Real Reviews From Families Across South Jersey
The families at Cheerful Chatter Speech-Language Services want you to know what’s possible.
Speech Clarity and Apraxia
Language, Reading, and Spelling
Social Skills and Confidence
Why Families Choose Cheerful Chatter
Reviews About Therapy for Speech Clarity and Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Real feedback from families whose children became easier to understand and more confident communicating. Read more about our work with speech clarity and childhood apraxia of speech →
“If you want your child to make INCREDIBLE progress, look no further than Cheerful Chatter! Ellen is an exceptional speech therapist. As a speech therapist myself, I am very particular when it comes to finding the right service provider. Before finding Ellen, I had taken my son to a few other practices. I was left disappointed and frustrated. It is difficult to find a provider who is both extremely knowledgeable in their field AND as welcoming and warm as Ellen. She creates a treatment plan, explains it clearly, and implements it with fidelity. Ellen also encourages family to sit in on sessions which is greatly appreciated. I found other practices discouraged observations and preferred you to be in the waiting room. Not Ellen. She is confident in her skill set, and most importantly, wants correct carryover at home. Ellen also puts a lot of care, effort, and financial resources into the selection of books, toys, apps, and materials she uses to complement therapy. Her office is so engaging and fun for children.
When my son started with Ellen, he was virtually unintelligible. Now, he gets compliments from friends, family, teachers, and strangers on his clarity of speech. All thanks to Ellen. We are forever grateful to have found Cheerful Chatter.” — Alexandra
“Ellen is the best speech therapist we have been to. My 9 year old son has made tremendous progress and really enjoys seeing her. We have been to four other speech therapist and no one can compare to the services we receive while at cheerful chatter. She truly cares about her clients and has helped us more than anyone else. I will never seek another speech therapist as long as reside in the area.” — Lindsey
“Ellen of cheerful chatter has been an absolute game changer for my 3 year old. She, in only a few weeks, has gone from completely unintelligible, to being able to communicate her needs and wants in short complete sentences with few articulation errors. She has been the only professional that has been able to recognize my daughter's articulation problem as being a problem with her jaw placement. My 3 year old has had a full evaluation from our school system and was told "she was completely fine" and "would outgrow it". Thanks to Ellen, my daughter is able to self correct, and is having less behavioral difficulties because she is able to communicate more clearly. Ellen is so patient, professional, and her level of expertise in the speech pathology field has exceeded all expectations. Thanks Ellen for all you have done and continue to do for my daughter!!” — Dana
“We have been seeing Ellen since 2021. My son is AuDHD, communication impaired with apraxia. ODD and can be extremely rude and difficult to work with. When we first started seeing her no one but immediately family could understand my son. His speech has improved so much since we started working with her that he’s able to communicate with everyone easily. She is sweet and bubbly yet also firm with firm boundaries. She manages to redirect him and engage him and never loses her patience.” — Brandie
“My son has been working with Ellen at Cheerful Chatter for almost a year now. Ellen is a wonderful speech language pathologist who is an absolute pleasure to work with. She is a very kind, warm, and caring individual who always has a smile on her face and a positive attitude. She always greets my son with lots of enthusiasm to help him have a successful session. Ellen is one of the most engaged providers we have ever worked with. She has taken the time to learn what my son likes and dislikes so that he consistently stays motivated to work hard. She provides a rich learning environment where my son is comfortable and encouraged to have fun while practicing his articulation. Ellen is also a wonderful resource for parents. She is always very patient in answering my many questions, and each week she shows me how to help my son at home. I happily recommend Cheerful Chatter to other families who are looking for a speech therapist that genuinely cares about their children and their language development. My son is making great progress thanks to Ellen and Cheerful Chatter!” — Lisa
“Our 4 year old daughter has made unbelievable progress in the 9 months we have worked with Ms Ellen; we have seen major improvement not only in speech but also positive behavioral changes. Also, our daughter LOVES coming to her sessions plus the evening hours are ideal for working parents like us and so it is easy to get us all there during the week!” — Kate
“So happy that we came to Cheerful Chatter and Ellen McSpadden. My daughter has shown marked improvement over the last year and a half. Ellen provides an positive environment for her to work on her stutter. Ellen explains things is such a way that it clicks for my daughter. Ellen expects that she is working on her homework and holds my daughter accountable. My daughter likes coming to speech therapy. Thank you Ellen!!!” — Jennifer
Reviews About Therapy for Language, Reading, and Spelling
Real feedback from families whose children made progress in language, reading, spelling, and academic confidence. Read more about our language therapy and reading support →
“My family has been with Ellen for a little over 2 years now and I’ve had two of my children work with her. My six-year-old is still with her. My two-year-old was slow learning to speak and with just 6 months of therapy was caught up on his language skills. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have your child begin therapy as young as possible!
We didn’t begin therapy with my oldest until he was 4 years old. He’s been with Ellen for the full 2+ years now. We heard all the standard excuses and assurances from ourselves, as well as other people (including our pediatrician), for over 2 years. “He’s just a late talker.” “He’ll catch up, don’t worry.” “He’ll grow out of it.” “He’s a boy, it’s normal for them to talk later.” That’s just a few of them. If you’ve said or heard any of those, your child needs to be evaluated!
