Speech Therapy Testimonials

I want to let everyone know how much Jessica Galgano has helped keep my voice strong using the LSVT LOUD® method. I practice everyday and the exercises keep me tuned up, so that when I interview people on my podcast, they can actually hear my questions. Thats kind of important in real life, too.

I’ve been practicing law for 60 years (Harvard Law School – Class of 1961). Recently, I had to give two of the most meaningful speeches of my life on (1) the 50th Anniversary of my law firm, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and (2) the celebration of the creation of my Professorship in Human Rights at Harvard Law School. Having spoken literally hundreds of times in the last 60 years, I did not think I needed any help. I was wrong. Jessica not only improved the technical elements in my speeches — volume, spacing, structure and emphases, but went further. She analyzed every word and thought, making suggestions where additional explanations were needed. Jessica is a speech therapist's therapist. Needless to say, I strongly recommend Jessica, without qualification.

When I was diagnosed in December 2020 with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease, I was, of course, deeply concerned. Adding to my worries was the fact that Parkinson’s had weakened my vocal cords. Since I have largely made my living with my speaking voice as a boxing commentator and analyst for networks such as ESPN, CNN, and Showtime, I knew I needed immediate help.
 
A short time later, I was introduced to Dr. Jessica Galgano, the Founder and Executive Director of Open Lines Speech and Communication P.C. My therapy with Dr. Galgano lasted four weeks and was quite beneficial. But the biggest compliment I can pay Dr. Galgano is that from our very first session, she found the perfect balance of professionalism and personal touch.
 
As a result, I found myself looking forward to my therapy. Dr. Galgano provided me with confidence during a difficult time. For that, I was quite grateful. On every level, I strongly recommend Dr. Galgano.

Telepractice with Brianna is great during the pandemic! It’s easy to get online with Zoom on my iPad and I like only having to commute to the back room of my house where I can have a quiet space. It’s so easy to schedule and I’m comfortable in my own home. My wife can also join sessions and listen in (and then we practice together later). My other speech therapist uses a different program for online sessions and it can be difficult to connect in that platform—this can really be a hassle. With Zoom, it’s so easy, it’s gotten to the point where I can connect with Brianna on my own without any help.
 
Even when sessions are three hours long and we see each other five days a week, I still like coming every day because we cover many different tasks and Brianna helps keep them engaging. Brianna is persistent and motivating even when it gets challenging, which helps me want to try my best. The breaks between activities are also good, and it’s even better when I can go to the pantry and grab some cookies mid-session. My access to words keeps improving, and throughout all this, it’s somehow become easier to talk. I look forward to getting to talk with Brianna each day and can’t wait to keep going! Anyone can do it!

I have had Parkinson’s disease for 23 years and in that time I have been examined by some of the finest medical professionals in the country. When my speech started to deteriorate I was referred to Dr. Jessica Galgano for initiation of the Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT) and I can say from a patient’s perspective that she is one of the best professionals who has ever treated me.
 
Of all the symptoms that Parkinson’s disease has presented the deterioration of my speech has been the most difficult for me to handle. Dr. Galgano was very sensitive to this fact and she took great pains to explain to me the goals and methodology of LSVT so that I would know what to expect.
 
From the first session, I knew I was in good hands. Her use of technology and her training were unparalleled. She is intense but not to the point of being overbearing. The results are that I can still speak and I owe it all to Dr. Jessica Galgano.
 
Dr. Galgano has excellent people skills that when merged with her training make for a superior therapist. I have no problem in recommending her to you because I know you will be getting one of the best of the best.

My efforts with respect to Jessica’s speech learning have been a tremendous success. I have grown from knowing very little in my understanding at the beginning of the process to a much better comfort level in grammar, syntax word organization. I have reached these accomplishments in only four months and am comfortable that in the next six months, I will become even stronger under her leadership.

We have been clients for over 9 months now, and I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Galgano and her staff. The quality of the curriculum/teaching methodology is top-notch. He looks forward to going to the speech every week.
 
I would highly recommend Open Lines®. I’ve been to other practices in this area and this practice is by far the best.

Thanks to Dr. Galgano I now have my voice fully restored. Jessica and her team conducted a thorough evaluation, then designed a therapy regimen based on the most current research and techniques. I highly recommend Open Lines Speech and Communication P.C. to anyone with speech and voice concerns.

We came to see Jessica at Open Lines Speech and Communication P.C. about 6 months ago with our son (4 years old) to treat his speech disfluency. Jessica started with a thorough evaluation of his speech and cognitive-impairment abilities and went on to explain her theory and therapeutic approach. Over the next months, we met on a weekly basis to follow my son’s progress and to get further instructions and guidance.
 
