I am a speech and language therapist. AMA

[KeepSmiling89]

I like to have a browse on here during my lunch break at work and whenever I get a spare minute so please feel free to ask me any questions. Will get back to you when I can!

The fact that he can make the sound is encouraging even if it's a bit of an effort for him. Use visualisation tricks to help - imagine his tongue is a snake or a lion and to keep it inside the cage (his teeth). Look in a mirror with him to help as well.
We usually expect a lisp to be resolved by this age but it doesn't impact as much on intelligibility as other error patterns. How does your son feel about it? Is he bothered by it? Is it impacting his reading/writing? Are other children teasing him because of it? If yes, maybe get in touch with your local SLT for a bit of advice directly as well.

Funding cuts and waiting lists. I work in the NHS and, in our area, our waiting list is a year. To tackle this we're offering children (and families) a block of therapy then, if they need more, they're returned to the waiting list so we can see more children. Means we can't give the "gold standard" of therapy that's evidence based and what children need. We have to 'ration' therapy.
We're short staffed but there's no funding to hire new staff. When we do advertise for jobs, we also don't get a lot (if any) applicants as our location is quite rural and a fair distance from the universities that offer the SLT courses so we don't get a lot of students for placements either...I've rambled on here haven't I?!

i have two children, both under 3yo. We don’t practice sign language at all at home and they don’t go to professional childcare. I gather from friends and children’s clubs, that it is increasingly common to use quite a lot of sign language and I’m wondering whether they’ll get to school or later on in life and be a bit ‘behind’ in that particular skill. Am I doing them a disservice by not teaching them to sign? The oldest is two and his speech and vocabulary are good. The youngest doesn’t yet have any words.

Two children both who have / had quite severe speech sounds disorders. Pregnant with a third. Is it likely the third child will have the same difficulties? Can we do anything to prevent this or is it just genetics?

Is it sign language or a sign supporting system like Makaton? British Sign Language (BSL) is a language used in the deaf community. Makaton signs are used in addition to spoken language to support children's understanding and use of language. It can be particularly helpful for children whose language is a bit delayed but they're not missing out if you're not using it at all. Look up makaton in Google, FB and Instagram and you can learn about whether you feel it would be helpful. You can do Makaton courses if you're interested as well.

How long was the training? Is your job rewardin? I am 46 and at a crossroads and wondering if I should change direction

Ds has been having speech therapy since he was 2.5years old he is still non verbal.
His therapist is using Pecs and a total communication approach this works well in school but not so well at home I would like to use a iPad with a communication app on would this interfere with what they are doing at school?
He's progressing well so don't want to confuse him but a device would be easier for us has a family if he gets how to use it.
I think a device would also widen the amount of people he could communicate with not everyone gets the Pecs.

Our local SALT team have now said they will only accept referrals for children with swallowing difficulties or highly complex speech, language and communication difficulties. So what can we do to support those children with speech impediments- lisps, poor pronunciation, selective mutism etc? One parent has had to go back to Latvia for an assessment as it is the only way her daughter can be seen!

Congrats on your pregnancy!
Nothing to suggest baby no 3 will have any speech issues. Speech sound disorders are often of "unknown origin" (I.e. there's no underlying cause) with the exception of genetic conditions. No 2 children develop speech sounds or language at the same rate. Just lots of modelling from an early age, nursery rhymes, stories, toddler groups (bookbug etc) are beneficial as well.

Can a SALT help with preventing choking in the elderly with dementia? If not, which specialty is it?

Congratulations on your daughter’s sharing of her experience, it must have been so lovely to hear her express herself like that!

The undergraduate course is 4 years and the postgraduate (including masters is just over 2 years). I did the postgraduate diploma from 2012-2014 as my undergraduate was in philosophy. Very intense but totally worth it. Not everywhere does the postgraduate option so need to look at what unis offer this if you're considering it.

Not sure about preventing choking but can support for those who are choking already by modifying textures of foods etc. Not sonething I'm involved in but our adult team definitely support with this.

