Testimonials
What Clients Are Saying
She is really nice and has fun games! I like her in general and she helped me make my speech sounds better! She is friendly and easy to talk to. She makes speech fun because I can do art projects while we work! ~ Patient
We are incredibly grateful for the exceptional care and support our son has received from Kimberly Banker-Jefferson. As a speech therapist, she is a phenomenal communicator who truly listens to our concerns and is always responsive to the needs of our family. She doesn’t just focus on articulation, but takes a holistic approach, supporting our son’s overall development. Her expertise in working with musculature to improve speech has made a noticeable difference in his progress.
What really stands out is her ability to provide strategies that align with our child’s specific needs, always taking the time to explain everything clearly. She has created a fun, motivating, and encouraging environment that makes our son look forward to every session. Thanks to her dedication and positive approach, we have seen incredible improvement in our son’s speech and confidence. We couldn’t be more thankful for her commitment to our son’s success! ~ Family
Kimberly absolutely changed our lives. To say she only helped our son’s speech wouldn’t do justice to our experience working with Kimberly. His lack of being understood started to affect his confidence and personality. She identified a possible medical need and she was spot on. After his adnoidectomy she knew exactly what sounds to work on and how to cue him. She is so patient and personal with her approach. My son went from 10% to 90% intelligibility within the year. It was amazing to not only be able to understand all the wonderful things my son had to say but watch his confidence come back and his personality unfold. He even started to eat a bigger range of foods and textures. Kimberly is truly a treasure and we consider ourselves so lucky to have had the time and experience with her. ~ Parent
Kimberly Banker Jefferson had a positive impact on our two boys in early childhood through Kindergarten. One had a speech impairment and stuttered throughout his early childhood; he is now a college student and speaks perfectly. Another had severe acid reflux and trouble swallowing as a baby; Kimberly helped him significantly working with him on a weekly basis and he is now in middle school and has no current swallowing issues. We were so happy to have met her and are so grateful for her help. Kimberly is dedicated and professional, and has a myriad of techniques for the kids to learn and succeed. We highly recommend Kimberly Banker Jefferson as a SLP, she is remarkable. ~ Parents
We first met Kimberly about 19 years ago shortly after bringing our son home from his extended stay in the NICU. He was born about three months early and had more than his share of complications. Having a medically complex child is not in the baby books and the journey is often full of unknowns and can be scary. Once the hospital stay was behind us we still faced a lot of challenges including his aversion to eating. Through Kimberly, we learned that this was common after such a traumatic experience. Kimberly is knowledgeable, caring and through her guidance we felt empowered and able to conquer the challenges we faced. Her support was always a balance between learning how to get past the trauma and allow our son to grow and thrive and gradually our “failure to thrive” diagnosis was replaced with a child who now enjoys all foods. Our son is thriving and has a more diverse pallet than most people we know. Kimberly worked to help our son overcome his aversion and at the same time educated and empowered us with skills and knowledge on what worked best for his growth and his timeline. Kimberly became an important part of all of our lives and will always be a dear friend. ~ Parents
Kimberly has been our speech therapist for our son since he was 8 years old. In my eyes, she has had the greatest impact on his development and he is thriving. I will never forget the moment when my son and I met with Kimberly. Meeting her changed my son’s life for the better. Kimberly is a person of high professionalism and great knowledge in her field as a speech therapist. She proceeds with a compassionate and kind approach when helping her clients and she finds and emphasizes the strengths of her kids and nourishes them for their highest potential. Her ethical values stand above others. With this being said, Kimberly is the kindest person we have ever met. Anyone who has her as a speech therapist is beyond lucky ~ Family
Kimberly began working with my son when he was 2 months old & he continued under her care until early intervention services ended at age 3. I am very thankful for Kimberly’s expertise at the start of his life. She possessed both immense knowledge and profound wisdom, guiding all decisions with such care. Her warm character shone through her smile, laughter & gentle words. I especially enjoyed our office sessions because the space was always clean, organized & peaceful. Kimberly is a compassionate individual who strives to intentionally build relationships with her clients & their families. Our time together was special. Anyone who has the opportunity to work with Kimberly is in great hands! ~ Parent
