Lots of parents have concerns at some point about their child’s communication skills. At Windmill Speech & Language Therapy the focus is on working with children and adults who stammer. If your child is stammering – also known as stuttering – their spoken words may not flow easily all the time. They might repeat words or sounds, stretch sounds out or words may seem to block in their mouth. It can be hard as a parent to know how to support your child if they stammer. Speech & Language Therapy can be useful to help you understand what stammering is and how to support your child to be a confident communicator. If you are worried about your child stammering and would like to arrange an assessment or just have a chat to see if an assessment might be helpful, please contact me.

There are other reasons a child may need some extra support with their communication. These can include:

Delayed language development

Your child may not have started talking at the same time as their peers; they may not seem to understand instructions other children their age seem to follow with ease; or they may not be moving on from single words to put words together. Speech therapy can help children to develop their language skills.

Speech sound difficulties

Your child may have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds or people may find your child hard to understand. While young children develop their sound system over time, this can suggest a need for speech therapy.

Attention & listening difficulties

Your child may find it hard to listen and focus within activities that aren’t of their own choosing. Listening is an essential building block for communication and children who find this very challenging can need support to develop other language skills.

Play & social communication

Your child might be finding it hard to play with others, have difficulty with social communication (for example not understanding or responding to social cues) or not be able to hold a conversation. This may indicate a need for speech therapy.

If you are worried about any of these aspects of your child’s communication, it can be helpful to speak to your GP, Health Visitor or child’s school about your concerns. They will be able to offer advice about referral to your local NHS Speech & Language Therapy team. Early intervention is known to be beneficial for communication development so it's useful to seek help as soon as possible if you have concerns about your child's communication skills. If you prefer to seek support outside of the NHS, helpwithtalking.com will connect you with independent Speech & Language Therapists who work with children with these challenges.

Many adults who stammer will remember having therapy as a child – and those memories aren’t always happy ones. It’s helpful to remember that in the same way that medical treatment and teaching has changed over the years, so has speech & language therapy! Many people who go to speech therapy as an adult find it is a totally different experience to their memories of childhood therapy. At Windmill Speech & Language Therapy we offer online sessions which will be tailored to your individual needs and goals. A thorough assessment will include discussion about your personal hopes and expectations of therapy and Jenny will explain and recommend different therapy approaches she feels may suit you following your assessment. Some people find group support more helpful, which isn’t something we currently offer at Windmill Speech & Language Therapy. STAMMA has useful advice on their website about different therapy options available to adults around the UK.

The short answer is yes - online speech & language therapy can be just as effective as in-person work. There are also potential benefits.

Research tells us online speech therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy for a range of communication disorders, including stammering. In fact, some studies have shown online therapy can be a better fit for some people, particularly those who are more comfortable communicating through technology, such as children or young people who are accustomed to using tablets or smartphones. Having said that, for some people, the idea of video calls can fill them with horror! If that’s you, please remember that Jenny is an experienced Speech & Language Therapist, used to putting people at ease on a call. If you worry about stammering over video, again, remember Jenny is used to hearing stammering voices (and is probably expecting you to stammer!) and she is aware of the importance of giving people time to speak. If this is a worry for you, contact me and we can discuss how to make you feel more comfortable in sessions over email.

Online therapy can be a convenient, accessible option for people who live in remote areas, have busy work or social schedules or just prefer being in the comfort of their own home for sessions. Additionally, online therapy allows for more flexible scheduling, making it easier for people to fit therapy sessions into their busy lives.

It is important to remember the success of online speech therapy is influenced by several factors, including the quality of the technology and internet connection, the experience and expertise of the therapist, and the ability of the child or adult to engage with the therapy session through a screen. Jenny has lots of experience working with people online (for example having offered assessment and therapy sessions to people in her NHS role throughout the covid pandemic lockdowns) and is used to considering the needs of each individual client or family. Your role is to ensure you have a strong internet connection, a quiet space (without a lot of background noise) for sessions and equipment that allows for adequate sound and visuals to maximise the success of the session. Therapy works better over a laptop or tablet screen - a mobile screen is too small for you to see therapy tools Jenny may share adequately.

Speech & Language Therapy will always start with an assessment. This ensures the therapist has enough knowledge about the specific individual’s communication skills and challenges to be able to put together recommendations for a therapy plan. Professional guidelines set out by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) require therapists to have adequate assessment data before beginning a course of therapy. Assessment data can be gathered informally through observations and conversation as well as formally using questionnaires or standardised assessment tools. Every individual has different assessment needs and therapists choose assessment tools to fit each client. Please note: Any standardised assessment of a child’s language skills is unlikely to be completed within the initial assessment session due to time constraints and the belief that children may not show their usual interactive confidence within a first online meeting. If formal language assessment is indicated for your child, Jenny will discuss the options for moving forward with this with you at the end of your first assessment session.

If you, or your child has had previous Speech & Language Therapy intervention, it can be helpful for the therapist to see any reports from this prior to the assessment session. Please email Jenny any relevant reports prior to your assessment session.

An assessment session will typically last between 60 – 90 minutes. Jenny will take time to get to know you or your child through conversation and clinical observation of communication skills in use. In addition, she will ask lots of questions! This isn’t just being nosey, this is a key part of assessment called the case history, which allows a therapist to gather information about the client’s relevant medical and developmental history, as well as knowledge about any family history of stammering or other communication challenges. This information ensures a therapist gains a full, comprehensive picture of the individual to allow them to put together appropriate recommendations for future therapy.

Assessment is always a collaborative process, and there will be plenty of time for you to ask any questions your have about the therapy process.

Following the assessment session, Jenny will analyse and interpret the information gathered and use this to develop recommendations for appropriate ways to support you or your child moving forward. Recommendations may include further assessment, regular therapy sessions, referral to other professionals if needed, and / or advice to share with others in your / your child’s support network. The recommendations will take into account the individual’s own hopes for therapy and any communication goals they have shared as part of the assessment process. A short report will be written after initial assessment and emailed to you. Completion of the assessment session, analysis of data gathered and writing of the report takes longer than preparation and follow up for therapy sessions, which is why assessment sessions are priced at a higher rate than therapy sessions.

Yes! If you are happy to let me know the name and contact details of your NHS therapist, I will reach out to them and work alongside them whenever possible.

Every individual is different, and the number of therapy sessions each person requires varies depending on their specific needs and goals. It is common for children to receive speech therapy once a week, while young people and adults may have weekly, fortnightly or monthly sessions, depending on both therapy goals and other life commitments. Therapy sessions will typically last between 45 minutes to an hour (assessment being longer).  The number of sessions recommended may change based on the individual’s progress and the therapist's recommendations.

You will be sent a MSTeams link before an online session. Please join this link from a computer or tablet that has a working webcam and microphone before the session is due to start. Accessing sessions from a mobile phone isn’t recommended as information will be shared on screen during most sessions and the small size of a phone screen means it is not practical for sessions. Make sure you are in a quiet space without a lot of background noise as this can distract you and Jenny within the session.

For in-person sessions, please ensure you have a quiet space within the home for your session. Sitting at a table without distractions will be best. If other people are at home, it will be helpful to make sure they are occupied elsewhere to reduce distractions during the session.

Some health insurance companies cover Speech & Language Therapy as part of their provision. I do not work directly with any insurers, and this means you will need to settle your invoices directly with Windmill Speech & Language Therapy and then claim the costs back from your health insurer. It is recommended that you contact your insurance company prior to booking any services with Windmill Speech & Language Therapy to clarify the nature and level of your cover and to establish whether or not you will be able to claim back the fees.