HOW WILL THE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST WORK WITH MY CHILD?
Berkshire Speech and Language Therapy currently offers individual assessment and treatment sessions at Elizabeth House in Cookham, and occasionally at your child’s nursery or school . Sessions are attended by both you and your child. Before beginning therapy your child will be assessed in order to determine their specific needs.
Once therapy begins, Bethan will use a range of techniques in therapy sessions with your child and show you how to use these for home assignments and how to integrate them into your child’s daily routine. She is also able to work with staff in your child’s education setting to advise them on therapy techniques and strategies that will help your child at school/nursery.
My child has already been assessed by a Speech and Language Therapist, do I need to attend an assessment session?
An assessment will always be required before commencing therapy so that the therapist can meet you and your child, find out about your concerns, and complete their own assessment to better understand your child’s needs and advise you on whether they think Speech and Language Therapy input could help.
How long will the session last?
Assessment sessions can last around an hour, depending on what best suits you and your child. Therapy sessions can last between 30 minutes and 45 minutes, depending on your child’s ability to concentrate.
Do we have to have therapy following your assessment?
No. Following the assessment session the therapist will discuss whether Speech and Language Therapy will be useful and if so, how often they advise sessions should be carried out. You are under no obligation to continue with Speech and Language Therapy sessions. Written information will be provided including findings of the assessment and recommendations.
Where do the sessions take place?
Most sessions take place at Elizabeth House, Cookham, occasionally sessions will be at your child’s nursery or school. It is best if the sessions are held in a quiet, distraction-free room, away from other siblings.
Do I need to attend the Speech and Language Therapy sessions with my child?
Yes. Therapy works best when the therapist is able to work with the parents/carers to help a child and therefore parents/carers are required to attend the sessions. During the sessions the therapist will work with your child and will also involve you in the activities.
Part of the session will include providing ideas to you about what to work on at home as well as getting feedback from you about what you find helps your child.
Will you speak to other professionals about my child?
If your child is seeing an NHS therapist or another professional (e.g. Occupational Therapist, Educational Psychologist) Bethan would hope to contact them so that they can work together to support you and your child. This will only be done with your consent.
Similarly, if your child is attending a nursery or school Bethan would hope to contact them to explain the work we are doing with your child and to give them advice on how they too can support your child. Again, this will only be done with your consent.
Can I access NHS Speech and Language Therapy and private Speech and Language Therapy at the same time?
Bethan would always advise parents to access Speech and Language Therapy available through their local NHS, but for different reasons parents may want to invest in additional Speech and Language Therapy input for their child. Having worked for the NHS for many years herself, Bethan is committed to working with any other professionals involved with your child, including an NHS Speech and Language Therapist, in order to achieve the best outcome for your child.