Anyone tried speech therapy for their teen?

[Toastandmarmite999]

My DD14 is struggling to make friends on a deeper level than just mucking about a school.

She lacks conversation skills - always has done - and now she and her peers are getting older, she's becoming quite isolated. If I ask her opinion on anything - she answers "I don't know"

She is bright and funny, but can't maintsin a back & forth conversation.

Has anyone tried speech therapy with their kid at this age for something like this?

I have teen DSs who have weekly SALT as part of their EHCPs.

@perpetualplatespinning - is that at school? How long have they been having SALT and are you finding that it's helping?

My two DSs who have weekly SALT via their EHCPs don’t attend school. They have EOTAS/EOTIS packages. They have had SALT for many years since they were small. Some examples of what SALT has helped with include social communication, social interaction, expressive and receptive language, non-verbal communication, selective mutism and emotional regulation.

We are mid appeal for a different DS who does attend a secondary mainstream school. He has an EHCP, but it is currently poor and in a state. Although he needs some direct input, he doesn't need it weekly. He has differing needs compared to my other two DSs. He is outgoing and craves social interaction - sometimes he is too much e.g. doesn’t always know where the line is and SALT will help with this.

Hi @Toastandmarmite999

I'm sorry to hear that your child is struggling with conversation skills at school. Please be reassured that so many children of a similar age find it challenging to understand and use effective social interaction skills. If you are concerned, it may be worth seeking out a Speech Therapist who has experience in supporting social communication skills in school-age children. Therapy sessions are tailored to your child's specific communication needs and goals and can focus on a number of social skills, e.g. verbal and non-verbal language and communication, initiating interaction, maintaining conversations, ending conversations, 1:1 or group conversation skills, how to notice and repair conversation breakdowns, etc. There may be an underlying language difficulty, e.g. understanding social contexts, formulating sentences, sequencing words in sentences, retaining and recalling/re-telling spoken information - narrative therapy in sessions can be great for this. There is also a lot of support for a child's communication partner, e.g. supporting parents/school staff in knowing what to say and how best to support to build conversation skills, attention and listening skills, including building speaking confidence, etc.

I hope this info helps and you are able to find some further support soon.

Lucy Colcombe
Private Speech Therapist

@PrivateSpeechTherapist Thanks - that's really useful.
Would this be covered under SEN at school, or would I need to seek private help? If private, is there a national database of registered therapists, or is it a matter of putting feelers out there?

@PrivateSpeechTherapist oh - and sorry - what is the going rate? We're based in Bristol - thanks.

Hi @Toastandmarmite999

You are very welcome.

Your school may have a Speech Therapist that might be able to support you (either internal or visiting), but if not, you are able to get an assessment and therapy sessions fairly quickly with a private Speech Therapist. Every private therapist has different availability and costs. 'A-therapist' (my private practice) currently charge £159+ for an assessment (depending on the type of assessment required), and £299.99 for a block of 4 therapy sessions. Many of my clients receive funding for private speech therapy via their EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) if they have one.

You can find me and other certified private speech therapists on the ASLTIP 'find a therapist' website at https://asltip.com/find-a-speech-therapist/

Hope this helps.

Lucy Colcombe
Private Speech Therapist

@PrivateSpeechTherapist that's really useful - thank you.

SALT is classed as special educational provision. However, without an EHCP, it is unlikely to be provided via education.

You could try an NHS referral, but the waiting lists and quality vary. Sometimes the scope of what NHS services provide/cover is limited.

Costs vary depending on what you want, the individual, whether you go to them or they come to you or if it is online... Intiial assessments cost more, but ongoing therapy sessions can range from around £60/70ph to upwards of £100ph.

From Bristol, you could look at Chris Wade. He is excellent and if you decide to pursue provision via an EHCP, his reports are well regarded by SENDIST. Others in and around Bristol you could look at include Joy Rondet or Lexi-Jo Madge at Child Speech or some of the SALTs at Talk Speech and Language Therapy.