School Age Speech and Language Service

We support children according to their communication needs.  We do this by working with parents / carers, teachers, setting staff and other professionals. We also work closely with colleagues in the Specialist Inclusion Support Service (SISS) and SISS Speech Language & Communication Disorders Team. Together, we all, support young people with communication difficulties in mainstream and specialist schools. We work with schools to recommend adaptations and targets that ensure young people communicate as effectively as possible within their learning environment.

What happens during an assessment?

The first appointment will be on the telephone to discuss your child and their communication. This may include:

• How your child feels about their communication,
• Any specific areas of communication you need advice on,
• Your child’s early developmental and health information,
• What support is currently in place.

If you have accessed another NHS Solihull therapy service, including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, or Specialist Assessment Service for your child, you may have already completed this part of the process. Please let the therapist know so they can access and share this information, with your consent.

We will send specific information and resources to support your child at their school, nursery and/or at home.

If required, we will suggest an appointment to complete further assessments with your child.

Please visit the following links for more information on how communication will usually develop.

• Resource library for families – Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives
• The Stages of Gestalt Language Development (meaningfulspeech.com) For children who use echolalia (repeat what others say)

Following further assessment, the therapist will explain what the assessment has shown and talk through the next steps.

What happens after assessment?

If your child has an assessment, following this, the Speech & Language Therapist will write a report which will include:

• Information from the young person, their parent/carer and teachers (if appropriate) about communication at home, school/nursery and in their spare time.
• Description of the assessment process and the results of any formal assessments completed.
• Individualised recommendations to support areas of concern.

Reports are sent to parents/carers, the young person’s GP, and other relevant professionals as agreed with parents/carers. SLT reports can be used to inform a young person’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), although few children who receive speech & language therapy will require an EHCP.

For some children, we may suggest a package of care such as a visit into school, and/or a series of sessions in clinic to coach adults around the child.

For many school-aged children, this report marks the end of their involvement with the SLT service as their language needs are best met through school (see SLT discharge for further information).

Parents/carers and professionals are welcome to contact the Speech & Language Therapy service by telephone for further information and advice until the young person reaches their 18^th birthday.

What happens for children in Specialist Settings?

The Speech and Language Therapy Special Schools Service are aiming to provide support in line with the balanced system approach. The levels of support have been outlined below.

Universal

Children who receive Universal support are those who require school wide strategies embedded in general classroom practice to support their communication throughout the day for example; speech clarity, fluency and social communication. These children will not have an open referral with the Speech and Language Therapy team so will access indirect support provided to the school staff if required.

Targeted

Children who receive Targeted support may require support from a Speech and Language Therapist working alongside school staff to implement more than the school wide strategies in place. These children may have a significant mismatch in terms of their receptive and expressive communication skills. They may have a good range of “reasons” and “opportunities” to communicate but significantly limited “means” (verbal communication, signs, gestures, symbols etc).

Specialist

Children who receive Specialist support will require dedicated time and support from a Speech and Language Therapy team and will require one of the following:

• They may need significant support to access an alternative “means” as their main way of communicating.
• They may have an Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) system in place which is no longer meeting their communication needs or current device is not being utilised effectively and direct input is needed to identify reasons and/or solutions. For more information, follow this link: What is AAC? – Communication Matters
• They may require onward referrals to tertiary services, such as Access to Communication Technology (ACT). For more information, follow this link: Access to Communication and Technology | Website (bhamcommunity.nhs.uk)
• They may have physical/motor/sensory impairments which impact on their ability to access a robust communication system.
• They may have disordered speech sound difficulties and possess the necessary skills to generalise new skills and engaged with intervention.