I'm a paediatric speech and language therapist... AMA!

[SpeechandLanguageTherapist]

12 years NHS experience working with children aged 18 months to 18 years.

Acutely aware that actually being able to speak to an NHS therapist these days is getting harder and harder.

Happy to answer anything I feel able to - I've worked with most areas of need over the years, but if not in my remit I'll say I'm not sure 😊 Maybe someone else who has more experience will be able to answer instead.

Lovely to hear, thank you 😊

What's your experiences of Selective Mustism?

That's a very broad question I'm afraid - what do you mean? I always have a number of children with SM on my caseload at any given time.

Can anyone else see my posts? 🤔

@justcouldntthinkofausername, OP replied to your post the day after you posted it! :)

My bad. I do apologise OP. I have been checking numerous times throughout the days and didn't see a response until @GordonGarden has put this snapshot in the thread, I don't know how I missed it! Sorry

Thank you for your reply I'll try holding off focusing on the flash cards a bit, I thought they were a simple way to teach him short easy words.

I do hope he comes on with his speech though soon 🙏🏻

Thank you

There's lots of evidence that shows that the best way for a child to learn language is through natural social communication opportunities with a caregiver who is in tune with their interests and communicative attempts. I can't think of anything less natural and social than flashcards (or apps, TV shows etc.) Anything that creates a 'testing' dynamic which puts pressure on the child has been found to actually have a negative impact on communication development. Hope that helps 😊

To get onto a postgraduate programme you need relevant experience via a job in a related field. Most people on the course had worked for at least a year (most longer) after uni as a SaLT assistant, teaching assistant, care worker (elderly/disabled) etc. The courses are very competitive and most will have this level of experience. She'll need to show evidence that she's worked with SLTs and/or people with communication needs, and has a good understanding of a range of communication impairments.

He'd probably benefit from an ENT assessment to rule anything out. It could be a coordination issue instead? Or maybe just an unusual habit/tic?

How long has the stammer been present? A short period of stammering (less than 6 months) can be developmentally typical in toddlers. Is there any stammering in the family on either side?

Thanks so much for the advice.

Commonsensitivity · 30/01/2023 17:25

What would you recommend for an 11 year old with high frequency hearing loss whose "s" sounds are still quite slushy. Will we ever get them sounding crisp?

Are they having speech and language therapy regularly?

They were until quite recently via school. But the teacher signed them off as she felt we were overdoing it.

@SpeechandLanguageTherapist Thank you so much for replying!
He's had it for around 6 months. But in those 6 months we've moved house, he's stopped co-sleeping, we've had a second baby, and he's started nursery! So they've been very stressful for him and I'm wondering if that's exacerbating it.
My brother stammered mildly for over a year as a child and grew out of it without any interventions, but his was at the start of words which seems more typical.
Is there any reason to be particularly concerned about stammering at the end of words?

Thank you so much for providing parents with your time and expertise. My 3 and half year old is speaking in 4 word sentences. He understands instructions, follows stories and songs. He can retell a story but sometimes doesn't have the vocabulary so isn't very clear. He misses off the first syllable of words sometimes that are 3 or 4 syllables long. He calls a banana a nana stillness, for example. He also, doesn't pronounce some letter sounds in words, but when I teach him phonics he can say the sound correctly. I've noticed my neice and other children, especially girls, his age are a lot more clearer than he is and talk so much more. I am reading everyday to him and have started phonics so he can pronounce things better.

Is there anything else yoy can recommend? And would you say 4 word sentences is okay for his age?

Thank you.

Sorry just to add to the above he is actually saying 8 to 9 sentence words actually.

It sounds like she's made good progress so far over a short time period. If her hearing loss was quite severe she will need to develop all of her auditory discrimination skills for environmental and speech sounds before she starts learning language. I suspect you will have a lightbulb moment where things click for her, but it may be a little further down the line. Just keep doing everything you're doing 😊

Bilingual children can be a little delayed right at the start of learning language, but bilingualism doesn't cause ongoing language difficulties. It can take them a little longer at the start to make sense of the languages they are hearing and separate them out. When counting words we count them separately in both languages, so if the child can say 'milk' and 'leche' for example, that would count as 2 words. Has he had his 2 year check yet? If still concerned then you could ask for a referral to SaLT.

Thank you so much for replying.
Have been counting each word like you say, tbh wondered if I was doing it right. Glad to hear I haven't. He's not had the 2 year check up, hopefully soon. Think my main concern has been him not using previously learned and used words. Hopefully he will again, soon. Thank you

Honestly it's really hard to say. Some children will go on to make amazing progress with their language skills and communicate well verbally. Others will have persistent language difficulties, and others will use non-verbal methods of communication into adulthood. I'm afraid it's extremely hard to predict and all you can do is seek all help available to you and do everything you can to support your child to communicate to the best of their ability (verbally or non-verbally).

At this age a lot of work is through parents and nursery implementing strategies, with direct therapy often saved until children are a little older and have better attention and listening skills. Strategies that can be implemented 24/7 are likely to be more effective than a therapy session once a week, particularly at this age. Have they given you strategies that you can implement at home?

The teacher discharged? Not the therapist? That sounds a little unusual.

Do you work with children who are neurodiverse? My question is about what I think is termed echolalia? My 10 year old often repeats what is being said on TV programmes he watches - sports commentary or factual programmes especially. Is this likely indicative of an ND diagnosis? We have been referred for ND assessment but not seen yet. Thanks

The teacher discharged? Not the therapist? That sounds a little unusual.

They were having SALT through school. The teacher felt that we were almost finding problems where there were none. However the s sounds are still very slushy.

Such an interesting thread! This is a career I'm interested in, so I was wondering, if you work in the community, how many visits to different places/individuals do you make in a week, typically? What size of area do you/your colleagues cover?

Hi OP!

DD is 2.5 and was never a chatty or noisy baby, was late with speech e.g didnt say Mama until she was closer to 2.
Her actual vocab is on track - can sit with a picture board book and she will know and can say every word (generally nouns). Her understanding is good. It feels like she KNOWS the words but doesn't use them. She will learn to say something, use it for about a week and then stop for ages unless prompted.
She has no general functional language other than 'Up' and 'Yes' and 'No.'
She does not generally speak outside of the house - even in a quiet calm environment where she is perfectly happy and not at all anxious.
We are on the waitlist for SALT but its long......wondering at her age if we should go private.