Leap Ahead Inc

We go to Leap Ahead for speech and occupational therapy. We have two children who are autistic and both of them see Ms. Bethany for speech and one of them sees Ms. Gretchen for OT. To say these women have given our family a lifeline in the midst of figuring out the complexities of new diagnoses is an understatement. Our eldest was diagnosed first and we got him in right away with Ms. Bethany and Ms. Gretchen. OT has helped him in so many ways and when the OT zoom appointments were hard for him, Ms. Gretchen offered home visits during covid. It's clear she cares very deeply for her clients and their success. He loves his time with her and is always excited to see her. She offers us good tips to carry through outside of session. She also coordinates with Bethany which is nice so that we can have speech and OT goals align. Bethany specializes in AAC devices. I had not known much about AAC devices when we got our son on all the waitlists for different SLPs in the area. I am so happy we happened to get into Leap Ahead first. Not realizing what AAC devices can do or that not all SLPs specialize in them, we are super blessed we ended up with Ms. Bethany as our SLP. We do zoom with her and the telehealth parent-coaching model has worked so well for us. The AAC device has given my son a voice. I no longer grieve. I no longer worry whether he will be able to talk. Whether or not he becomes verbal, he now has a way to communicate. It is *hard* work learning a device and Bethany does an awesome job of encouraging full family involvement which has resulted in great gains for our son. She has suggested resources for me to explore for activities as a parent and given me resources for additional trainings to attend to better understand the device and the science behind using it. As a note, one of the A's in AAC stands for augment. These devices augment speech -- they don't replace speech. Some people worry using a device will make your child not want to talk, but the opposite has happened for us. Our son is getting increasingly more verbal, and when he doesn't quite have the verbal words, he is able to use the device. He is now doing 2 to 3 word utterances pretty regularly on the device and it's amazing. 4 months later our daughter got diagnosed. I didn't have the same worries and grief I had when we received our son's diagnosis. Why? Because I knew we were in great hands with the professionals at Leap Ahead. While she doesn't need OT, she has needed speech and Bethany does great with her. She has her own AAC device now, too. Someone else wrote in their review that 2 year olds can't do zoom. That's not true for all. She is 2 and is doing well over zoom. If you are looking for a good OT and SLP definitely, fully recommend Leap Ahead. This goes doubly if your child is nonverbal for speech. The AAC device and training we've received on how to use it has been life-changing. Thank you, Ms. Bethany and Ms. Gretchen!

My son has been going here for about four months for speech therapy. We have seen such a drastic improvement and Bethany, the SLP, has given us such great tips for working with him outside of the sessions. She has been extremely accommodating during COVID, as we have been doing telehealth sessions. She is patient and kind with him, and he loves Ms Bethany so much! We are also very thankful for Carol who is always quick to respond and is very accommodating to our schedule! I would definitely recommend this establishment to anyone seeking therapy for their young one.

I do not recommend them at all! My son have a significant speech delay and his speech therapist seems like she don't even like her job 😡! I should have been cut it off in the beginning. She was rough with him by snatching toys out his hands. She said she didn't want him to put it in his mouth. You don't clean your toys after every visit? My son is two. You could have gently took it from him. He only went to her for two months and absolutely no progress. Our referral ends month and we haven't been to her since April since zoom meetings don't work on a 2 year old. The real hero's are the daycares staying open during this COVID-19 pandemic and staying clean. While these people won't see your child in person. This is medical so they should still see your child 😡! I don't know what I would do without the daycares!

Dear Nimit, I am sorry you did not have a good experience. We do our best to meet the scheduling needs for all of our families. I encourage parents to speak with us directly about any concerns, so that we can find a solution to any misunderstandings. The well being of our clients is our top priority. In the past year, we have made changes to our scheduling process and are hopeful that the results will be a positive experience for our families. We are thankful for your continued commitment with Leap Ahead, Inc. Warmest Regards, Talisha Sachlis

The Owner, Talisha is one of the worst to fulfill her own promises. She sends out emails with query on what timing would work best for you, stating she will cater on first come first serve basis. IN spite of me responding to her email query in less than 10 minutes, and I know I was amongst the first few ones...she still messes up. This happened twice. I think the organization is biased and the management is one of the worst. Teachers and Staff are however, nice, and good to work with. I live in Leesburg, and every single time, because of her mess up with schedule I have to really make my ends meet at work.