Speech & Language Therapy

Introduction Programme Structure Initial Assessment
Treatment School Visits Using our Services

We provide a specialist service for children with disorders of communication, which may include speech and/or language difficulties.

Speech refers to how a person articulates or produces sounds for communication. The difficulty in saying speech sounds may be the result of oral motor weaknesses, motor planning difficulties, phonological processing difficulties or problems with dentition (teeth).

Language refers to a systematic means of communicating ideas and/or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures or marks that have commonly-understood meanings. The language area is usually separated into 'Receptive Language' and 'Expressive Language' domains.

Receptive Language is the ability to comprehend spoken and written aspects of language and where no verbal response is required.
Expressive Language is the ability to use the aspects of language to convey ideas verbally and in writing.

Within Receptive and Expressive Language domains, there are four subsets of language. These are:

Semantics: The comprehension (receptive) and the use (expressive) of vocabulary. It includes single word vocabulary, categorization and contextual meanings.
Morphology: The comprehension and use of rules to modify words in order to alter their meanings (tenses, plurals etc).
Syntax: The comprehension and use of word order to convey meaning.
Pragmatics: The comprehension and use of social aspects of communication. It includes nonverbal communication, use of personal space, inflection and patterns of speech and appropriate utilization of language to accomplish a desired outcome in the specific communication context.

Our management of communication disorders will include the assessment and diagnosis of the presenting problem with recommendations for intervention, and often this includes the provision of specific treatment regimes/protocols to be supported at home. We also work in conjunction with other professionals involved in the child's care (if any).

The children we see usually present with communication difficulties arising from a wide variety of paediatric conditions, syndromes and disease processes.