Chatter Independent Speech & Language Therapy

Your child’s development during lockdown.

May 1, 2020 By Beth Atkinson No CommentsPosted in Activities, Kids, Parents, Teachers, Tips and AdviceTags: home school, lockdown, Speech Therapy, video therapy

Are you worried about keeping up with your child’s Speech and Language Therapy during the lockdown?

Trying to juggle work, home schooling and the anxiety we are all feeling during these unusual times is daunting to say the least. Many children receive the bulk of their Speech and Language Therapy support through schools or in the clinic, neither of which are options for the foreseeable future as they are not safe places for our families to be.

Chatter SLT are offering remote speech and language therapy support via a range of video platforms.

If you want to check your child is on track
Chat to a speech and language therapist about adapting activities and school targets to the home
Update programmes and activities
Have regular 1:1 video sessions directly with your child
Spend the time you have with your children on really targeting speech or grammatical difficulties

All without leaving home (or even getting out of your pyjamas if you want!)

We can help you. Contact us for a free no obligation chat and quote

Chatsworth Road Festival 2015

August 29, 2015 By Claire West No CommentsPosted in Activities, Kids, Parents, TeachersTags: chatsworth road, chatsworth road festival 2015, chesterfield, events, free advice and support, Little Chatterboxes, parents, speech and language

Chatsworth Road Festival 2015

It’s that time of year again, the Chatsworth Road Festival is nearly here and at Chatter we have planned some exciting events for you all. This year will be the 4th year of the festival, where local businesses, charities, services and the community come together to celebrate living and working on and around Chatsworth Road. This year we are offering 3 events and there is a brief summary of each below. A link to all the other fantastic events happening during the festival will be available soon.

Beth and I look forward to seeing you soon!!

Friday 2nd October

Little Chatterboxes Nursery and Preschool Groups.

45min slots all day – call/email in advance to book

Calling all Day Nurseries and Preschools… Do you have concerns about a child’s communication skills? Chatter SLT are offering free taster Little Chatterboxes groups. We will come to your nursery or preschool and bring our fun, engaging group activities with us. Our groups support the children in your nursery to become happy, confident communicators aged 18months to 5years

Location: Various Nurseries / Pre-schools by advance booking.
Contact: Claire West or Beth Atkinson 07841862439 & 07834829869 || chatterslt@gmail.com

SATURDAY 3rd October

Little Chatterboxes fun and games for all

1pm to 3.30pm

Come and join Chatter Independent Speech Therapy for an afternoon filled with fun activities for the kids. All the activities are focussed around developing children’s speech, language and communication skills. Craft, story telling, singing, signing and more. All activities free and for all abilities, plus chat to our Speech and Language Therapists.

Location: Brampton Therapy Centre, 349 Chatsworth Rd Chesterfield, S40 2BZ: courtyard and therapy room.
Contact: Claire West or Beth Atkinson 07841862439 & 07834829869 || chatterslt@gmail.com

Saturday 3rd October

Speech and Language Therapy Clinic- FREE advice and screening assessment

1pm to 3.30pm

Do you have concerns about your child’s speech, language and communication skills? Chatter Independent Speech Therapy are offering FREE advice and screening sessions to help local families. Sessions last 20mins, and are for parents, carers and their children aged 18months-15years. Please contact us to book your slot now, some walk in slots will be available on the day.
Location: Brampton Therapy Centre 349 Chatsworth Rd Chesterfield, S40 2BZ: Therapy Room.
Contact: Claire West or Beth Atkinson 07841862439 & 07834829869 || chatterslt@gmail.com || www.chatterslt.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you and meeting lots of local families in October. Come and meet us at the festival and let us help your child become a happy, confident communicator 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Claire x

THE LANGUAGE PYRAMID SERIES- WK 4- UNDERSTANDING WORDS AND SENTENCES

April 6, 2015 By Claire West No CommentsPosted in Activities, Kids, Parents, Teachers, Tips and AdviceTags: child development, Early Intervention, language development, Language difficulties, Language Pyramid, NHS, parents, Private Speech and Language Therapy, Private Speech Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Speech Therapy, Talking, tips for toddlers

Does your child understand what you say to them?

Can they follow instructions in school or nursery?

Can you ask them to do more than one thing e.g. go upstairs, brush your teeth and get your school bag?

Children need to understand what is said to them before they can start using words and sentences accurately. Following instructions is a vital skill for learning and keeping safe. Children who have difficulties understanding can be labelled as naughty but it could be that they don’t know what they are supposed to be doing.

Some instructions are easy to follow e.g. go get your shoes- your child may know that before they go out they need their shoes; they will have done this many times and can see the other people around them putting their shoes on. As they get older, children are expected to follow longer, more complex instructions e.g. Put your books in the red box, wash your hands then sit down on the carpet. They need to remember lots of information, know the vocabulary used (box, wash, hands, red) and understand the smaller grammatical words (in, then).

Speech and Language Therapists are highly skilled at assessing comprehension (understanding language) and highlighting where any problems may lie.

If you are concerned about your child understanding language there are lots of strategies you can use to help them:

Break instructions into smaller chunks e.g. brush your teeth; get your school bag
Repeat instructions multiple times
Get your child to repeat back what they have been asked to do
Encourage your child to ask for help e.g. putting their hand up in class
Contact us to arrange a full assessment

The Language Pyramid Series- Wk 3- Attention and Listening

March 10, 2015 By Claire West 1 CommentPosted in Activities, Kids, Parents, Teachers, Tips and AdviceTags: attention and listening, child development, Early Intervention, language development, Language Pyramid, Speech and Language Therapy, tips for toddlers

Attention and Listening

Does your child find it hard to sit still?

Do they appear to ignore you?

Do they talk when they should be listening?

Do they have difficulty following instructions?

Are they easily distracted?

Can they only concentrate on one thing at a time?

Do they move quickly from one toy to another?

Do they find it very hard to complete a game or activity?

Lots of children have difficulties with their attention (concentration) and listening skills. Children’s attention develops and matures as they get older.

Concentration difficulties impact on all areas of communication:

following instructions
learning and using new words
forming sentences
listening to and using the correct sounds in words

Children with attention and listening difficulties often end up in trouble in school or nursery. They are not being naughty; they need someone to help develop their attention and listening skills.

How can you help?

say your child’s name before giving an instruction so they know to listen e.g. “Tyler put your coat on”
keep activities short and interesting
praise them when they are listening well e.g. “great listening Evie”
talk about how to be a good listener e.g. sit still, look at the person who is talking, only talk when it’s your turn
go on a listening walk, talk about what you can hear e.g. birds, cars, a helicopter
get in touch with us for more Attention and Listening game ideas and further support