Speech teletherapy

All speech and language therapists, NHS and independent, must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This regulatory body confirms the qualifications and fitness to practise of all speech and language therapists. You should ask to see your speech and language therapist’s HCPC certificate, alternatively you can confirm their registration at www.hcpc-uk.org/check-the-register/.

No. You can refer your child to me directly. Just email or ring me for a free initial telephone consultation to discuss your concerns and find out how your child could benefit from speech and language therapy support.

Yes! You can choose to work with an independent speech and language therapist whilst on an NHS waiting list. I am usually able to provide an appointment within 1 – 2 weeks and can provide an initial assessment and therapy input while you wait for your NHS appointment.  When your NHS appointment arrives, you can take up this appointment and choose to attend both independent and NHS provision simultaneously, with both therapists working collaboratively. Alternatively you can work solely with the NHS speech and language therapist or opt out of the NHS provision and work solely with the independent speech and language therapist.

Children benefit from being seen in a familiar environment. I would therefore see your child at your home, in their nursery or at school. Sometimes it is useful to see a child in more than one setting, for example therapy sessions can alternate between taking place at home and in school so that both parents and teachers can engage in the sessions.

Yes. Collaborative working with other professionals is an essential part of therapy. I will work with you, your child and any key professionals. This includes attending meetings, sharing reports, liaising by telephone and joint participation in therapy sessions.

Children with a history of chronic ear infections and otitis media are generally considered to be more at risk of developing speech, language and communication impairments. Your child should be monitored closely by an audiologist and speech and language therapist.

• Talk to your child and name objects, people and events as you go through your normal daily routine i.e. talk to your child at bath time or meal times, naming objects, describing actions (splashing, eating, drinking) and responding to his/her questions.

• Get down to your child’s level when talking.

• Engage your child in play activities, follow his lead as you play, and engage in singing and rhyming games.

• Model words for your child, repeat words back to her and add extra words on to her sentences, without any pressure for her to repeat them back to you.

• Read with your child.

Yes. A speech and language therapist can help develop your child’s phonological awareness skills, auditory memory skills and auditory processing skills, all of which are pre-requisites for literacy development. Current research indicates that there is a strong link between auditory processing difficulties (APD), phonological awareness delays and reading development.

Children can appear disorganised and distracted in the classroom because they are not sure what they are supposed to be doing. They may not have understood all of the long instructions presented to the class, or may have forgotten part of the instruction. They may have been unable to hear the instruction clearly due to having difficulty listening in background noise or may be overwhelmed from having to listen for long periods of time. They will often try to cover this by copying other children or guessing what they need to do.  

A speech and language therapist will be able to assess your child’s language skills, attention and listening skills, and auditory processing skills to determine if difficulties in any of these areas are impacting on your child’s success in the classroom.

There can be wide variation in when young children achieve their early language milestones, and those that are ‘late talkers’ can catch up with other children of their own age. However, there are some children that don’t just catch up! It depends on what type of difficulties your child is experiencing. If your child is not communicating at a similar level to his peers, then it is always best to have his speech and language skills assessed by a speech and language therapist early on, to see if there are any difficulties that would benefit from early intervention.