Our family highly recommends Kimberly Banker-Jefferson as an exceptional speech pathologist. Our child began working with Kimberly when he was about two and a half years old with limited spoken words in his vocabulary (around 10 words maybe). We saw her 2-3 times a week for about a year and a half, during which she diagnosed him with speech apraxia, and our child’s progress was staggering. She gave us the gift of communicating with our child and we are forever grateful for her involvement in his speech development. Kimberly creates an environment that fosters meaningful learning through child-led discovery, integrating art, creative play and board games into her sessions. Her approach to therapy is both engaging and individualized. She is not only deeply knowledgeable in her field but also an advocate for her clients. We had our child assessed (and denied) for early intervention multiple times before seeking out private therapy support. After meeting with our child, Kimberly encouraged us to go back and have him reevaluated. With her support and thorough evaluations, we were able to continue working with Kimberly through early intervention services. We cannot say enough good things about her! ~ Family
Kimberly absolutely changed our lives. To say she only helped our son’s speech wouldn’t do justice to our experience working with Kimberly. His lack of being understood started to affect his confidence and personality. She identified a possible medical need and she was spot on. After his adnoidectomy she knew exactly what sounds to work on and how to cue him. She is so patient and personal with her approach. My son went from 10% to 90% intelligibility within the year. It was amazing to not only be able to understand all the wonderful things my son had to say but watch his confidence come back and his personality unfold. He even started to eat a bigger range of foods and textures. Kimberly is truly a treasure and we consider ourselves so lucky to have had the time and experience with her. ~ Family
My daughter has been blessed to be a client of Kimberly Banker-Jefferson for the past fifteen years. Her expertise in working with children with feeding challenges, executive function, learning disabilities and autism, along with her passion for helping children communicate is second to none. She was directly responsible for identifying a medical issue that was affecting my daughter’s ability to speak and advocated to ensure that she qualified for an IEP during her school years. Kimberly has tirelessly supported our family through many speech and language challenges, and has guided us through the special education maze, which can be overwhelming at times. I would not consider working with another speech-language-pathologist in the Capital Region. ~ Family
I’ve known Kimberly for many years now, and even though I cannot remember the times when she was my professional food therapist, I have been told about the impact she has had on my life countless times. More recently, I’ve become aware of how much she has truly helped me. All my life, I’ve been told how much disdain I had for food when I was a baby and how difficult it was to get me to eat anything! But after a lot of work and guidance from Kimberly, I was eventually able to eat my first food, a Cheeto!
After that day and a lot more work on everyone else’s part, I was able to expand my palate to what it is today. Because of Kimberly’s hard work, determination, and guidance, I will now eat anything you put in front of me. As I’ve gotten older, I have become more adventurous with not just food but other aspects of my life, and I’ve even encouraged others to do the same.
When I think about it, there are very few people I can thank for helping me become the outgoing foodie I am today. Without all of the work she and my parents put into helping me, I don’t think I would be the man I am today. So, thank you Kimberly for your friendship and guidance. ~ Client
We are incredibly grateful for the impact Kimberly has had on our son’s speech development. When our son was diagnosed with a speech disorder, Apraxia, we were uncertain about his future progress and worried about his ability to communicate effectively. Kimberly has a special ability connecting with our son, creating a warm and supportive environment that has helped him feel comfortable and confident in his speech.
She tailors each lesson to meet his individual needs, always challenging him just enough to keep him progressing without overwhelming him. Thanks to Kimberly’s expertise and patience, he has made remarkable strides. He continues to excel in his ability to communicate, and his speech is becoming clearer with each session. Her dedication and passion for helping children like our son is evident in every lesson, and we can see how much he enjoys working with Kimberly.
We are beyond thankful for the progress our son has made under her guidance, and we know that without her, he wouldn’t be where he is today. She has been a true blessing to our family, and we look forward to continuing this journey with her! ~ Parents
When a child is born with a rare medical condition, they can sometimes feel like a subject of scientific curiosity rather than a person with their own identity. The medical community, driven by a natural excitement to understand and find solutions for the unknown, often treats these children as a diagnosis rather than an individual. This isn’t born out of malice, but from a genuine desire to fix, cure, and help. However, when a child is treated as a curiosity, it can strip them of a sense of self and lead to an identity crisis. Their life becomes centered around appointments, tests, trials, therapies, and endless procedures. For a nonverbal child, this environment can foster anger, frustration, and fear—feelings they are unable to express. To outsiders, this may appear as behavioral issues or temper tantrums.
