Accessing speech and language therapy for kids isn’t always black and white. Due to the increased demand post-lockdown, waiting lists have increased significantly. 

In theory, Speech and language therapy for kids should be available for children with a wide range of communication difficulties including: 

• Speech and language delay/disorders
• Hearing impairments
• Feeding and swallowing disorders
• Weak oral muscles
• Autism
• Traumatic brain injury
• Apraxia of speech
• Asperger’s syndrome
• Down syndrome
• Cerebral palsy
• Intellectual disability (ID)
• And more..

However, the reality is that most families can be placed on waiting lists for a few months, if not years. In this article, we will discuss the different options for accessing Speech Therapy for your child. 

What is speech and language therapy for kids

Speech and Language Therapy, more commonly known as Speech Therapy, provides care, support and treatment for children and adults who may have communication difficulties. With the support of speech and language therapy, children with delays/disorders can develop important skills to be able to communicate effectively with others. Speech therapy works to improve the understanding of language and its use, as well as other communication skills. 

It can be expected to build a child’s word bank and learn how to use gestures and signs. These tools will always work to a child’s strengths for them to be able to communicate their wants and needs. Speech and language therapy can include one on one sessions, at-home practice and coaching. The speech therapist will ensure your child is in a safe environment, where they feel comfortable and free. 

Accessing advice

• Your child’s pediatrician can offer advice, confirmation and/or reassurance on development if you may be worried. They can inform you about available NHS services in your area and refer you to a speech professional if needed.  
• If your child has already been placed into a childcare setting, they can be a useful touch point to chat about your child’s current skills, compared to the expected level. Additional development support may be offered if spoken about. Childcare settings can include, daycare, nursery, school and/or childminder. 

Available options for speech and language support

1. Public: The National Health Service (NHS) is a healthcare system that is publicly funded by the government, offering families free access to speech and language professionals if needed. United Kingdom government further shares, “All 3 and 4-year-olds in England are entitled to 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year. This is often taken as 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year. Some 2-year-olds are also eligible.” 
2. Private: Due to the high demand for speech and language services, professionals are unable to meet the demand in a timely manner when going public. Many families go private, accessing speech and language professionals operating independently. These services are charged per hour. 
3. Online: Although this is considered as going private, in most cases, it may be considered more cost-effective, have no location constraint and as effective as face-to-face therapy. Services you may want to consider is noala, as they offer instant access to speech and language professionals, parent-led coaching videos and digital exercises. The first program is built for developmental language, covering 6 themed sessions, from Food, Animals to Body Parts. If you’re interested, you can sign up for free, accessing your first coaching video, all about food, as well as booking a call to chat to our expert speech professional for guidance and feedback. 

What to expect from a speech and language session

When accessing a speech and language professional, your child’s communication skills will be assessed to gain a better perspective of their needs and how they can support. An assessment will generally be 45 minutes, looking at a range of speech, language and communication skills. These include: 

• Attention and listening skills
• Social interaction skills 
• Understanding of language 
• Use of language 
• Speech sounds they have acquired

From the initial assessment, the speech professional will be able to formulate a therapy plan and guide your child’s speech therapy sessions. Targets will be set out in the therapy plan, so that an end goal will be sight and achievable. 

Speech therapy sessions can range from 15 to 60 minutes, consisting of 1 to 4 activities. Your speech professional will provide you with tailored strategies to use for at home practice, in between sessions, to maximise your child’s success rate. Throughout your family’s journey, your speech professional will be accessible via email with any questions, concerns and/or difficulties you may encounter. 

How does online therapy vs in person therapy compare

A testimonial of a mum, based in the United Kingdom. My 5 year old son had been regularly supported by a wonderful Speech Therapist for 18 months; first in a specialist nursery setting and then during his first two terms in mainstream school. We were about to transition his support to a new Speech Therapy team when March 2020 happened. During those early days of the pandemic I felt overwhelmed. My son had been diagnosed with a severe phonological speech disorder and language delay. Yet, with the expert guidance and support of his Speech Therapists, he’d made phenomenal progress. I was frightened that the progress would stop, and the already large communication gap with his peers would continue to widen.

The importance of early intervention

We know that early intervention is essential for children like my son. Speech and language needs impacted every aspect of his life. At school, his teacher and classmates couldn’t understand him. He often played alone, or watched other children play together despite wanting to join in. At home, he would become frustrated when he couldn’t communicate what he wanted.

To meet these growing demands and support children throughout the pandemic and beyond, many Speech therapists turned to online therapy. I was sceptical. How would it work? Could it engage and motivate my 5 year old? Would he sit still for the session?

I’m happy to say that this sceptical mum was wrong. Online therapy, both during the pandemic and beyond (hello tube strikes!), has allowed my son to regularly access speech therapy. I even find his attention is more focused during the online sessions.

Speech Therapists are a special breed of health-care professionals; they’re creative, resilient and problem-solvers. Over the last 2 years, my son’s online therapy sessions have involved online games, interactive stories, movement and virtual backgrounds. Speech therapy on the moon is pretty special!

The relationship between parent and speech therapist also benefits from online therapy. When sessions take place at school, it can be difficult to find out what happened and what the next steps are. However, with online sessions I’m able to watch therapy, learn new techniques and also ask questions. I leave the sessions feeling reassured and empowered to continue supporting my son at home.

As a parent, I believe that speech therapy needs to be accessible to all families and that early identification and intervention is key. Making Speech Therapy accessible is at the core of the exciting new digital platform, noala. Their in-house Speech Therapy team guides families to support their child’s speech, language & communication needs, practising at their own pace and accessing online activities as needed.

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