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

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

Signs of Autism

February 8, 2015 By Claire West No CommentsPosted in Tips and AdviceTags: ASD, Autism, Early Intervention, Interaction, Signs and Symptoms, Speech Therapy

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social impairments, cognitive impairments, communication difficulties, and repetitive behaviors. It can range from very mild to very severe and occur in all ethnic, socioeconomic and age groups. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females. Some children with autism appear normal before age 1 or 2 and then suddenly “regress” and lose language or social skills they had previously gained. This is called the regressive type of autism.

SIGNS OF AUTISM:
•No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
•No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
•No babbling by 12 months
•No Gesturing (pointing, waving bye-bye) by 12 months
•No words by 16 months
•No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
•Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age

EARLY SIGNS OF AUTISM:
•Doesn’t make eye contact (e.g. look at you when being fed).
•Doesn’t smile when smiled at.
•Doesn’t respond to his or her name or to the sound of a familiar voice.
•Doesn’t follow objects visually.
•Doesn’t point or wave goodbye or use other gestures to communicate.
•Doesn’t follow the gesture when you point things out.
•Doesn’t make noises to get your attention.
•Doesn’t initiate or respond to cuddling.
•Doesn’t imitate your movements and facial expressions.
•Doesn’t reach out to be picked up.
•Doesn’t play with other people or share interest and enjoyment.
•Doesn’t ask for help or make other basic requests.

Image and article from the www.nationalautismassociation.org