AboutDeborah Chitester MS CCC Expertise I can not evaluate a child or person over the computer. I can provide generalities based on my extensive knowledge and expertise in second language acquisition and speech pathology.
Experience Deborah Jill Chitester received her Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Adelphi University in New York and was granted her Certificate of Clinical Competence (C.C.C) by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). She has 12 years experience working with all age levels both mono-lingual and Spanish speaking, having received special certification by the State of New York as a Bilingual (English/Spanish) Speech-Language Pathologist. Deborah has worked with all age levels and all disabilities. She began her practice in New York, where she worked with both private patients as well as with the major school systems and corporations.
She treats both monolingual and Spanish speaking clients of all ages and disabilities and utilizes some of the latest computer based treatment especially designed to promote optimal language development. Due to the use of her “linguistic features” approach, her client mix is increasingly more culturally linguistically diverse encompassing those representing almost all backgrounds presently comprising Asians, Arabs, Pakistani , etc. Deborah is an advocate of “highest quality service provider” having given many speaking engagements at parent/special interest support groups to inform and educate parents regarding appropriate educational practices for second language learners.
One presentation also dealt with the facilitation of literacy instruction particularly reading in the English Language Learner population. She provides professional development in this area both locally and nationally. Lastly,
She provides specialized language services for internationally adopted children and provides consultative services for parents concerning the importance of distinguishing second language aspects from true speech and language disorders.
In 2007 her first resource guide called Unlocking the Enigma of the Second Language Learner: An Educator and Parental Resource Guide was released. (Llumina Press)
Publications Language magazine
Advance Magazine
Parents
NJ suburban
Unlocking the Enigma of the Second Language LEarner
Education/Credentials MS Speech Language PAthology
CCC-Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA
Bilingual Extension as a bilingual speech pathologist
Question Hello, thank you for being available to answer my question. My daughter was very delayed with her expressive language at 18 months, using only three words at the time. Now, at 33 months, she has amazing quantitative language. She is speaking in sentences. However, she has articulation issues with difficulty producing k/g/y and she omits the s in the word snow and other combinations like that. She is also using /she/ instead of /her/ like :
I like she dress
Him took my pony
Me want the purple dog
I am pressing on the school district for therapy because she is so hard to understand. But it is probably going nowhere because the speech therapist that came here to do the eval said that she understood a great deal of what she said. However, she was kind of leading the eval. We went to a developmental pediatrician and she agrees that she needs speech therapy. What do you think? IS this all normal? I thought that k and g were early developing sounds - and I have never heard them from her - not even cooing.
Answer I can not render an opinion on whether your child needs help-what I can say is that schools are only mandated to provide therapy for those problems that are deemed to be educationally related or to impact academics or social skills in school. Get a second opinion. Private therapy is an option and need not meet that requirement of it being educationally related.
