Speech and Language Therapy North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent for Children

Speech and Language Therapy North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent for Children

Speech and language therapy for children

What do we do?

The speech and language therapy service is provided to children from birth to age 16 (age 19 with a statement of special educational needs) with developmental disorders of voice, speech, language, communication and swallowing as a result of:

Complex special needs (Birth trauma, genetic disorder, acquired and congenital disorder)
Autistic spectrum disorders
Deafness or hearing impairment
Specific language disorder
Developmental delay
Environmental circumstances
Specific speech disorders
Stammering
Craniofacial and velopharyngeal disorders (cleft palate and related disorders)
Learning disabilities
Voice disorders

What do we offer you?

Direct intervention

Assessment, diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and management of significant communication delays and disorders
Assessment, diagnosis and therapy intervention with other appropriate professionals in a multi-disciplinary setting
Assessment, advice and therapeutic intervention for swallowing disorders or for eating and drinking management. This service is available for children with pre-school special needs, for children in special schools and for children who are in-patients or out-patients at UHNS only.
Advice to children, carers and professionals, face to face or via telephone or report writing
Preparation of materials for advice or therapeutic intervention
Training of carers, professionals and others as appropriate
Development of speech and language therapy programmes to be undertaken by appropriate others e.g. learning support assistants in mainstream or special schools

Indirect Intervention

The team who work in pre-school special needs and special schools have staff who have or are working towards RCSLT Post Basic Dysphagia qualification, or equivalent, which enables them to manage routine swallowing disorders.

In addition, the team has staff with a range of specialist skills including:

Advanced dysphagia
BSL Sign Language
Learning Disabilities
Hearing Impairment
AAC
Physical disabilities
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Disfluency

Where we are based?

Children may be seen in their own home when this is the most appropriate place for the interventions required and there is close liaison with settings where the child may spend significant proportions of their time such as nurseries, schools, etc.

In addition, the Speech and Language Therapy Service is funded through other agencies who provide services at Newcastle Children’s Centre, Staffordshire Moorlands Children’s Centre, C&LPs and in mainstream schools.

All children are assessed within a risk-need model where children who have low risk and low need are not offered direct therapy but are referred for support into universal services or offered advice only. This model ensures that only those children with a specific need for therapeutic intervention receive a service.

How do you access us?

Referrals relating to children are received using the preventive pathway for speech, language and communication difficulties to ensure that appropriate early intervention within universal services has taken place prior to referral for specialist intervention. Referrals are made predominantly by Health Visitors who identify the need for referral through routine surveillance but referrals are also made directly by parents and by staff within early years settings. Children with complex needs are often referred by Paediatricians.

Hours of service

The service is generally provided Monday to Friday from 9.00am – 5.00pm, although appointments are available outside of these hours specifically for dysphagia assessments between 8.00am and 6pm. The service does not operate on bank holidays.