This blog was written by Lianne, our Speech and Language Therapist Assistant What is Core Vocabulary? These are some words we use lots of times, throughout the day and across lots of different situations, such as more, I, you, want, like, not. They are the foundations of language use. Supporting children to learn these core vocabulary words can lead them to being able to communicate in lots of different activities. Who can use symbols? All children benefit from visual support. But symbols can be especially useful for those who are visual learners or have limited verbal communication. A key ad ..read more

This blog was written by Ellie, one of our Speech and Language Therapists. What are they? Activity boards are a form of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). They provide a visual representation of our spoken language to support a child’s communication and expressive language skills. The number of symbols on an activity board can vary depending upon a child’s needs and language abilities. Each symbol on the board corresponds to either a word or two-word phrase. Activity boards will have different symbols dependent upon what activity they are for (e.g., bubbles, snack time, cars, dr ..read more

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to all our fantastic Speech and Language Therapists and Speech and Language Therapy Assistants. You may be seeing them at your school, nursery or home if we are working with you ..read more

This video series has been recorded by Charlotte. In this series she shows you how to use simple play activities such as bricks, balloons, bubbles and *** to develop your child’s communication skills ..read more

We are re-posting some videos we recorded last summer with our top tips for supporting your little one to get ready for school. Working on your child’s attention and listening skills is a great way to help your little one get prepared for school in September. Watch Justine’s video for some top tips and activities you can carry out over the summer holidays. Reading and talking about books over the summer holidays is a great way to help your little one get ready for school. It will help to develop their vocabulary and attention and listening skills. Watch Emma’s video for some top tips on sharin ..read more

Watch our services of videos below with our ‘Top 10 Tips’ for teachers working with children with speech, language and communication needs. These videos cover modelling back utterances, expanding a chid’s utterances, strategies for supporting vocabulary, supporting children to ask for help and non-literal language ..read more

Watch our services of videos below with our ‘Top 10 Tips’ for teachers working with children with speech, language and communication needs. These videos cover gaining a child’s attention, using simple language, visual timetables, giving processing time and reducing distractions in the classroom ..read more

This blog was written by Lianne, our Speech and Language Therapy Assistant. Technology is all around; TV, mobile phones and tablets and spending time watching films and cartoons and listening to music is fun! But children need time away from technology to develop their language skills. Research shows that children learn language best from interactions with people and during play. How much TV should my child be watching? Guidance does not recommend TV for under 2's, 1-2 hours for 2-5 year olds and 2-3 hours for 5-11 year olds per day.  Try cutting down the amount of time your child spends ..read more

Daily routines such as washing, bath time, walking to school etc., are such a brilliant opportunity to teach our children language. The routines are familiar and repetitive as we carry out the same actions in the same order every time. This means children are not thinking about what is happening next giving us the perfect opportunity to teach language! Take a look at the videos below with ideas about how to use daily routines to teach language ..read more

This blog was written by Justine. It can be so hard deciding what to buy your child for Christmas. With so many toy adverts on the television, in magazines, on YouTube, it’s difficult to know which toys to choose. There are so many games that are great for learning new words and encouraging conversations. Here’s a list of some of our favourites: Younger children Click clack track – Great for early turn taking and attention and listening. See if your child can wait for ‘Ready Steady…. Go!’ before releasing the car. Books with sound effects – Books are enriched with language and are a great way ..read more