What Our Clients Say

I just wanted to take a few moments to acknowledge Ms. Samantha Swahlen. When I first started First Words, my son didn’t utter one word. As a first time parent, you can imagine how worried I was about his development. A million things raced through my mind and I felt very hopeless that I had a 1.6 year old son who I could not communicate with. I was worried that he was far behind his peers. Since my son started working with Ms. Swahlen, he quickly started to express himself. He not only knows all his colors, how to count to 10, and names animals, he now expresses what he wants. I cannot give credit to the school because he has had the same curriculum for the last year and has learned so much in the small timeframe working with Ms. Swahlen.

Ms. Swahlen is truly professional and genuinely cares about her clients. She has gone above and beyond to accommodate my schedule and treats my son like he is her own. My son is not a social child and lights up when he sees her. She takes her time with him and always gives me great tips to make him more expressive and responsive.

This email is not much, but I wanted to pass on the good word that I appreciate Ms. Swahlen. Most people say that once a child starts talking, they don’t stop. Hearing my son talk to me is music to my ears. Thank you Ms. Swahlen for giving my son the tools to communicate.
~Helena Jadusingh

We started with Annie about 3yrs ago and it has been wonderful! When she started coming to our house my boys were 1 and not speaking. My husband and I were concerned and decided to have a speech therapist come to the house. Annie came and answered all of our questions and put our minds at ease. She explained to us that it would be a long process and that the first couple of months would be the hardest. But I have to admit she is the best! She is patient, kind, persistent, and great at her job! Our boys are 4 now and they have come such a long way!
~Jessica Castro

My son was 3 years old when we meet Annie.  He was having a difficult time in day care because of his speech/language delay.  My husband and I decided to pull him out for 6 months while Annie worked with him.  When the time came for him to start VPK, I was on edge and nervous about how his behavior would be.  We quickly learned that not only was he behaving, but was excelling and enjoying learning!
At that same time my daughter was about to turn 2 and I noticed some of the same delays in her.  I brought them up to Annie and she immediately scheduled an evaluation.  She walked me through how Florida’s early steps program worked, and then assisted in getting her enrolled.
Annie has been an amazing part of this journey with me. She has accompanied me to meetings and rallied on behalf of both my children, to ensure they are receiving everything necessary to be successful and reach their full potential. She has gone above and beyond to help educate me with tools and creative activities I can use at home to aid in their growth. She is extremely talented, caring and I don’t know what I would have done without her!  I can never thank her enough for all she has done for my family!
~Tracy DeVries-Hipp