It’s not often that you meet people who play such an important role in the life of your child and that of your family. Our relationship with Jo and the pivotal connection she has created with our daughter are significant. After one meeting with Jo, our daughter’s attitude about her speech challenges had greatly improved. Our daughter quickly engaged in the “homework” she was assigned and looked forward to each meeting with Jo. The learning technique which Jo uses combines practical speech therapy along with unabashed silliness that removes any stigma, shame, or embarrassment that may accompany speech challenges. After only a few meetings with Jo, our daughter made significant improvements. As a family, we became much more tuned in to the needs of our daughter and how we could better support her progress. Jo is someone who is passionate about the kids and families she serves and has certainly made a lasting impression on our family.
-Quincey’s parents
Our son has made considerable progress with Jo. She leads her sessions with a lot of dynamism, professionalism, and humor. She’s always smiling. Our child feels welcome in a positive environment and gladly works with her. It’s so reassuring for us, as parents, to know our son is in good hands. We rejoice to see him improving so much!
-Daniel’s parents
We have seen steady progress. Jo has a great rapport with our son. Jo has been very flexible in terms of customizing the right program for us. She encourages family participation which is excellent.
-The Denson Family
Jo Workinger has been a breath of fresh air for our family. All three of my children need speech therapy, and Jo has successfully managed to form a relationship with each one. She works beautifully with our sometimes not-so-willing five-year old, she quickly pinpointed the cause of our daughter’s tendency to end every meal with food all over her face, and she puts my oldest, who is on the spectrum, at ease and he willingly and joyfully cooperates with her. What I appreciate most about Jo is her understanding of family life with young children. Being a mother herself, she “gets” that kids get sick, that life can get crazy and interfere with home practice time, etc. She goes with the flow, while always striving for improvement.
-Parent
Two years ago, I watched my toddler son demonstrate fabulous language skills…that were totally lost because of his articulation difficulties. As an Early Intervention specialist, I knew the importance of getting help early, and we went to Jo (or “Zho-zho,” as my son called her). He loved visiting her; the hard work they were both doing never felt like anything but play. We left each week with concrete suggestions of ways we could encourage our son to work on his speech sounds, and he made great progress with his intelligibility.
My son is now four, and while his speech has improved, he continues to struggle with some sounds, so we are fortunate enough to find ourselves back with Jo. At this age, he is old enough to be self-conscious of his mistakes, and his articulation issues require more direct practice. Even so, Jo continues to make therapy feel like play for him, enough so that he was willing to do more practice exercises at home tonight.
Jo has a wonderful rapport with my child, but she also relates well to me as a parent. I am included in the therapy process, with Jo effectively explaining her methodology and giving me concrete suggestions for helping my son. All of this would be more than adequate for a therapist for my child, but the fact that Jo is also warm, funny, confident, and experienced makes her a valuable asset for our whole family.
-Henson’s mom
After some review, my family assessed that our 5 year old son needed some help with his speech. Although nervous at first, my son was quickly put at ease with Jo Workinger’s nurturing and playful style. She engaged his attention with games and appropriate rewards. After a few short weeks, we began noticing some improvements with his ability to speak. Jo shared her feedback and assessment with my family on a regular basis and offered some fun games at home to build on his development. She even checked in with us at home to see how we were progressing. What we feared would be a stressful endeavor turned out to be a pleasant exercise. Our son’s confidence has skyrocketed in large thanks to Jo. It is very clear that Jo enjoys her job and thrives on making a difference. I would highly recommend Jo Workinger to anyone!
-Parent
I knew something was not working when my son was trying to communicate with our family. It was clear he understood more than we were receiving despite our best listening efforts. The frustration and tantrums were at every bend at a time when things were getting easier for other parents with similarly aged kids. We suspected it was something we needed help with and via some research we found Jo Workinger whom our son immediately connected with. The evaluation was a blessing that clearly outlined the challenging experience our son and we were having – missing sounds independently and in sequences and why. Every week, our son gets excited to talk and play with Jo and we are excited to learn how to help improve our son’s speaking. Jo provided the foundation of work and gives us the tools to build upon it. She has helped him learn to be coachable in the face of corrections and frustration. We are so happy to be having chats with our son and are so happy we can all better communicate with him. In several months we have gone from understanding about 50% of our son’s communication to about 85%. Jo has been a blessing. We are so grateful to Jo for her patience, playfulness, keen observational and technical skills, and encouragement for our funny, observant, and now chatty little boy.
-The Kean Family