How I Work
Every child communicates and learns in their own way. My speech and language therapy approach is relationship-based, child-led and play-based, tailored to each child and family. I work alongside the important adults in a child's life to understand the child as an individual and to help their communication and confidence to grow.
The principles below reflect how I work with children and families.
Unique Child, Unique Communication
Each child has their own strengths, skills, interests, preferences, needs and experiences of the world.
Taking time to understand each child as an individual means that we can build on what they can already do, follow and incorporate their interests, respect their preferences and take account of their needs and experiences when supporting their communication and learning.
This helps to make support meaningful and relevant to each child and family.
Celebrate What They Can Do
It can be easier for children to learn new skills by building on what they can already do.
When adults notice and respond with interest and enjoyment to what a child can do, this can help to build their confidence and encourage them to keep using and developing their skills.
Natural responses such as smiling and nodding can acknowledge what a child can do without relying too much on general praise. This can support their own sense of achievement and motivation.
Co-Regulate to Communicate Children communicate and learn most easily when they feel safe, regulated, seen, heard and connected to the people around them. Regulation is how our bodies and nervous systems respond to and manage sensations, emotions and energy. It is affected by what is happening within us, the people around us and our environment. Warm, trusting relationships and co-regulation with responsive adults help children to gradually develop their own ability to regulate. Regulation provides an important foundation for all areas of development, including attention, play, communication and learning. Supportive Spaces The environment around a child can make a real difference to how easily they can regulate, participate, communicate and learn. Small changes can remove barriers and make activities and situations more accessible. These might include reducing background noise, offering movement or sensory breaks, giving extra processing time, providing something to fidget with, using visual supports and making routines more predictable.
“Natalie is warm, calm, patient and friendly, and our son has always been comfortable with her in the room... We are so much more confident in communicating with him now...”
Parent — communication assessment, block of five therapy sessions and follow-ups
Play Is the Way
Play is one of the most important ways that children learn. Through play they explore, experiment and follow their interests and curiosity.
When children enjoy what they are doing, they are more likely to stay involved, persevere when things are tricky and share their experiences with others.
Play creates natural opportunities for communication and supports thinking, problem-solving, creativity, motor skills and social and emotional development.
Children play in many different ways. Their play does not need to look a particular way to be meaningful or valuable.
Let Them Lead and Initiate
I respect each child's way of playing and follow what interests and engages them, rather than trying to direct their play towards how it might be expected to look.
Children have more opportunities to think, communicate and develop their own ideas when they lead their play and initiate interactions, rather than mainly responding to adult ideas and questions.
Giving children space and silence while showing interest allows them time to think, play and communicate at their own pace. Responding to what they share shows them that their ideas and communication matter, while providing natural models that help their skills to develop.
Share the Joy Sharing enjoyable moments creates natural opportunities for connection, smiles and laughter. These joyful interactions strengthen relationships and create a strong foundation for communication. All Communication Counts Communication is about much more than spoken words. A look, movement, gesture, smile, sign, object, picture, sound or communication device can all carry meaning. Recognising and responding to all the ways a child communicates shows them that their communication is valued and their message matters. We can model and offer additional ways to communicate while continuing to respect and respond to how the child already communicates. Children need access to the ways of communicating that work best for them.
“We really appreciate the help you have given us and feel it's set a great foundation for our daughter to continue developing from.”
Parent — communication assessment and block of five therapy sessions
Make Communication Visual Spoken information, routines and expectations can be difficult to process, understand and remember. Visual supports, such as objects, signs, pictures, symbols and written words, can reduce the amount or speed of language that children need to process. They can highlight key information, make abstract or complex ideas more accessible and help to make what is happening more predictable. Visuals can also give children ways to communicate, helping them to make choices, express their needs, share ideas and communicate what matters to them. Visual supports can help children to regulate, participate and become more independent. They should be tailored to each child, using the types of visual information that are meaningful to them.
“...one thing I think has helped the most is the video playbacks. Physically seeing what’s required and what to do more of is so beneficial, as it makes you think more about it and use certain actions going forward.”
Parent — communication assessment and block of five therapy sessions
Watch and Learn Together Every adult working with a child brings different knowledge, experience and skills. Working together helps us to develop a shared understanding of the child and how best to support their communication. Using VERVE Child Interaction Therapy, a type of Video Interaction Therapy, we look together at short video clips of everyday interactions. Slowing these moments down helps us to notice the child's communication more closely, including subtle signals that might easily be missed at the time. We also notice what adults are already doing naturally to support the child's communication. We build on these moments and find ways to do more of what works in everyday interactions, play and routines. The aim is to help the important adults around the child to understand their communication and feel confident supporting it. This can help the child to participate more fully, communicate with confidence and express who they are.
Book a Free, No-Obligation 20-Minute Initial Telephone Consultation
If this approach feels right for your child and family, please get in touch. We can talk about your child's communication, what matters to you and what you are looking for, and decide together whether I might be the right fit for your child and family.
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