I took my oldest to our local public school to be evaluated. It was a meeting with 4 school staff including: teachers, the vice principal and their language therapist. They asked me a handful of questions about how my son interacted with myself and others and what he was able to say. They didn’t ask him any questions or interact with him at all. Honestly, he didn’t even need to be there. After hearing my concerns and answers they said, “He sounds a little behind, but put him in kindergarten next year and we’re sure he’ll catch up.”
Compare that with the evaluation he received from Ellen at Cheerful Chatter. First, I filled out a form with questions about my sons eating, sleeping, talking, social, physical and birth details; a look into his overall development. Ellen then sat down with him and asked him all kinds of questions, with pictures and without, since his language skills were so limited. All the questions were created with the intent of digging into just how much he did and didn’t understand in several areas of language. I observed and allowed her to work with him by himself. After what was around a two-hour appointment, she was able to tell me that she had serious concerns about his language development and that she would get back to me with the results. When we saw Ellen again, she handed me a folder with a detailed report of his evaluation. It broke down language into 14 categories and sub-categories and showed exactly where and how far he was behind. She had the information she needed to create a plan for his therapy and we’ve never looked back.
She is an expert on language development and speech and I’m learning from her along with my son. She gives me instructions for what to work on at home between sessions, providing me with examples and ideas. We’ve gone from a goal of three-word sentences to now building complex sentences and creating stories.
From the start Ellen has been very professional. She has handled every insurance issue expertly and we’ve never had any problems with insurance or billing. She is firm and enforces boundaries, which is necessary for therapy to be a success. She makes it very clear who is in charge during sessions and what she expects from her students. She is very patient though and never talks down to my son or makes him feel inferior in any way. She sets realistic goals and assures him that he can meet them.
She’s also very welcoming and personal. She adores her nieces and fur babies! She’s great with kids. A couple of mine are quiet and shy around other people, but they have all warmed to Ellen quickly and ask to accompany their older brother to therapy. My two-year-old is sad that he’s done with therapy and asks if he can go again!
I can’t recommend Ellen highly enough. After being told by the school that my son was “a little behind” and then learning from a thorough evaluation that he was more than 2 years behind, I can testify to the need for experienced professionals like Ellen. If your child is evaluated and they don’t need therapy, great! You don’t have to worry anymore! If they’re evaluated and need therapy, that’s also great! Because Ellen will create a plan for treatment that will get your child the help they need. You can’t go wrong!” — Melinda
“I honestly couldn't be happier with the services I've received with Ellen at Cheerful Chatter. We go there for social skills and reading since my son is is AuDHD. He's a kick to be around, but friends and school can be tough sometimes.
Ellen is incredibly smart, gets how everything connects together and is very "real" with him... which he appreciates. He doesn't fight me on going like he did at the last place. He is so much more confident then he used to be.
Right now we see her one on one, but we're looking forward to checking out the new groups that are starting soon.
Best of all, she makes getting reimbursed with insurance so easy. Once a month we just go to the link, download the thing, and then upload it. A few weeks later we get a check. Love it!” — Fiona
“Ellen is extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and skilled at what she does! She has extensive training and years of experience evaluating and treating children and young adults with a variety speech and language challenges such as reading, spelling, articulation, fluency of speech, and more. She offers several group programs that target reading, spelling, and social skills. She facilitates a positive environment that allows her clients to feel safe, supported, and confident enough to be uniquely and authentically themselves!” — Kristina
“This place is the best that there could be when it comes to speech therapy! Ellen is so wonderful, has a wealth of experience and knowledge and so many fun apps and games and learning tools which she incorporates into her therapy with the kiddos! I am so happy that I found her. She also allows parents to observe without being in the room too if you want. She has technology for that, also to allow slots to be shared within her clientele that can be used for other appointments switch outs if that is what you want too...so many wonderful ideas that she gives us parents to use and try with our kiddos at home and in school also makes this place the best place! I am very happy with our therapy so far!” — Tiffany
Reviews About Speech-Language Therapy Services
Real feedback from families who valued Ellen’s expertise, communication, and individualized care. Read more about individual therapy →
“Ms. McSpadden is amazing with my young son. He has learned and progressed so much under her care. From the start I could tell this was going to be a good fit for us. Her evaluation was professional, insightful, and very detailed; much more than we have ever received from an SLP in the past. In his sessions, she provides well planned activities that meet his needs and keep his interest throughout the time slot. She even gets down on the floor to interact with him! He loves going and always asks when his next visit will be. I love the flexibility of the online scheduling. Ms. McSpadden always keeps us up to date on his progress and goals; she has been a dream to work with! I would definitely recommend her services.” — Tracy
“I had the good fortune of working under Ellen McSpadden of Cheerful Chatter as a graduate student this summer. Ellen is an extremely passionate and skilled speech-language pathologist. Therapy is tailored to each individual client and is client-driven. This makes her clients interested and engaged in sessions. Also Ellen, herself, is engaging. She’s tough but kind; she has high expectations for her clients and I believe this is a large reason why her clients have the success they do. I saw phenomenal progress in her clients in the less than two months I worked with Ellen. She knows the field inside and out, is highly intelligent, and can work with any child/teenager/young adult with challenges/delays related to language, speech, stuttering (fluency), social aspects of language, and even poor behavior related to these challenges/delays. I STRONGLY recommend Ellen if you have any of these concerns with your young one. My own daughter had language delays/poor articulation and worked with a speech-language pathologist; I wish I had known about Ellen when my daughter was struggling.