Jessica created a very warm and welcoming environment to which my son was always happy to return. He was actually waiting the entire week for our next meeting. In addition, Jessica’s accurate diagnosis and choice of therapy were such that it encouraged our son to continue working on his speech and have fun doing it rather than feeling that this is some kind of chore. We are happy to say that our son progressed very quickly and now his speech is flawless and indistinguishable from that of other kids his age. We feel that we were incredibly lucky to have met Jessica and we recommend her wholeheartedly to everyone who needs such assistance.

After my father’s stroke, my entire family was greatly impacted, but as his only child, no one was more impacted than me. For his speech therapy, I chose Open Lines® because I was impressed not only by Dr. Galgano’s extensive expertise and experience but also by the philosophy of her company.
 
Open Lines® is committed to total care. Even from the initial evaluation, it was obvious to me that Dr. Galgano cares deeply about her clients. She takes every possible factor into account; not only clinically treating my father, she also inquires about his day-to-day stress levels and general well-being. Her therapy is integrated with every aspect of his life. She even recommended several relaxation techniques to manage his anxiety around communication, improving his life as well as his speech.
 
At Open Lines®, there is a recognition that the caretakers often need as much care as the patient. Often times I attend my father’s session, but sometimes it’s nice to leave him in Dr. Galgano’s capable hands and get an hour of relaxation for myself.
 
I would highly recommend the services of Open Lines® (). Dr. Galgano has been the perfect guide for my father’s journey to healing… and a huge help for me personally!

I cannot say enough good things about Open Lines®.
 
We are working with Grace -- and she engages my son and makes speech therapy fun and interesting for him in a way I haven't seen before. My son actually *asks* if Grace is coming because he *wants* to have speech therapy.
 
Never mind the fun and engagement -- Grace has made a huge difference in my son's intelligibility and ability to express himself. He is a smart kid with articulation and breath coordination issues -- and she has approached helping him with pointed goals and techniques that have worked and continue to help him improve. He is more confident and less frustrated. It has been wonderful to watch the results of their work together.
 
Grace consults with Jessica often, and I spoke with Jessica at length before starting therapy with Open Lines®. Jessica is knowledgeable, creative, and really listened to me as a parent. Grace is all of those things too. Everyone I've interacted with at Open Lines® is caring, helpful, and professional. Their COVID procedures have been logical and safe. I'm just so grateful we are working with them.

I've been working with Brianna Rogers for over a year and a half on accent reduction since English is my second language.
 
Open Lines® took a comprehensive approach to fixing my articulation, intonation, the manner of speech, as well as improving my public speaking. Brianna explained things both conceptually (tongue placement drawings etc) and through examples of her own speech production.
 
I have seen solid and tangible progress that I can hear on the recordings myself. I was able to correct all individual sounds and improve intonation. Brianna has also propelled my public speaking through practicing on the real world presentations I had to conduct at my job.
 
From my experience, I'd say that working with general English language tutors gave me little result in terms of pronunciation, so I'd recommend going to Open Lines® instead.
 
I'd like to note that working with Open Lines® was professional and hassle free: everything was scheduled through quick emails with fast response times, scheduling was very flexible, there was an option to conduct sessions through a video chat.

I worked with Brianna for about 6 months on public speaking and presentation skills for work and came away with increased confidence for presentations through our study of breath support and pace of speech. Most importantly, I’ve had positive feedback from colleagues at work, which show how dedicated study and increased self-awareness can make a noticeable difference where it matters most.
 
I highly recommend Brianna if you’re a professional who needs to work on your presentation skills.

Our 5-year old daughter was raised in a bilingual home. When she was 3 and a half I started noticing that she was delayed in her speech, compared to her school peers. She was also shy and wouldn't interact much with her friends. Around March 2021, when COVID shut down the schools, I decided to invest in speech therapy for her. We did it for an entire year and our speech therapist was Olivia. She was excellent - she was great with her, despite it all being virtual. She had tools to help her focus and educational goals to work on for each session. Whenever I asked for a consultation or written report on her progress, Olivia would make the time and provide it. As parents, we felt supported (which helped so much!) and confident that our daughter was in good hands. The most important part of this review is that our daughter made incredible progress - she is confident now, very talkative and made a successful transition to Kindergarten. This was possible because of Open Lines® and specifically, having Olivia as our speech therapist.

Everyone I interacted with at Open Lines® from my therapist to admin/billing was great. My therapist was Olivia; I saw her for transgender speech therapy and I can't recommend her highly enough. I started seeing her early in my transition before I was completely "out" to everyone in my social circle (and before I'd made up my mind about starting hormone therapy, which would have naturally lowered my voice).
 
Olivia is extremely knowledgeable, skilled at what she does and is sensitive to issues LGBT people may face which was already a good sign. We started deciding goals and for myself I wanted lowered pitch, more socially-perceived "masculine" speech patterns like less articulation and flatter intonation, and a louder voice since I spoke pretty quietly. I saw her for a bit over two months until due to a change in my finances I had to stop, but the time I had with her was invaluable and she gave me the tools to continue. Not only have I been meeting all my goals but I also feel more confident speaking in general.
 
