Empowering Voices,
Enriching Lives.

Maria is truly a gift to the Richmond community. When I refer patients to her, I am confident that, not only will the child make tremendous progress in their language, communication, and behaviors, but the entire family will be supported.

She goes above and beyond to look at the whole child, and is a fierce advocate for all of her clients.

I always breathe a sigh of relief when one of my patients is seen by Maria, because I know the amazing developmental progress they will make.

Maria began seeing my son at the age of 2 years and 1 month when his pediatrician had recommended we start addressing any complications or conditions that could be contributing to his speech delay. From the start (and he is now 4 years 6 months old) Maria was thorough, kind, and would always provide me with comfort in knowing we had a plan to help my son.

Maria was the first medical professional to suggest we may be dealing with Apraxia of Speech. She was the first to suggest we may want to consider genetic testing to ensure that there were no underlying, undiagnosed issues. She was the first to suggest enlisting the support and help of the UVA Developmental Pediatricians. She was the first to recommend an Occupational Therapist that could help us connect the progress being made in speech and physical therapy.

My son is completely thriving as a result of his hard work and having Maria at the hub of his care team. He never stops talking and so many that we encounter cannot believe he is ONLY 4 1/2.

My son looks forward to his time with Maria…working hard to improve. She holds him accountable and pushes him to be the best he can be.

To Maria – you are truly amazing and I thank God every single day for placing you in our lives. My son would not be where he is today without you, your love and support. We will be forever grateful!

We have worked with Maria for more than three years, with an eleven-year-old boy with significant expressive communication challenges along with other emotional issues. Both as a speech therapist but more as a wise and empathetic counselor, Maria connected with our son and created the space and pathways for him to find his voice, identify and express his feelings and overcome academic and social obstacles. In three and a half years, Maria has deepened her relationship to the point that she is one of our son’s “go-to” adults for advice and a sounding board always helping him grow and thrive. We recommend Maria wholeheartedly.

Having worked with countless speech-language pathologists over the past 25 years in education, I can tell you that Maria is in a league of her own. Maria works with a diverse population of learners and is always able to meet students where they are. She carefully develops a plan of action and coordinates with families and schools in order to meet the needs of her clients. Her students see growth not only in the areas of speech and language, but in academics and social skills as well. Maria is a strong advocate and always does what is best for her clients. She is by far the best SLP with whom I have worked.

Maria is a part of our family team and has been for many years. Words cannot describe her level of expertise and dedication to her work. We have had two children seek speech therapy from Maria over the past seven years. In addition to working on technical aspects of their speech, she has focused on their auditory processing, executive function, and social skills. I have often joked that we can’t ever leave Richmond because we need Maria! She has been the key to our family’s success in raising two boys with ADHD. I can’t imagine another practitioner as gifted, talented, and dedicated as her.

Miss Maria has been a blessing to our family! Through her expertise in therapeutic and behavioral interventions, and understanding of how to truly reach each child, she does not see a diagnosis – she sees your child for who they are, where they are, and most importantly who they can grow to be. Through our time with Miss Maria, we saw improvement in our child in every aspect: socially, academically and most importantly to us, family relationships. While the focus is on the child, Miss Maria’s holistic approach in considering all members of our family enabled us to parent and support our son within the daily bustle of our family dynamics. Perhaps the most positive impact Miss Maria has had on our child is in his own self-esteem. He believes in himself, has learned to advocate for himself and has the confidence to head into high school empowered to succeed. Miss Maria not only helped us find an open window to reach our son, but she threw open the doors to his own possibilities. She is a gift not only to the child, but to the entire family and we could not recommend Miss Maria more highly.

Maria DelCorso (Zanetti) helped my family through our most difficult times. She treated two of my children from 2019-2021. My boys suffered from significant speech delays, tongue/lip ties, anxiety, and were ultimately diagnosed with ASD during this time. We were extremely fortunate to hear about Ms. Maria from our Early Intervention speech therapist, who referred to her as “a child whisperer”. And let me tell you, she truly was for my children. From the initial evaluation of my oldest son to the final treatment of my youngest, it was consistently apparent just how knowledgeable, experienced and passionate she was about helping others. The rapport she builds with children is unparalleled. As a physical therapist, I value her compassion, support and patient education for the parents as well as the children. When my husband and I were most overwhelmed, Ms. Maria was there to help us navigate each obstacle along the way and provide us with excellent referrals. I can proudly say that my boys were discharged from all therapies and are absolutely thriving. Without a doubt, my boys would not be where they are today without the help of Ms. Maria, and for that I am forever grateful.

Maria has truly been a godsend. The past 17 years that Maria has been treating our son have been quite the journey. I’m not using hyperbole when I say that I don’t know where we would be today had we not had her because she’s guided us through so much- above and beyond. Her knowledge and skill sets are off the charts. And she’s so intuitive and passionate about her patients, and approaches each one as an individual with unique challenges. She’s honestly one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. She “gets it”, and it seems like she has superhuman levels of energy and ability to focus with intensity. Recently we asked her to assess our other son, who is neurotypical and because she is booked solid she saw him at 8 PM. I really could go on and on, so please ask Maria to pass along my information if you’d like to ask me any questions!

I love collaborating with Maria DelCorso (Zanetti) for my evaluations and referring my clients to her for services. She is amazing with her clients and helpful in providing relevant, applicable guidance to parents. She sees problems from multiple perspectives and incorporates that into her approach and suggested strategies, making a real difference in the family dynamic as well as within the client themselves. A natural practitioner who is caring and truly invested in the success of her clients, Maria can always be counted on to provide valuable insight and guidance.

I have had the opportunity to work with Maria beginning in September 2021. In that time, I have come to know Maria as knowledgeable, thorough, and collaborative. She is truly an expert in her field, and I would happily recommend her to families in need of a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist.