SPECIALIST
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
THERAPY
Revised December 2013
INTRODUCTION
A Speech and Language Therapist who specialises in working with
children with a hearing impairment is bought in by the Hearing Support
Team. This therapist works with children who have a severe to profound
hearing loss and/or those who have a cochlear implant.
Your supporting Teacher of the Deaf, in discussion with you and the
specialist Speech and Language Therapist, can make a referral. You will
be asked to sign a referral form. Each referral will be considered and
processed through a central point so that consistency is maintained. The
specialist therapist also offers advice and support to speech and language
therapy colleagues and other professionals supporting children with a
mild/moderate hearing loss.
If you have concerns yourself, discuss these with your local Teacher of
the Deaf or community Speech and Language Therapist who can decide if
a referral to the specialist Speech and Language Therapist is appropriate.
INPUT LEVELS BY THE SPECIALIST THERAPIST
The frequency of input will depend on your child’s needs and will be
regularly reviewed. The frequency range is:




Monthly
Half-Termly
Yearly
One-off
Review and Target Setting
Review and Target Setting
This may coincide with Annual Reviews
Assessment and Advice visits.
The Speech and Language Therapist aims to work closely with you and
the daily communication partners of your child, e.g. staff, carers, family
members..
Timing and type of input may change over time as your child’s needs
change. Some work will be one to one and some will be through your
child’s daily communication partners.
A communication programme (which will include advice sheets and
targets) will be provided for you and relevant staff to work on. This will
be in conjunction with the Teacher of the Deaf to help develop your
child’s speech, language and communication skills.
TYPE OF INPUT
The type of input will vary according to your child’s needs at any one
time but may include:
 A joint therapy session with a Teacher of the Deaf or a
Teaching Assistant.
 Assessment, liaison and target setting with staff and parents.
 Pair/small group work.
 Video assessment/review/video interaction work.
 Observation at Nursery/School/College.
LOCATION OF INPUT - PRE-SCHOOL
At this time your child will be most likely seen at home although there
maybe visits to a pre-school or nursery setting.
LOCATION OF INPUT - SCHOOL AGED
When your child starts school this is where they will most likely be seen.
There may be some home visits to help to set targets, complete
assessments or communicate with you regarding your child’s progress.
You may be asked to attend a session at school or come to school at the
end of the session for updates. The advantage of this is often that the
school staff and the Teacher of the Deaf can be involved directly in that
discussion with you the parents.
TARGET SETTING
Targets are discussed and set jointly with parents, the Speech and
Language Therapist, Teacher of the Deaf and school staff. Targets are
reviewed on a termly basis. Between one and three targets will be set
per term, depending on your child’s needs.
TRAINING
One of the Specialist Speech and Language Therapist’s role is to train
others in working with hearing impaired children. This includes training
Teaching Assistants, Speech and Language Therapists, Teachers, and
update Teacher’s of the Deaf where appropriate.
DISCHARGE FROM THE SPECIALIST SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE THERAPIST
Your child’s support level will be regularly reviewed and discharge from
the Service will be discussed when:
 Speech, language and communication skills have progressed
to a level that is in line with their general development level.
 Current targets have been met and further input is not
appropriate or needed at the present time.
 Support is not available from school, pre-school and/or home.
 The child is unmotivated or un-co-operative.
 Speech and language skills are delayed but appropriate
progress is being made.
 There is a lack of progress over a period of time.
 Parents are unwilling to accept the suggested intervention or
do not wish for speech therapy at that time.
Your child can be re-referred for further assessments, advice and input if:
 An identified problem fails to resolve.
 A new difficulty is identified.
 Your child is becoming anxious and withdrawn due to their
difficulties.
 There is a deterioration in skills previously worked on or some
extra generalisation work is required.
 Your child has now improved in attention skills and is ‘ready’
for intervention.
 School/parents are now able to provide support for the child.
SECOND OPINIONS AND ADVICE
The Speech and Language Therapist may also offer second opinions and
advice to Speech and Language Therapy colleagues who are working with
children with a hearing impairment. This may include a conversation with
a therapist or maybe a joint visit and report. Second opinion requests
will be monitored by a central source to ensure these are appropriate
requests and also to inform training needs.
CONTACTING THE SPECIALIST SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
THERAPIST
Rachel England
Speech and Language Therapist
Hearing Support Team
The Educational Audiology Centre
Priory Road
St Austell
PL25 5AB
Telephone:
Mobile:
01726 61004
07805 817228
REFERRAL PROCESS FOR OTHER CHILDREN
Children who fall outside the referral criteria for specialist Hearing
Impairment Speech and Language Therapy can be referred to the Speech
and Language Therapy Department.
Speech and Language Therapy
Unit 2 Bodmin Business Centre
Harleigh Road
Bodmin
PL31 1AM
Telephone: 01208 834488
Information regarding speech and language therapy in Cornwall and a
referral form can also be found on the following page:
http://www.cornwallfoundationtrust.nhs.uk/cft/OurServices
/ChildrenAndYoungPeople/SpeechAndLanguageTherapy.asp
Telephone, email or postal referrals will be accepted (detailed referral
letters will also be accepted). The referral must clearly state why the
referral is being made and what is expected from the community Speech
and Language Therapist. Health visitors, pre-school and school staff,
Teachers of the Deaf and other health professionals can also refer a child
to speech therapy.
HSS – General – Admin – Sedgemoor – R England – SALT Draft3.doc –January 2014