Talk School

395 Bishop Hollow Road

Newtown Square, PA 19073

12 Reviews

School District
Grade

n/a
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on July 10, 2024

We as parents have been asked by school leaders to write a review on this website to talk about our experience with Talk school. I assume this was because they hoped that our reviews would be positive but unfortunately I am not afraid to share that my family’s experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. We have been lied to time and time again and every time we try to leave, they find a way to keep us and our district paying for their costly tuition. It’s like a toxic relationship we cannot get out of. The fact that they have to ask us to write reviews for them is sad. Talk school was the biggest mistake we made for our child, believing all the lies they told us. Please, stay away.
Submitted by parent on July 07, 2024

Talk School has been life changing for our verbal challenged child on spectrum. We refer to everyone from the executive director down to his teachers, therapists and support staff as "the dream team". Every teacher and administrator is so invested, personally and professionally. in our son's academic and emotional growth – and the progress is so clear, month ver month, year over year. We've integrated the association method into signs and stickers throughout our home to reinforce what he's learning in school. They have bent over backwards from scaffolding him up a few days a week, to full time enrollment, to supporting all the never ending administrative needs of the school board. This school and community has changed our lives and we couldn't be more proud or grateful to be a part of it.
Submitted by teacher on June 16, 2024

I was holding back from writing this review. However, I read a glowing review for Talk School the other day, and I want to bring in an honest perspective. They have yet to look inward and only externalize blame, blaming it on “bad employees that didn’t agree with their mission.” This couldn’t be less true. Talk School treats its employees with the utmost disrespect. They are only out for the malpractices they have been implementing for years. They use a non-evidenced-based curriculum including the Association Method, DIR Floortime, Brushing, and Squeezing. Rather than using evidenced-based ABA principles to replace maladaptive behavior. They also do not know how to write legally defensible IEPs. They write IEPs utilizing the entire curriculum and have hundreds of goals per student. They are running this school by the seat of their pants. They are running it with their feelings rather than being able to listen to people. They contract with school districts have included 1:1s in their payment contracts and some of these students do not even have 1:1s while the district is being charged. This school needs to take a hard look into how they are serving students and what the research says the student population needs that they work with. It is never going to happen. There are so many other programs that use research and Ethical Codes. I would seriously think twice before considering Talk School.
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2024

Talk School has changed my daughter's life! When she enrolled at TALK School, she could not read, write or communicate. She was shy, embarrassed and quiet. The TALK School's teachers and staff worked tirelessly and patiently with her. Goals on her IEP were challenging yet obtainable. Each goal was a piece of the puzzle to unlock her potential. She worked hard. As parents, we worked hard. The teachers worked hard. We were a team, one that helped her to succeed. The receptive and expressive language skills she acquired at the Talk School enable her today to communicate, to work a full time job and to earn a pay check. Today she is confident and proud! We are forever grateful to Talk School's teachers, staff and administration!
Submitted by other on May 22, 2024

In my several years working at Talk School the main attribute of the school has been the incredible passion, care, and respect the employees show to the students. From my start here, it was the definition of a team approach. Teachers, therapists, assistants, and aids all work very closely with each other, constantly collaborate on students together, do not hesitate to seek one another out for assistance. There are meetings held weekly for the classrooms to discuss student progress and areas of need and team meetings are held for individual students whenever necessary. From my years of experience working in school settings, this is something extremely rare. It is not something that is available at other schools. There is a very unique style that is utilized in this school such as presuming competence with all of the students. Respecting the students as individuals. We go above and beyond to find the appropriate accommodations to best support the child's development. Yes, this place is not suitable for everyone because you have to have an extreme amount of compassion, empathy, patience, devotion, and love for the children and their success. Unfortunately, we had a few employees recently who were unhappy and sadly chose to spread their unhappiness and negativity to others, which affected the cohesive culture we had rather than just move on and find something better suited for them. Luckily, we were able to shift the atmosphere and culture back to positivity and we now have employees who all truly want to be here and put the kid’s and their needs first. The new team we have now also 100% support and respect each other which makes collaboration so easy and smooth when that mutual respect and passion for what you do, is present. Believe me, I have had several jobs I did not like and even dreaded going into (but when that happened, I would realize it was time to move on) and this job is certainly not one of those jobs. Seeing my kiddos always has a way of making my day and turning a bad one into a good one! I honestly, feel so blessed and grateful to have such supportive and kind coworkers and a job where I can feel like I make a difference in this world.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2024

I was referred to Talk School by a Developmental Pediatrician at Nemours Children’s Hospital after not having success in the school district. As a parent, I was embraced as a valuable member of the team. Communication has been excellent with weekly updates and staff available for questions at any time. Parents are highly encouraged to schedule observations of academic blocks, speech therapy and occupational therapy sessions. This insight has been especially helpful with carry over between school and home. All students are celebrated through all accomplishments — big and small. The changes and growth that I have witnessed in my son is remarkable. I feel very strongly that his future is bright and it’s because of Talk School — the curriculum, the top notch therapists, and the talented and creative teachers. Talk School does not set limits on what is possible for their students!
Submitted by teacher on December 02, 2023

Having worked at talk school, I can confidently say that I STRONGLY discourage any family to place their kids here. I have seen the administration team lie to families over and over again, and we as staff had to sit by and watch it because we would get retaliated against if we were to share anything that they were not being transparent about. This school does not care about your kids, they only care about the money they make from the extremely overpriced tuition. It seems too good to be true of a school, because it is too good to be true. Your kids deserve better than a toxic, money hungry institution that doesn’t practice what they preach.
Submitted by parent on November 24, 2023

I made the mistake of sending my son to TALK school, believing all the lies they told us about what they do. It has been nothing short of disheartening. When I first enrolled my son, who has autism and apraxia, I was encouraged by the school's apparent commitment to accommodating neurodivergent students. Unfortunately, what initially seemed like a beacon of hope turned out to be a facade masking a deeply flawed educational institution. The curriculum they advertise on their website, the "association method" is nothing but a memorization curriculum, where me and other parents questioned if our kids were actually learning anything. Families like mine, seeking a supportive and understanding environment, were instead met with disappointment and frustration. When I started to ask for more transparency from what actually goes on during the day with my son, I was told to "trust them" and I just got a lot of push back when I felt like I wasn't asking for much. I feel like I lost precious time for my son to get the education and therapy he deserves, and I wish I would have known then what I know now. I strongly discourage anyone from enrolling in TALK to avoid having the experience my son and countless other kids have had.
Submitted by other on November 15, 2023

This school has failed at their mission of being inclusive and caring. They have turned into more of a business than a school in that the executive director cares more about money than serving the kids. Parents have been pulling their kids because they realize how bad it has gotten.
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2017

We love this school. My 8 year old has a ton of complex issues including hearing loss and overtime one of his medical issues comes forward, they work diligently to support him. I am in contact with not only his teachers but his 1 on 1 weekly. My child was literally born without the wiring to speak, and their methods have him saying Mommy, Please, no, etc... And they are supporting his need to use assistive tech to support what he cannot say.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2016

My 17 yr old son's class has 8 students, 3 teachers. There are 3 speech therapists and three OT's for a school with 18 students. My son's teachers meet weekly with therapist to discuss his progress. Parents are asked to meet and observe child in classes and with therapists quarterly so parents can extend classroom work at home. This is the only speech and language school in the state of PA.
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2015

Incredibly irresponsible learning environment. Zero behavior support/modification, zero transition planning. Website for school is deceiving. the school is tied into something called Family Hope Center which pushes non-evidenced based interventions.