highly and without a doubt recommend NYNeuroSLP/Aspire for pediatric speech therapy. Our pediatric speech therapist Tatiaana Laine, and her supervisor Marissa Barrera, were both highly qualified, dedicated, kind and caring professionals that truly made a difference in my son’s life.

My son began receiving speech therapy with Tatiaana twice a week from 18 months to 3 years of age. In that time, Tatiaana formed a close & special bond with my son, allowing his speech to flourish and greatly improving his behavioral and social/play skills as well. Tatiaana worked tirelessly, patiently and with much love to improve my son’s expressive delay. After each session, she would give me detailed feedback and suggestions for things we could do at home to continue with his therapy.

My son is now a chatterbox with no speech impediments whatsoever (as assessed by his current preschool teacher) and we absolutely have Tatiaana & Marissa to thank for this huge achievement.

My daughter has been going to Michaela for Speech Therapy for over two years; the results have been better than I ever could have hoped for.

When she started therapy, she was five years old and had a number of pronunciation issues (she could not even pronounce her name correctly). Michaela worked with her each week, working through each of the sounds she was having difficulty with. My daughter’s speech has improved tremendously.

Michaela has always been flexible in scheduling appointments, professional in her work and so terrific with my daughter that she really looks forward to her speech appointments. The office was helpful in working with our insurance plan, which ended up covering the cost of her treatments.

I cannot recommend Michaela highly enough!

I have been working with Michaela for a number of months for some swallowing/eating problems. Michaela is fantastic. She really cares about her patients and goes above and beyond the call of duty to do everything she can to help patients improve. She truly is a dedicated therapist. I have shown significant improvement during my time with Michaela (and this was after I almost started giving up hope of improvement).

The center has been an amazing center of healing for my brother, Jimmy.

Before his speech therapy sessions with Diane Brown, my brother was practically non-verbal. Due to his intellectual disability, he didn’t understand the basic structure of a conversation.

After a few sessions with Diane (whom we highly recommend as a speech therapist), Jimmy has been talking more and more. He is slowly understanding the purpose and format of asking questions as well as giving answers to questions. He is more open to talking to others, and has even made a few friends. Not only has his speech improved, but Jimmy has also been taught to recognize and express his emotions better. With the help of Diane and the other instructors, Jimmy has been able to talk through his problems more effectively than before.

What I love about the Aspire center is their continued advocacy for my brother Jimmy. I really appreciate how they think holistically about Jimmy in terms of his speech, his mental health, issues, and his self-esteem.

If you are thinking about speech therapy sessions for yourself or a loved one, I can’t recommend them enough!

“Melissa, Thanks for all your faithful and excellent work with Abby. Her tremendous progress is, of course, due to her hard work, but we credit you with finally specifying a diagnosis and helping her to move forward in a rapid and substantial way (after many unsuccessful experiences in speech therapy).


Thank you so very much Melissa. We are incredibly grateful for you.”

“My son Davide started speech therapy about a year and a half ago. He worked very well with Melissa, I have seen considerable progress in this period: the boy regaining self confidence and dramatically improving his speech capabilities. Melissa has applied with Davide various techniques not only muscular work (including massage) but also cognitive and every time with the use of different material and stimuli.”

“Tatiaana has been nothing short of incredible with our son. He began speech therapy as a three-year-old, and in the one year that he has been working with Tatiaana, not only has Tatiaana found creative ways to work with him to overcome his speech challenges, but they have developed a strong friendship. My son eagerly looks forward to spending time with “his Tatiaana” every week. Therapy has made him more confident in voicing his opinion and communicating with kids and adults. We couldn’t have asked for a more positive experience.”

“As a Parkinson’s Disease patient, I am privileged to be under the care of Marissa Barrera for the last 18 months. She has been a great help to me in restoring the volume and timbre of my voice. Ms. Barrera is experienced and most knowledgable in her field of speech therapy and cognitive therapy. I am benefitting greatly from her care and attention.”

