
Funshine Speech Therapy
San Diego's Fun Place For Speech

Our Staff
Marisa Whitman M.S. CCC-SLP
(Clinical Director/ Lead Therapist)
Marisa Whitman created Funshine Speech Therapy to meet the growing need of struggling communicators in her community. Marisa earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees from California State University Northridge. She received her Rehabilitative Service Credential, Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and a license to practice speech pathology in the state of California from the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board. She is a certified member of CSHA.
Speech Pathology is Marisa's passion. She is competent and experienced with an adept insight for diagnosing and managing a breadth of disorders. Marisa is compassionate, flexible, organized, patient, and precise. She believes in a child/ family centered approach and individualizing treatment to each child's unique needs. Family involvement is a critical component to successful therapy and Marisa encourages parents and family to be involved in the treatment plan and follow through of each child's program.
Marisa has provided therapy in a variety of natural environments including clinics, homes, offices, schools, and out in the community. Her experience has included in-home therapy, clinical private practice, preschool, elementary school, middle and high school. Diverse caseloads have included children with diagnosis of speech delay/disorder, Autism/ P.D.D., Fragile X, developmentally delayed, fluency disorder, apraxia, non-verbal learning disorder, seizure disorder, intellectual disability, Attention Deficit Disorder, dyslexia, hearing impairment, mood disorders and learning disability. Marisa is certified in the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk® parent workshop program.
Marisa has experience with:
* Behavior intervention (C.A.R.D. Center for Autism and Related Disorders)
* Child centered methods including Floortime and Hanen
* Michelle Garcia Winner “Social Thinking” curriculum
* Kaufman therapy program
* PECS program
* Reading with TLC program certified
Marisa is confident that Funshine Speech Therapy can meet your family's individual needs and improve you child's communication skills.
Elizabeth Stiles-Beirne M.S. CCC-SLP
(Speech Therapist)
Allison Zeitounian M.S. CCC-SLP
(Speech Therapist)
Allison is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from San Diego State University with a certification of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and pursued her Master’s degree from New York Medical College. Allison is trilingual. She speaks English, Spanish and Armenian. She has a passion for working with multi-cultural/multi-lingual individuals and values collaborating with families and partnering with colleagues both in and outside of the discipline to generate creative therapeutic ideas and to better inform her interventions.
While Allison has training in nearly all aspects of speech-language pathology, her professional interests include bilingual populations, autism, social/pragmatic language, articulation, speech delay, stuttering, apraxia, and dyslexia. Allison is currently working on acquiring certification in The Play Project; which is an evidence-based intensive developmental intervention for families of young children with autism spectrum disorders.
Acknowledging that learning styles vary on an individual basis, Allison utilizes client-specific interests and talents to offer the most successful therapy. The combination of Allison’s strong academic foundation, diverse cultural experiences, and compassionate nature has shaped her unique approach to therapy. Her passion lies in helping individuals develop the art of communication to promote their own self-expression and personal achievement.

