Reflections of an SLT Mummy So in these really challenging times the last thing we need is a trip to sick kids but today that is where we ended up. The fabulous NHS staff had us in cleaned up and out in under an hour and were reassuring that the tooth pierced lip was a… Continue reading The benefits of augmentative communication
I've spent some time this year reflecting on what has shaped me as a therapist. One of these things is my own experiences a a parent. 14 years ago tomorrow our first born child was born, lived for a short while then died. A truly amazing experience - becoming a mum - but a truly… Continue reading Your child
Advice to others from the voice of experience. For the past 6 months I have been working with a fantastic young woman exploring and supporting her communication skills and helping her build her confidence. At our initial meeting we identified her priorities and designed goals to stretch and build skills. Reflecting on how far she… Continue reading Never be held back
Change is inevitable and we want to empower our kids to be able to take changes in their stride feeling empowered and supported. The "back to school spot the difference" encourages kids to take a proactive approach to something that can cause a lot of anxiety.
“My little girl has had many people fail to see her potential and it’s changed who I am as a parent and a therapist. I believe every child has unique interests, motivations, and strengths that need to be uncovered and recognised. What an honour and privilege it is to really see the greatness that lies in each child and to truly experience joy as each new (communication) skill is achieved."
This week I have been exploring using PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) to target some functional and relevant speech for an autistic young person. PROMPT is a very different technique to typical SLT approaches. It is "hands-on" with the therapist physically providing information to the articulators on how to move. It looks… Continue reading Showing and telling in speech therapy
So who knew! Moshi monsters are a great tool to explore social relationships, friendships and emotions. As I looked through my resource cupboard one day last week to find the right materials for some SLT sessions I came across some Moshi monsters that were destined for the charity shop To my surprise when I opened… Continue reading When friendships and feelings are painful – using toys to explore
What does Grow Communication have to do with travel you may ask? Indeed, aside from dashing round the country to see families, the journeys I am thinking of here are personal ones. This recent testimonial made me glow with pride to be still working with families who started with us when Grow first began. What… Continue reading There for the long haul
If you have followed part 1 and part 2 of this series on time concepts you will have had a look at some of my other ideas to teach those tricky time concepts. This week I was helping a young man who was struggling with before and after - he can follow "before" and "after"… Continue reading Creative ways to learn time concepts – part 3
It has always struck me that the way that we lay out calendars and diaries is really not that intuitive. Whilst it makes practical sense to use tables or a linear format - the circular (clock) way of organising these time sequences that keep on looping round feels much more intuitive. See Creative ways to… Continue reading Creative ways to learn time concepts – part 2