“Marissa has helped restore my faculties and therefore, my self-assurance. As a matter of fact, I expect the cognitive therapy I’m receiving will enable me to return to my Ph.D. schoolwork/studies.”

“Our daughter has been getting speech therapy for the last year and we have seen improvement over time. She really enjoys going because her speech therapist makes their exercises fun and engaging.”

“I have been under the care of Marissa Barrera for the last four months with a case of dysphagia. There has been a material improvement in my ability to swallow. Marissa’s experience and positive personality are essential to the process.

“My son Lowell, now six years old, enjoyed his “talking lessons” with Tatiaana so much that more than a year later he still mentions what and how he learned (and very clearly I might add!). I recommend the practice to anyone who is considering speech therapy. Tatiaana and Marissa are enthusiastic teachers who inspire their students.”

“Tatiaana-Your steady presence has engaged Pooja effectively over these recent years and been a tremendous help to her with the challenges she faces in speech and language as an older child adopted into an American family half way around the world with no prior schooling and little English. You have been invaluable. You have held her to a high standard and given her tools and confidence to go there”.

“Marissa has shown me what I have been doing wrong for years. I can’t eat a thing without hearing her voice in my head.
“Take your time!” “No big bites!” She also helps me speak LOUD. She is a wonderful MS specialist and I don’t know what I would do without her. Marissa and her staff are exceptional. They really know how to get the job done!

“My work with Diane has been life-changing. Her dedicated hard work, creativity, and patience have helped bring my cognitive functioning and processing to a level that has exceeded anyone’s expectations.

“Having Ms Laine as a speech pathologist for my children was a joy! She’s was very understanding, dedicated, nurturing and extremely involved in their progress. We all love her very much!

“Marissa and I met under sad circumstance when I was hospitalized for my MS.
At that time, I needed a feeding tube to eat and sustain nutrition. Marissa helped me learn to use my tongue and swallow again. After a few months of treatment, my feeding tube was removed and I could eat. That was 4 years ago. Today, I still see Marissa 2 times a week for speech and memory training. I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

“It is my pleasure to give my fullest, most wholehearted testimonial to describe my relationship with Diane, both as a friend and as a voice therapist.
I can say, as well as those closest to me, that our weekly sessions together breed nothing short of dramatic results and improvements in my voice. Coming out of our sessions, my vocal chords are exercised to give me the confidence in speaking my voice and making it heard. Diane has used many different methods and materials to enhance my articulation and pronunciation when speaking to those around me. Her tireless diligence, patience, kindness, and humor make her an absolute delight to work with.

“I have been working with Ms. Laine since my stroke January 6th 20010. I had not kept track of the time frame (18 months !!!) I was referred to Ms. Tatiaana Laine for speech therapy by Ms. Marissa A. Barrera. The referral initially [to NY Neurogenic SLP, P.C.] came through my cardiologist at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital.
Ms. Laine has been working with my on correcting a speech slurring problem as result of my aforementioned stroke.I consider myself extremely lucky to have the opportunity of working with Ms. Tatiaana Laine. Ms. Laine has been patient and courteous towards me (not an easy task) and has been very supportive of my efforts to move on with the different areas of my life.

I have had to make career changing choices to give myself a better chance towards recovery. Ms. Laine has been there working with me all along in the most positive manner. Ms. Laine has provided me with the impetus to improve certain areas of my life towards this end. I have made and will continue to make a concerted effort to correct any problems and overcome any obstacles that seem to stand in the path of my desired recovery. All this is possible because of Ms. Tatiaana Laine.

“New York Neuro SLP has a convenient location, yet this wasn’t my first impression. It began when I first spoke with Marissa.
I had spoken with several Speech Therapists for my pre-school son prior to speaking with Marissa, and I knew that after speaking with her my search was over. Marissa informed me that Tatiaana would be his Speech Therapist. My son began his sessions with Tatiaana and she was professional and dedicated. He felt very comfortable with her. Tatiaana’s methods to help my son with his speech were remarkable and she’s an outstanding therapist! Thank you Marissa and Tatiaana for your devotion and enthusiasm to your profession!”