues. We also work closely with neuropsychologists who diagnose dyslexia. A full language and literacy evaluation provides you with a comprehensive profile of your child’s strengths and weaknesses and best positions your child for maximal progress.
Based on learning how your child is struggling, we act as detectives to thoroughly investigate your child’s spoken and written language skills at the word, sentence, and discourse levels. We explain how one area negatively impacted can spill over to other areas of literacy. For example, if a child is struggling with reading, it could be due to difficulties at either the sound (phoneme), grammar (passive or complex sentences), vocabulary levels at various modalities involving listening (auditory, no text), written, and spoken levels. Poor listening comprehension is highly correlated with weak reading comprehension skills.
Based on the evaluation’s results, intervention goals are developed based on where your child is demonstrating weaknesses, such as phonemes, grammar, and vocabulary in connection to the modality levels (listening, speaking, comprehending text, writing). Recommendations for modifications and accommodations for students with language and literacy disabilities are also provided for families and school staff. These evaluations should not be a substitute for a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. We work closely with some of the top New York State neuropsychologists. Neuropsychological evaluations are crucial for understanding learning and attentional differences and are more comprehensive than our evaluations. Neuropsychological evaluations dive deep into how attention, memory, cognitive, language, and social/emotional functioning can negatively impact learning. Our assessments can also provide you with invaluable information if you cannot afford a neuropsychological evaluation, you cannot wait months to receive the results of a neuropsychological evaluation, or if your child is suspected of having a language disorder. On average it takes us two weeks to produce the report. Our goal is to provide you with objective data to help you figure out your next steps to intervention or additional testing.
Language and Literacy Evaluations
(4-6 years old) Preschool-1st Grade ($500-$800)
A full language and literacy assessment for this age group can include a pre/emerging/early literacy assessment, an expressive (oral language), and a receptive (listening) assessment.
Early literacy skills assessment: An early literacy assessment includes an analysis of your child’s phonemic (sound) awareness, letter (labeling the name of a letter) and word recognition, and decoding (how a child cracks the code) skills. We go meta (awareness of language) and see how your child manipulates sounds and words, identifies the individual sounds in a word, and blends sounds together into words: these are essential skills for learning how to read and write. Students who struggle to acquire these skills may be at risk for poor reading and spelling development. Another important ingredient is learning how your child is taught literacy, which can help us determine what type of literacy instruction your child will need.
Receptive language– We assess your child’s ability to comprehend spoken language by having him or her follow directions of increasing length and complexity, identify word relationships, and match pictures to the sentences spoken to them.
Expressive language– We assess your child’s ability to use language to formulate sentences, retell stories, formulate their own personal stories, and engage in a conversation. We compare your child’s quantity and quality of their vocabulary, grammar, and organization to peers. In addition, we analyze their length and complexity of the words and sentences they produce compared to peers. Lastly, we analyze their pauses, revisions, repetitions, and overall expressive language fluency.
A full preschool-kindergarten language and literacy evaluation will take approximately 1.5-2 hours at your home and includes a 5-6 page report. Shorter evaluations require less time and the reports are 1-3 pages long.
6-18 years olds: School Age Language and Literacy Evaluations ($500-1200)
A full language and literacy evaluation for school age children can include:
Here are some of the skills we can cover during our evaluation: Vocabulary awareness, story retelling, spelling, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, decoding novel words that are not recognizable as real words, reading fluency, written expression, social communication, and short term and verbal working memory.
Phonemic Awareness: We assess your child’s awareness of the individual sounds of words and his or her ability to manipulate them to create new words.
Decoding & Spelling: We assess your child’s ability to read and spell unknown words in order to gather information about his or her knowledge of sound and letter patterns. Having a strong knowledge base about sound and letter patterns helps individuals become fluent readers and writers.
Listening & Reading Comprehension: Individuals with language and literacy disorders may not have difficulty engaging in social conversations; however, they are more likely to have trouble navigating the complex academic language found in their classrooms. We assess your child’s ability to comprehend vocabulary words and complex sentences that are similar to those which he or she may encounter in the directions, discussions, and texts in their classrooms.
Oral expression and written language skills: We assess your child’s ability to use language to communicate a coherent message when speaking and writing. Students will be asked to retell a story and explain how to play a game or sport. The evaluator analyzes the oral and written responses in order to determine the overall quality and organization, length, complexity, and grammaticality of the words and sentences and the number of different words used.
Social communication skills: We assess your child’s ability to understand a social situation which is important for reading comprehension.
A full school age language and literacy evaluation will take approximately 1.5-2.5 hours and could take place over two sessions depending on the child’s unique needs. The full evaluation will include a 7-10 page report while other evaluations are 1-3 pages in length.
Click links below to learn more!
Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) Standards
Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) Standards
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Phone: (347) -394-3485
Text: 917-426-8880
Email: queensletters@brooklynletters.com
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