Kimberly Baker Jefferson was able to see beyond our son’s medical complexities and recognized the deeper needs he had: a need for autonomy, the recognition of the medical trauma he had endured, and an immense need for patience. She immediately began a journey of healing with him.
Giving a child the gift of a voice means offering them a sense of safety and connection, empowering them to express themselves while developing vital language skills. Kimberly was the one who gave my son that gift. He was born with a rare condition called Congenital Idiopathic Diaphragmatic Myelopathy, complicated by severe Pulmonary Hypertension. By the age of two, he had a tracheotomy, fed through a G-tube, and dependent on a ventilator. It was at that time that we met Kimberly and attended our first therapeutic play group session.
Although he is incredibly intelligent, his trach prevented him from speaking. Instead, he communicated using his own form of “baby sign,” nods, grunts, and sometimes by alarming his ventilator—often leading to frustration when others couldn’t understand his needs. Kimberly quickly recognized his cautiousness, hesitancy, and brilliance. She began a therapeutic approach grounded in love, aiming to help our son find his voice.
Through her speech therapy sessions, Kimberly created an environment full of security, affection, acceptance, support, and joy, all of which encouraged his growth. These experiences not only fostered his language development but also shaped his understanding of relationships and emotional well-being. Thanks to Kimberly, our son now has the ability to share his thoughts, opinions, and experiences more freely.
Kimberly tirelessly worked to secure an iPad and a therapist to help him learn to communicate through the ProLoquo app. This was his first real opportunity to make himself heard. The first sentence he typed into the device was “I love Mom.” Even now, writing this brings tears of joy to my eyes as I remember how he lit up with the biggest smile when he pressed “play” and realized that he could share his feelings with us—and we could respond. It was a monumental moment in his life. From that moment on, he began thriving with the use of technology to communicate with his peers, doctors, therapists, and family. He became engaged and eager to interact. For the first time, he could tell us when something didn’t feel right or when he was scared or worried.
Soon after, our son was introduced to the “Passy Muir” speaking valve, and Kimberly’s patience in helping him adjust to this new sensory experience was invaluable. She supported him through moments of playful expression—letting him scream, be silly, and hear his voice for the first time—while also respecting the times when he wasn’t ready to participate. Kimberly always found ways to motivate him, incorporating his interests—like his love for road signs and construction—into communication activities that helped him engage with the world around him.
She also had a remarkable ability to deescalate difficult moments, recognizing triggers and guiding him through them with empathy and care. One of the most profound areas of healing I witnessed was his recovery from oral aversion, a challenge stemming from multiple intubations and medical procedures in his infancy. For nearly the first year of his life, he had no opportunity to experience food or liquids orally. The idea of him eventually managing food and drink, especially during illness, seemed like an insurmountable hurdle. But Kimberly rose to the challenge, finding ways to make food fun and engaging for him. She discovered his early love for cooking and turned feeding sessions into times of exploration and joy, always using his comfort as a guide.
Kimberly has been an unwavering presence through countless obstacles, challenges, and triumphs in our journey. She was always there to guide, encourage, and help us find answers. She loved my child through his struggles, as well as the challenges he presented. We were repeatedly told that our son would never walk, talk, eat, or live without reliance on medical technology. Yet, Kimberly never once doubted his potential. She placed no limits on him.
She supported us through the fear and recovery following airway surgery, celebrated with us when he was decannulated, and helped him maintain oral intake during a tonsillectomy and stoma revision. Kimberly played a crucial role in developing his speech, helping him progress from being nonverbal to speaking and reaching age-appropriate milestones by age four. By two and a half, he was able to eat and drink by mouth, even through illnesses and surgeries.
Our son has overcome so much, and our family feels incredibly blessed to have had Kimberly by our side throughout this journey. Although we no longer need speech and feeding therapy, we will always hold Kimberly and her work close to our hearts. We know we could never have made it this far without her patience, support, and belief in his abilities.
Now, at 10 years old, our son and Kimberly share a special bond that remains a cherished part of our family’s story. I’m reminded of a quote by Shel Silverstein: “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” Every time I read these words, I think of Kimberly’s steadfast dedication, her unwavering support, and her unbreakable belief in my son’s ability to overcome. ~ Parent