Blog
Delay Vs Disorder: You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t
Calling something a ‘delay’ and not a ‘disorder’ is a wholly tactical move Local Authorities and the NHS uses when writing reports for Statutory Assessments. Why? Because delays are understood to spontaneously ‘catch-up’ (via universal services) and disorders require...
read moreWe’re all in this together
Over the past 2 months I’ve had 16 SEN tribunals booked in and 5 go ahead; 3 be moved to a later date and 5 LAs concede before the date. The final 3 were a lovely example of what happens when 2-3 SLTs meet and are given authority by parents / LA to negotiate. I don’t...
read moreSometimes Tribunal decisions surprise us…
Apologies for the layout and abbreviations in the below post as I’ve just posted it on twitter and copied it on to here for those of you who don’t follow me on twitter. I’m incredibly passionate about what I do and in ensuring the young people I work with are given...
read moreI’ll let you into a little secret about common EHCP / SEN SLT patterns…
When it comes to Education Health Care Plans (EHCP, England) and Statements (Wales) there’s a very common pattern I see as an independent Speech & Language Therapist and expert witness... Step 1 - Discharge child from NHS Speech & Language Therapy (anytime prior to...
read moreLet’s reframe…
Lockdown has been a massive pain in the backside and I could write for hours about what the negatives are. Instead I’m going to reframe and invite you all to do the same: Instead of being on the road for 25-30 hours a week it takes me 2 mins to walk to my office. I’ve...
read moreSpeech intelligibility
If you're looking for someone to work on your child's speech intelligibility / speech sounds I'm certainly not the person for you! Whilst it's something within my experience there are lots of more skilled Speech & Language Therapists with a passion for this area of...
read more6th May SLT Coffee Morning
I held another successful free SLT Coffee Morning today and I’m really enjoying the variety of enquires including: - Speech intelligibility concerns with 2 four year olds. - Communication development and language enrichment advice for a 21 month old. - Statutory...
read moreSpeech Therapy Coffee Mornings
A couple of weeks ago I advertised a Speech Therapy coffee morning that I'd be running and each parent would get a free 20 minute slot and be encouraged to donate £5 to the NHS via my JustGiving page. Within 24 hours all seven slots had been taken and the enquiries...
read moreIt’s been said by many before me but…
If you get to the end of today and your children are watered; fed; safe and warm then you have done an amazing job...
read moreOnline SEN Tribunals
Over the past 2 weeks I’ve attended 3 online SEN Tribunals (2 parental funded and 1 legal aid funded) and I’ve made several changes to my work environment from #1 to #3: I’ve switched from WIFI to ‘plugged in’ as the connectivity is more reliable.I’ve bought a decent...
read moreSpeech Therapy Lockdown
Sorry for the late post! 4 weeks of isolation and, like most, I haven’t a clue what day / month it is anymore. I hope everyone is staying safe and following government guidelines at ?. We started self-isolation with all the best intentions and set up a home school /...
read moreOnline Social Skills approaches
When it comes to social skills one size doesn’t fit all! For my #teletherapy adolescents with #Autism I’m using a combination of SocialThinking.com resources + the Secret Agent Society online computer game + looking into Bridges In Social Understanding to develop their social interaction and social communication skills.
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