Since I was a teenager I've always had terrible anxiety around using my voice due to sounding feminine, to the point where I couldn't bring myself to make phone calls. Now phone calls are easy for me and I can listen to a recording of myself and like what I hear.
 
Like in any therapy you will have "good" days and "bad" days, but with Olivia even the days I felt frustrated were very productive, because she was there to help with a solution to whatever issue I was having. It can be very hard work to retrain your voice into the way you want it, but Olivia showed me there's always a way. I absolutely couldn't have done it without her expertise and kind support.

Our son has been going to Open Lines® for speech therapy for almost 15 months now, starting when he was 3 years old. We began with in-person and moved to zoom during Covid and I can't begin to sing enough praises of this team, especially Jamie and then Bridget, who my son worked with throughout the year. We began his time with them with a very detailed assessment with very detailed goals and I watched over the months how he tackled them one by one, using a mix of fun games and repetition. Gaining the trust of a 3 year old and turning speech therapy in a weekly fun activity is very hard, especially over zoom and both teachers who my son worked with, did this beautifully. Our son is flourishing, communicating so much better and is really getting ahead of his age group at this point. I am eternally grateful to Open Lines®. I would recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat.

Superlative! That is the word I would use if I could only use one word to describe this speech therapy operation. Jessica Galgano, and her staff Brianna Rogers and Olivia Kelly are excellent speech instructors. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's 12 years ago and in that time the volume of my voice lowered considerably. I resisted therapy for a very long time, but my brother Vincent and my physical therapist Deepali urged me to seek therapy, as my voice had deteriorated to the point where no one could hear me, and my voice, what little there was, sounded gravely, and I was also starting to stutter. Jessica, Brianna and Olivia run a tight professional ship. They make you work, but their manner is gentle, and it is a pleasure to be in their company, which goes a long way in making the training a pleasure and not a burden. If you need speech therapy look no further than LSVT. I highly recommend them.

Open Lines® is the perfect example of a staff who really cares for their patients. Jessica, Brianna and Morgan are true professionals. We have been going to the office twice weekly since February and the progress they have made with my sister , a stroke victim, is remarkable... beyond our expectations. I can without hesitation recommend Open Lines® to anyone in need of speech therapy. True professionals that genuinely care about the patients who they treat. Thank you Open Lines®!

Jessica is seriously amazing! I had a polyp removed from my vocal cords in summer 2014 and was referred to Open Lines® as the best vocal therapy in New York. Jessica Galgano who started the company and worked with me personally is beyond incredible. She brings far more than Vocal Therapy - offering deep knowledge on all aspects of good vocal health (and in general personal wellbeing). She had game changing suggestions for how to resolve acid reflux issues, reduce stress in life, and much much more - all of which impact my voice recovery in profound ways, but also just added to my sense of wellbeing. Honestly I'm a very busy entrepreneur and haven't been able to speak properly since my surgery and thanks to Jessica that's finally changed. It has been life changing working with her and on top of everything, she's super sweet and fun to hang out with. More like getting therapy from a friend who cares about you than from a lab doc in a white coat :) She's great and I can't speak highly enough about Open Lines®. Side note: While my therapy has all been provided by Jessica, I've interacted with multiple other people in the office and every single one is friendly, caring and professional. All of which reflects on the values of the organization. And I don't think it's a coincidence that every time i'm in the waiting room (usually not for more than a couple minutes - things seem to run on time) I always see other patients laughing and smiling when coming out of their sessions. The energy here is all around positive, caring, and sincere. Go here. Trust me on this.

I couldn’t recommend Jessica highly enough!
 
First of all, she’s incredibly personable, easy going, and just extremely nice (as well as all the staff at Open Lines® (). It was like getting professional help from one of your close friends.
 
I’m a closet musician with basically crippling stage fright, and overall just very shy when it comes to performing, so some of the exercises I needed to do for my vocal rehabilitation are things I would generally be embarrassed to do by myself, let alone in front of other people. But even with these, she somehow managed to make me feel relaxed and confident and able to shed my reluctancy and progress.
 
I’m someone who has struggled with throat/vocal issues since I was young, and she helped me completely turn it around, and actually go on to be able to start singing and recording my own voice for my songs (something I thought would never be possible). This was a personal issue that I honestly didn’t think was possible to ever fix, but she did it and actually made it easy and enjoyable.
 
She was also extremely attentive, available and involved outside of my sessions as well. She was always very easy to reach and quick to respond to any questions or concerns I would message her with.
 
Simply put, Dr. Galgano and her team are the best. Unbelievably glad I went to her!