Testimonials
"Stephie Hirsh has worked with our 10 year old son, Erik, who stutters, for close to 2 years. The difference in Erik before starting therapy with Stephie and now is phenomenal. He is confident, happy, and able to stand up for himself. Most importantly, he is able to communicate. Stephie is one of those special people you feel lucky to find. She's a gift to the Chicago stuttering community; she's involved, educated and always on top of the latest research. What we find special and unique about Stephie is her ability to connect with kids, and let them know they're not alone." --Kirsten Yehl Chicago,IL
"My 18 year old high school senior started therapy to help her as she prepared to go to college and was anxious about all of the new people and opportunities that might be challenging for her regarding her stuttering. Her sessions with Stephanie enabled her to practice real life situations and increase her comfort when she stutters and also strategies for her to communicate more effortlessly. By the time she left she had the confidence and comfort she needed to tackle meeting new people and having new experiences. She conquered her fear of having to introduce herself as well as participating in small discussion classes. I am so thankful for all of the support she received and the "safe" environment to practice these newly developed skills and strengths."
-- R.B Skokie, IL
“I am currently a graduate student, in my early twenties, and I have been stuttering since age 13. Throughout my teenage years, I worked with multiple speech-language pathologists to achieve perfect fluency. However, fluency shaping techniques never seemed to improve my speech, despite what was promised, and I was left feeling frustrated and disappointed. Not only was I disappointed, but I started becoming extremely anxious and felt like I wasn’t able to communicate at all. A friend of mine recommended I start seeing Stephie and Stephie truly changed the way I view communication. Right from the start, Stephie encouraged me to be myself and to “just stutter”. She taught me how to be both an effective and confident communicator while stuttering. Now, I don’t back out of speaking opportunities and I finally feel like I can follow my dreams. The daily anxiety I used to experience has decreased significantly. Now, I am able to enjoy life, instead of constantly planning each day around speaking events. Furthermore, Stephie is extremely empathetic, as she stutters too. She has experienced similar challenges and is the best motivator because of it. She has also gone above and beyond to support me, as demonstrated through calling me, at any hour of the day, just to check in and give advice. I am so thankful that I started working with Stephie!” – L.J.
"We are incredibly thankful for Stephie and the work she has done to help our son, who began stuttering at age 5. Since working with her, he has achieved great strides in his verbal communication and now feels comfortable speaking with very limited dysfluency. Stephie is an exceptional practitioner who truly connects with children-- and parents. She taught me as a parent to become a better speaker, listener, and guide for my son and provided me with a set of skills that I can apply every day to help him. Stephie is patient with children and is respectful of them. She has a keen sense of humor, which is key in working with children who are struggling. She clearly has an innate understanding of children's (and parents'!) needs, and she communicates that understanding creatively and effectively. Stephie once said that she's lucky to love what she does-- and it shows! She has the gift of helping others, and we were lucky to receive that gift."
--Clare Reter Chicago, IL
“Stephanie Hirsh has been working with me as a speech pathologist for 1 year. I have seen several other pathologists over my 28 years. My experience with Stephanie has been great. She has helped me speak with confidence instead of trying to "get rid of my stuttering", like others have attempted in the past. I was always afraid of what people thought when I stuttered. I worried that they would think that I was less intelligent, because of what I had seen on television/movies or my own personal experiences. By trying to not stutter, it brought on a lot of anxiety. When I tried not to stutter, it actually made me stutter more. One of the reasons I feel Stephanie is such a great speech pathologist is that she herself stutters. She understands what is happening when someone stutters. In return she can help you find a way to stutter with confidence, or to find ways to decrease the stuttering. Everyone has varying levels of stuttering. She has helped me get to the point where I feel more comfortable with my stuttering. I once was embarrassed by my stuttering, but now, after working with Stephanie, I am not as much. I try to educate people whenever I can about stuttering. With her help, Stephanie has helped me have a better quality of life, and for that, I am very grateful”.-- L.C
Stephanie is such a warm, caring person who looks beyond the professional aspect of her job and genuinely cares about her patient's day and what is going on in their life. She pushes her patients to their limits while offering hope and support along the way. She is has inspired me to never give up hope and has always given me a shoulder to lean on when I needed it. – E.B. (19 years old)
"We started to take our four year old son to see "Ms Stephie" after he developed some severe stuttering. He initially started therapy through our school district, however the results were negligible. We learned at the end of the school year that he would not be eligible for speech therapy over the summer; we knew we needed to enroll him in private stuttering therapy right away. We have been working with Ms Stephie for a little over a year and we are very pleased with the results. Our son now has very little to no disfluency. The direct involvement our son received from Ms Stephie was great, however perhaps more importantly, Ms Stephie taught us what to look for, what to do, and how to handle certain situations. As a result, it has made a huge impact on our son's progress. Through our sessions with Ms Stephie, we have learned a great deal about how to work with our child to promote fluency, and also how to become more aware parents. Ms Stephie has always made herself available to us during nights and weekends in case we had any questions or concerns that we needed to discuss." -- Hakim Family Northbrook, IL