Speech, language and communication
Giving children the best possible start in life
What is Speech and Language Therapy?
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The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the professional regulator in the UK, states that speech and language therapists (SLC) assess, treat and help to prevent speech, language and swallowing difficulties. The professional body, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) provide life-improving treatment, support and care for children and adults who have difficulties with communication, eating, drinking or fine the role in terms of providing life-improving treatment, support and care for children and adults who have difficulties with communication, eating, drinking or swallowing. Speech and language therapists (SLT’s) are allied health professionals who apply their expertise to prevention, health promotion, diagnosis, treatment and enablement. They work with a range of technical and support staff to deliver direct patient care and provide rehabilitation, self-management support, and enabling and health improvement interventions (Scottish Government, 2016). SLTs work in partnership with children and their families, and with a range of other professions and agencies to reduce the impact of speech, language and communication difficulties on children’s wellbeing and their ability to participate in daily life. Evidence based interventions, both direct and indirect are focused on the needs of the child and family in order to provide the right input at the right time, putting the best interests of the child at the heart of decision making. |
How to Access Support
Ready to Act 2016 (Scottish Government, 2016)) has been implemented across Allied Health Professions (AHP) Children and Young People (CYP) services in Scotland since its launch in 2016 and is underpinned by a commitment to whole systems transformational change in the ways services are designed and delivered. The ambition is that all children and young people in Scotland will access AHP services as and when they need them at the appropriate level to meet their well-being needs, with services supporting self-resilience through consistent decision-making.
The ambition highlights the critical place of prevention and enablement and promotes least intrusive interventions through a tiered model of service design and delivery (universal, targeted and specialist levels of provision) directly linked to well-being outcomes.
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This is for all children and young people. It recognises that a preventative approach and promoting good speaking and listening skills for children and young people, their parents, carers and families is an essential role. Speech and language therapists working at universal level will provide information, training and advice to others who are supporting children and young people. They may direct children and young people, parents, carers, families and professionals to the best evidence-based information available or input to activities and programmes organised by others to improve skills and confidence. Speech and language therapists may work with partners to increase participation and support the development of nurturing communication friendly environments. Often speech and language therapists are involved in delivering training and providing helpful resources to Health Visiting team and families. |
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Services and provision at this level are for children and young people (and their parents, families, carers and other stakeholders) who are more likely to be identified as having a speech, language or communication need (SLCN) Services would include specific advice, programmes, workshops and learning, and support to improve speech, language and communication skills. Speech and language therapists often support health visitors by offering advice or support through a telephone advice line. |
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This level is for those children and young people whose SLCN cannot be fully met through universal or targeted support. It would usually involve episodes of direct or indirect intervention involving parents, carers, families and others, with the ultimate outcome of promoting self-reliance and resilience through an asset-based approach. A formal request for assistance supports access to a specialist level of support from speech and language therapists. |
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Speech and Language Therapy services across Scotland offer a range of ways of accessing support such as telephone advice lines, websites, social media platforms and drop-in sessions. These routes are open to anyone who has a concern about a child’s speech, language and communication skills. Contact your local speech and language therapy department to find out more about the services offered in your area. A request for assistance to speech and language therapy services can be made at any age if there are concerns noted. Most areas operate an ‘open referral system’ where anyone can make a request for help for the child. A request for assistance may often be part of the child’s plan. |
What might happen next when a request for assistance is received?
The information is gathered from the request in order to decide what assistance would suit the child / young person at that time, based on their needs and the impact of the presenting issues. Examples of assistance from the speech and language therapy service as a result of the request could be:
- Support and tailored advice for parents/carers and the family.
- Consultation and advice with education staff.
- Signposting staff to resources and approaches that would support the child/young person.
- Modelling activities for staff and the family to use to support communication.
- Ongoing assessment and direct support for the child/ young person individually or within a group.
Further Information
To find out more about universal, targeted and specialist speech and language therapy services available in your area, contact your local SLT department to find out more:
Resources
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