My son has been diagnosed with "Developmental Language Disorder". Written in that way then DLD in the rest of the letter. Where can I find information about this? Google does not help and it's a long wait list for regular SALT sessions.

This is SO frustrating as speech sounds are something that ONLY SLTs have the knowledge to support with. Unfortunately can't help as I don't know what other supports are available in your area. There are some private SLTs who post on YouTube and Instagram with ideas on how to support with some speech sounds. There's also the option of going private if you can afford it.
Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder so can go to educational psychology to help here or CAMHS but, of course, their waiting lists are also VERY long!

Check out the Raising Awareness of DLD website. There's SO much info and resources on there. I often direct parents here after I give a DLD diagnosis.
radld.org/

A lot of children will stammer at your child's age, particularly if they've had a language spurt (they've got so much to say but their motor programming just can't keep up so they trip up over their words etc).
If it persists for a while, keeps coming back or they start to become aware of it and get distressed, I'd get in touch with your local SLT service for advice. Also check out the British stammering association website for more info https://stamma.org/
There's a lot more of a move to the acceptance of stammering instead of trying to "fix" it these days. Let's face it, we all stammering now and again, especially when excited or when we've got a lot to say. It's no different for children. It's when it starts to impact them we would look at strategies to support them through their stammering.

Sorry about your separation and the impact it's having on your DD.
Unfortunately if she doesn't want therapy she won't be motivated to make the change, especially at her age. There's also a big move towards acceptance of stammering instead of trying to fix it.
When she does stammer, try not to fixate on it unless she brings it up herself. Let her know you're listening to her without judgement. If she does bring it up, talk about it openly.
It sounds like the stammering is a by-product of her anxiety so might be worthwhile looking into that as well.

Definitely check out the British stammering association website as well https://stamma.org/

Thank you so much! He’s not bothered about it at all and his reading and writing is excellent. And actually it’s helped him a bit in some way as he has a meeting with a casting director for a big animation voiceover project 😬 it’s more DH who is worried.
I still think it’s cute but I am aware that kids can be arses and it may not be long until he starts to get teased.
Useful to have it confirmed that it should have resolved by now though. I really appreciate your time ☺️

Hmm, this is a tricky one. Have you spoken with your SLT about this at all?
I wonder if another form of low-tech AAC might be more helpful as PECS is very prescriptive and new autism guidance doesn't agree with the physical prompting side of things. A core board could be helpful or even a more generic symbol exchange system that's not as rigid as PECS like a communication book or board?

Sorry if I've missed anyone out! Moving house next week so need to do more packing. Will come back on tomorrow or Thursday when I'm at a desktop PC, much easier than my phone!

Hello! Not sure if you can advise but my son is 7, he was late talker but has gradually improved over the years. He’s now having speech therapy through the nhs. He can now make all the sounds for his age, and has an amazing vocabulary. The problem is he just has had some sort of regression where he’s stopped using the sounds again. So hes dropped his P’s, his c’s his t’s, most consonants really. He’ll say ‘at’ instead of cat. I repeat back and he then says it correctly. This happened about 6 months ago and they said it was ‘ inconsistent phonological disorder’. We’ve been working really hard to correct this, and now it’s happened again. I haven’t had a chance to speak to his speech therapist (she visits the school every term and sets him work through them) and no one can give me any more insight into this. Do you know any more about this disorder? I did wonder if he could be dyslexic due to struggles with reading and writing, could they be linked? Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me some advice I will definitely have a look at the website. We don’t draw attention to it. On the rare occasion she gives up what she’s trying to say when it’s really bad I just gently ask her to breathe for a while then breathe in and speak when she exhales as this to help her. Once again thank you for being kind enough to answer

Do you pronounce "CELF" as "KELF" or "SELF"? 🤔

my son has situational mutism at school, hes 4, would pecs or makaton be useful in this situation? Is this something that's usually overcome is it likely to get worse?