Experts at Hand: When is an occupational therapist also a SEND expert?
By Jacqui Brett, LLB (Law), BSc (OT), PG Cert Prof Dev (OT), PG Cert (SI), MRCOT, HCPC The Government’s new Experts at Hand programme sounds like exactly what families have …
Category: Therapies
Experts At Hand: A good idea built on wishful thinking and shaky foundations
One of the most promising-looking initiatives to emerge from England’s SEND reform proposals is the Experts at Hand initiative. Funded with £1.8 billion over three years, the Department for Education …
How to choose a speech and language therapist for your child with SEND: A guide for parents and carer
with Gillian Rudd, speech and language therapist and senior lecturer at Birmingham City University, Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are the most common issues experienced by children, especially in …
How integrating therapies and education is driving innovation and inclusion for our disabled students
by Tracy Gillett, Director of Education, Condover College Today is the final article in our series looking at the best of Post-16 SEND education innovation, featuring winners of the Natspec …
The neurodiversity “early help” profiling tool creating a very unhelpful barrier to diagnosis
By Guest Authors Tania Robinson and Colleen Brannon SNJ Intro: A while ago, we wrote about the efforts by some local NHS bodies to limit neurodiversity assessment referrals by demanding …
Unlocking potential with Total Communication for children with speech and language challenges
Senior Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Jessie Luckins via Speech and Language UK Today, our post is from contributors Speech and Language UK comes from Senior Specialist Speech and Language …
Raising awareness of Developmental Language Disorder to get better access to support
We’re delighted that charity, Speech and Language UK has joined us as a regular columnist to discuss speech, language and communication issues. Today’s column is from Amy Loxley, a Lead …
Tapping: A gentler way to deal with EBSA and school anxiety? Free workshop offered
with Esther Freeman, EFT practitioner If your child struggles with school anxiety and you don’t know where to turn, you may be interested in a free workshop being offered for …
How are your child’s communication skills? Support them with a new FREE progress checker
by Amy Loxley is a Lead Speech and Language Advisor for Speech and Language UK. When you’re worried about your child’s progress in speech and communication, you usually only have …
The invisible condition that can scramble sound and speech: all about Auditory Processing Disorder
By Alyson Mountjoy founder and Chair of APD Support UK What is a hearing problem that affects people who may have perfect hearing, especially if they are autistic or have dyslexia? …
SENDInTheSpecialists: The campaign to boost investment in the SEND specialist workforce grows, and how you can get involved
with Peter Just, Royal College of Speech and Labguage Therapists Last November we joined with a coalition of more than a hundred other SEND-related organisations to back a #SENDintheSpecialists campaign …
Top tips for introducing a School Dog to help your students
with Cherryl Drabble, SEND educator Support and animals can have a very beneficial effect on children with additional needs or who have experienced trauma. But not every child who needs …
The #SENDReview must embed Speech, Language and Communication skills across education, especially teacher training
with Amy Loxley, Lead Speech and Language Advisor for I CAN, One of the major criticisms of the SEND Review is its silence about the revolution in SEND teacher training …
Free course: Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) in children with mental health difficulties
With Melanie Cross, Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists One of the most common elements of additional needs is speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). If a child also …
Therapy resources for families of children with additional needs
I often get asked lots of questions by parents looking for support for their children. Naturally, parents are keen to find out who I am and what I can do …
Let’s MOVE! Supporting disabled children to get their movement skills back on track
with Charlotte Peck of Enham Trust and Move Europe During the pandemic, thousands of disabled children and young people who rely on therapies such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and hydrotherapy …
How has coronavirus affected your child’s access to speech and language therapy?
with Caroline Wright, Policy Adviser at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists In the first lockdown, thousands of children overnight lost the external therapy input such as speech …
SEND with Daulby: Supporting Oral Language difficulties
Oral language is a term I became familiar with in my later years of teaching. Partly because I worked with speech and language therapists as head of a speech and …
England’s children urgently need a new, accountable, speech and language strategy
With Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists chief executive, Kamini Gadhok MBE, and Caroline Wright, policy adviser for children and young people in England Ask any parent about the …
Speech, Language and Communication: any improvement since #Bercow10YearsOn?
Speech, language and communication is fundamental to children’s development. Children with underdeveloped SLCN skills (which is more common that you might think) can neither learn or achieve as well as …