Jane’s Speech and Language Therapy
Independent Speech and Language Therapy based in Berkhamsted, serving West Hertfordshire, and areas of Buckinghamshire.
Hi!
Is your child struggling with their speech or language skills? I can help!
I’ve been a speech and language therapist for over 25 years and have experience working with children in the Early Years, Primary and Secondary Schools. I worked in the NHS for 20 years in Kent, Central Wales and London. In 2019 I set up my own practice to allow me to work in greater depth with children and build relationships with families, alongside giving me more flexibility to be available for my family. Working independently gives me great satisfaction - I love watching children develop and flourish with their talking.
Jane x
What is speech and language therapy?
Speech and language therapists support children (and adults) who are experiencing a range of difficulties with communication.
Children can have difficulties in the following areas:
Saying speech sounds and words clearly and accurately
Understanding language
Using expressive language/talking
Social communication skills
Early language being slow to start
A speech and language therapist can help by assessing your child’s needs, giving advice and strategies to you and important adults in the child’s life, and providing therapy input unique to your child and their difficulties.
I specialise in working with:
Speech sound difficulties (delay or disorder) – A child has a speech sound difficulty when they struggle to say certain sounds or cannot organise them into clear words, making their speech hard to understand. All young children to make sound errors when learning to talk, but extra support may be needed if the errors continue later than they should or significantly impact their ability to communicate.
Language difficulties – Children may have difficulty learning new words, putting words into sentences, organising a story, using grammar, or understanding instructions or concept words. This can be called expressive and/or receptive language difficulties, language disorder or Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
Early Years Speech and Language Therapy – do you have concerns that your child is not speaking, or that their speech is slower to develop than you think it should be?
SERVICES
I provide:
Individual assessment of children’s speech, language and communication skills
Therapy
Advice and training to parents/carers and school/setting staff
If your school or setting is looking for ongoing speech and language therapy support please do get in touch.
How Does Speech and Language Therapy with Jane work?
I offer an initial free telephone conversation to discuss your concerns.
I work wherever suits you and your child best – for example, at home, at grandma’s house, or in their school/setting.
Initial assessment:
I will ask you to meet me over “Zoom” to discuss your child in more depth – I find it is helpful for parents to be able to talk freely about their concerns and their child’s history when their child is not there.
We then arrange a time for me to visit you and your child at home (or sometimes at school) to carry out an assessment. Assessment is based on meeting the child at their level – with little ones I would sit on the floor and play, gradually moving into assessment activities, whereas with an older child we may start with table-top formal assessments.
Following the assessment I chat through my thoughts on your child’s skills and difficulties with you, and suggest what could help. I then write a short report summarising this.
Therapy sessions:
Therapy sessions last 45-60 minutes. These can take place at your home or at the child’s early years setting or school, wherever it is felt to be best for your child. An adult should always accompany the child so they can learn strategies to support the child and carry on the therapy at home/in the classroom.
Reports:
At parental request I can write reports as needed.