For all

Children, young children, teenagers, young adults

I work with developmental disorders specific to speech and language. My work does not cover degenerative or acquired disorders (typically the effects of strokes and accidents of all sorts. Primarily this means focusing on small children.

I’ve spent many years working with children and young people, supporting those with developmental speech and language disorders, of seven, eight, nine and ten, and a few people of sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen with issues which had for a number of reasons not been treated earlier. If treatment for minor issues is delayed they can be difficult to treat. While delayed treatment can be more challenging, progress is still possible.

As an experiment I did once do one session with the mother of a child I was working with told me she could not say the name of ‘that thing that goes under the door to keep the draughts out’. In one half-hour session, I was able to get her able to say draught excluder without any problem. Obviously this did not transform her life. But longstanding issues can sometimes be successfully addressed.

Who do I help – and when to seek support

I don’t recommend intervention for every child slightly behind the expected milestones or the normal schedule of acquisition. But when there is a significant delay, it’s important to act promptly. Knowing the difference between ‘slight’ and ‘significant’ is where my skill, experience and professional judgement come in.

Diversity

In terms of its population, Lambeth is highly diverse. There are hundreds of languages and cultures. Speech and language therapy in Lambeth has to reflect this diversity and react appropriately to the complexity to prevent children falling through the net.