I work with children who have speech and language difficulties. Sometimes people confuse me with elocution teachers but this is different.
Do you have a child who has any of the following difficulties?
- Unclear speech, .g. says “gog” instead of”dog”, has a lisp on their ‘s’, can’t say words beginning with ‘sh’ or ‘ch’, misses the ends of words, can’t pronounce ‘f’, ‘s’, or blends.
- Not producing enough words for their age. For a rough guide:
~1 year olds should be producing single words
~18 months- 2 years should be putting 2 words together
~2-3 years should be putting 3-4 words together
~3 + should be making complex sentences
~ 4+ should be having complicated conversations and using various question forms
- Have auditory memory difficulties
- Have difficulties with understanding what is being said to them. Often parents will say their child understands everything but it is amazing how many clues we give them when we speak e.g. pointing , gestures , eye-pointing/gazing, routines and even tone of voice.
- Stammering ~ I have recently seen a little girl who was teased at her dance class because she couldn’t say her name without stammering. Can you imagine how demoralising that is for a 3 year old? After her treatment, her mother wrote:
“ Thank you so much for everything you have done for Mya over the last few months. It’s amazing to see her speech improve so dramatically. She really enjoyed all the sessions with you as well which really helped.”
- Pragmatics difficulties ~ a child may have difficulties understanding or using body language ; misinterpreting or failing to pick up on ‘clues’ in social situations ; confused by humour and jokes ; difficulties with seeing things from a different point of view ; getting the ‘wrong end of the stick’.
- Selective Mutism ~ do you have a child who can speak comfortably in some situations but is persistently silent in others (less familiar situations) ?
- Verbal dyspraxia ~ a child with this condition finds it difficult to make quick, accurate movements with the mouth that are needed to speak clearly. They may also find it difficult to remember all the words in a long sentence.
- Autistic Spectrum disorders ~ Children with this developmental disorder differ greatly in severity. They all present with pragmatic difficulties and often experience speech, language and processing difficulties.
- Does your child have reading and/or writing difficulties? This is an area that we are able to assess and assist in now as my assistant has vast experience in this field.
Beverley Jessup has worked with children like the ones above since 1990 after qualifying as a Speech & Language Therapist from De Montfort University, Leicester.
Beverley founded Speech Train in 2005 and she treats each child as an individual and meets them at their communication need, advising and supporting parents in the treatment plan.
Recently, Beverley took on an assistant called Diane Etherton who has worked in schools with children with a range of speech, language , literacy and numeracy needs. She has completed accredited training provided by Beverley and is very experienced. This allows parents who are financially restricted , to have access to speech & language therapy for as little as £10 per half hour every week from Diane, following an assessment and report provided by Beverley.
If you are concerned about your child and feel that their needs are not currently recognised or met, then please get in touch with Beverley who will be able to advise, diagnose , provide a written programme and report and let know know what your child needs. During February and March 2010, all assessments and reports will cost 25% cheaper.
So don’t suffer in silence and most of all if your child is suffering in silence….get professional help.
Contact Bev on www.speech-train.co.uk or email : bevjessupslt@yahoo.co.uk
tel: 01983-618757 mobile: 07854258766