Also, Ellen’s practice is insanely clean and beautiful; I saw firsthand how much Ellen cleans and the time, effort, and frankly money she spends to give her clients and their families the space and materials needed for effective and enjoyable therapy sessions. I learned so much from Ellen and am thankful every day that she took me on as a student.” — Caroline
“I had the opportunity to work with Ms. McSpadden professionally last year. She relates beautifully to this age group and made a connection with each of her students. She understands their individual needs and uses humor and love to help guide them through their middle school years.” — Jenn
“Amazing provider! She is efficient, thoughtful and went above and beyond to make sure l had no issues with claims. She is creative with her platform and makes the learning enjoyable for my 9 year old.” — Lataya
“My elementary school child has been seeing Ms. McSpadden for a year now. She is wonderful with him and always takes the time to listen to both of our questions and work those into the sessions. She has a great talent of mixing speech work into play activities. He loves going every week.
I feel that her services are flexible and geared towards my sons best interests. Her new therapy office is clean, comfortable and very professional. I enjoy watching the sessions from the waiting area on the tv. We will definitely continue to see Ms. McSpadden until he no longer needs help.” — Tracy
Reviews About Our Social Skills Groups
Real feedback from families whose children built friendships, confidence, and real-world social skills. Read more about social skills groups and friendship support →
“Ellen is AMAZING! I have two children that Ellen has worked with. My 13 year old son (with autism) had been struggling with Social Skills and making friends. After his course, my son turned to me and said "mom, I wish I had this last year". It changed his life! He has friends now and engages people so much more! My 12 year old daughter (also with autism) took her course. She is lower functioning than my son and always had to be coached to talk to people. When she meets new people, she introduces herself all on her own and strikes up a very appropriate conversation. If I try to coach her at all she will even say "let me do it, I got this". Bottom line is Ellen changes lives. I could not imagine where we would be without her!” — Christine
“This past summer I enrolled both my sons in classes with Ellen. Ellen is amazing with the kids. She is very engaging and the kids like her a lot! As a parent, I got to watch what they are learning, without them seeing me, and I can reinforce this at home. My son's learned valuable life skills that are priceless and so worth every ounce of time and money. It's very uplifting to know that I gave my boys that gift because they will sure use that way more than they will ever use calculus! Ellen is teaching the skills that our kids are not learning in school. You want to enrich your child's social skills, go see Ellen. She is changing lives!!!!” — Julie
“My child is currently enrolled in the PEERS UCLA program at Cheerful Chatter NJ. Ellen McSpadden is the provider trained to teach children (and parents) the necessary social nuisances in order to make and KEEP friends. We are half way through the course and have already begun to see such positive changes in how are child interacts with his peers and how his peers are positively reacting to the changes in his mannerisms and communication style. He has learned about handling bullies, taking turns speaking, appropriate phone communication, seeking potential friends and nurturing those friendships, along with the "hidden" rules to effectuating same. Ellen is educated, energetic and dedicated to giving those children lacking social skills/theory of mind including those on the Aspergers/Autism spectrum, a real shot at enriching their lives through lasting peer relationships. These relationships are crucial to children on the spectrum and others, whom without friends, become withdrawn, depressed and anxious due to their inability to seek or foster friendships of their own. Another wonderful gift of this program is the support and friendship of other parents. The parents in the class are accepting, friendly and understanding. They know the daily struggles parents of "friendless" children face and have become a great source of inspiration and help to us.” — ML
“Both my sons went to classes this summer. It was an outstanding experience for both of them. Ellen is very professional and does an amazing job with the children and the delivery of the PEERS program. She makes it a lot of fun for the kids and the adults get to watch (w/o the kids seeing us). I even learned a lot from those sessions!
I would recommend this to anyone who is even debating whether or not to do it! You and your children will benefit greatly! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions!” — Julie
“Ellen is extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and skilled at what she does! She facilitates a positive environment that allows children and teens to feel safe and confident enough to be uniquely and authentically themselves!” — Tina
“Ellen has been one heck of a WONDERWOMAN!!!! I have 2 children with special needs and brought both of them to her this past summer. They bonded with Ellen right away. And, as you know, that is so very important! She is extremely knowledgeable about the PEERS program and also respects the family’s privacy. My children are on the road to achieving the social goals set for them. How do you ever thank someone for giving that kind of a gift to your child(ren). You want results, than go see Ellen. Thanks Ellen for everything!!!!!” — Julie