Jona Esquivel
Consultant Speech Therapist
Jona earned a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology from the University of the Philippines (2003) and has devoted her clinical practice to the paediatric speech and language field for the last 19 years. She has been a speech – language therapist since 2003 and has worked in several institutions as a Chief Speech Therapist in the Philippines (i.e. ALRES – Phils, Shine Intervention Centre) and in Indonesia before coming to Singapore in 2009. She received trainings in the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore on auditory-verbal therapy, Oral-Placement Therapy, PROMPT, Social Thinking® by Michelle Garcia – Winner, S.O.S. Approach to Feeding, Sensory Processing for Speech – Language Pathologists by Karin Brinkmann. She also attended training in Therapeutic Play. She has also a certification from the Hanen Centre for the approaches used in It Takes Two to Talk® and More Than Words®. She recently completed her training in Ayres Sensory Integration by the Collaborative for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration®. She has attended conventions focusing on early intervention as well as in improving professional practice in speech therapy. Jona has also been a lecturer and a supervisor for junior speech – language therapists and has conducted several workshops in Singapore, Philippines and in Japan over the last few years. Jona is a staunch advocate for strong family and school involvement in intervention. She believes that children learn best in an environment where their individual interests are nurtured and magnified.
Thus, she provides numerous training programmes and workshops for parents, teachers and caregivers for the purpose of not only raising awareness for neurodivergent children but also to pave way for a more accepting society. She conducts assessments and intervention for children with various communication issues including those who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), speech – language delay, motor-speech disorders including apraxia/dyspraxia of speech, various paediatric oral-sensory motor and feeding issues, genetic syndromes/chromosomal disorders, learning disabilities, auditory processing disorders (APD), and children having limited skills in social communication. She completed Basic Singapore Sign Language given by Singapore Association for the Deaf. She is fluent in English and Filipino languages and proficient in Bahasa Indonesia. She is currently learning to speak Spanish.