We went on a safari through Mole National Park and got to see many animals, including various types of antelope, baboons, warthogs, and most exciting and unexpected of all, a group of 8 elephants! We learned a lot about the park and the animals’ behavior and movements from the guides, but the most surprising thing we learned was that one of the guides was actually familiar with speech therapy and even with cleft lips, because a baby in his village had recently been born with a cleft. He said that no one had ever seen the baby, though. Our plan immediately became visiting the baby.
Category: Catherine (Cate) Crowley
Catherine J. Crowley, CCC-SLP, J.D., Ph.D., is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in the program of speech language pathology at Teachers College Columbia University in New York City. She joined the program in 1998 and became a fulltime member in 2004. In 2001, Cate developed and continues to coordinate the bilingual/bicultural program focus and the Bolivia and Ghana programs. In 1996, she created and continues to direct and teach in the TC Bilingual Extension Institute, the only discipline-specific bilingual extension program for SLPs. TC is the only university with discipline-specific bilingual extension programs in New York State and one of only a handful nationwide. Cate, a fellow of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, has received several national awards including ASHA’s “Special Contributions in Multicultural Affairs”, ASHA’s first award for “Outstanding Contributions in International Achievement”, and the “2012 Humanitarian Award” from the National Coalition of Ghanaian Associations.
Over the years, Cate used her background as an experienced attorney to shape change and implement appropriate clinical practice especially regarding appropriate assessment of bilingual and minority students and students from lower income backgrounds. She currently has a multi-year consulting project with the NYCDOE and regularly consults on assessment issues with federal, state, and local agencies. Cate was the primary author of the ASHA’s 2004 policy statement that identifies the knowledge and skills needed to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services and wrote the seminal article on ethical approaches to multicultural populations with disabilities which is cited extensively in the literature. Recent publications focus on her international work in Ghana, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Colombia, appropriate disability evaluations, and issues related to clinician accent and intelligibility.
Law and Policy: NYCDOE Preschool Evaluations Fall 2011 Memo
NYCDOE Preschool Evaluations Fall 2011.pdf
This document presents why a shift in approach to disability evaluation of preschoolers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is needed. Read More
Law and Policy: Guidelines for NYSED Preschool Evaluations June 2013
Guidelines for NYSED preschool evaluations.pdf
This memo outlines current issues in the speech and language evaluation process in New York. Read More
Ghana 2013: Ghana Day 2
Our second day in Ghana began with the continuation of our work at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital with Ghana’s beloved speech therapist, Albert Osei-Bagyina. The sweltering heat went unnoticed as our morning filled up with young children and their dedicated parents. One man shared that he had left home at 1 am that morning, taking half a day’s trek to wait with his 3 year old daughter until we were able to see him at 2 pm. We were determined to give the highest standard of care while seeing as many patients as possible. The day ended on a successful note with our three separate groups providing recommendations to parents of 21 children in under five hours.
Exhausted from the morning’s fast paced events, we were thrilled and privileged to be invited for the first time to Albert’s residence for a home cooked feast. The feast was prepared by Albert’s wife and children. Dr. Crowley said it was undoubtedly the best meal she had had in her eight years visiting Ghana. We were lucky enough to try Ghana’s famous cultural dish, Fufu – peanut soup with ground plantain, cassava, and fish. The hospitality provided to us by Albert’s family made us feel at home. But more than that it made us feel like a part of Ghana, a place full of warmth.
Model Eval: 2;10 Spanish- Moderately Severe Phonological Delay
J is a 2 year, 10 month old monolingual Spanish child who has never received services. His parents are new immigrants from Mexico, and only Spanish is spoken in the home. J presents with at least a 25% delay in expressive language development, and uses multiple phonological processes in his speech. This evaluation was completed by Dr. Catherine Crowley.
