A recent survey of 759 UK speech and language therapists (SLTs) showed that 74.9% used transcription in their clinical role. However, 41% only used broad transcription, with those not using narrow transcription attributing this to lack of confidence. The majority (79.5%) had never attended a refresher course (Knight et al., 2018). Why does this matter? […]
A Speech and Language Therapist reports from a changing world
Following on from Melanie Cross’ brilliant blog at the end of March, I wanted to write about how Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) all across the country, indeed the world, are adapting to change. My hat goes off to my NHS colleagues who are struggling to get the right PPE to deliver their therapy, other […]
‘Change is the only constant in life’ (Heraclitus) – so we’re going with it!
There are many things to regret and be worried about now. Many of us are reeling from the rapid changes in our lives, the implications for us, our families and our work. I also feel fairly useless, I want to get out and help, but I know the best thing is to stay in. It […]
How can we collaborate to develop services for children and young people who have SEMH & SLCN?
An issue we continually revisit, both at Course Beetle courses and at the Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) Clinical Excellence Network (SEMH CEN) is how can speech and language therapists (SLTs) collaborate with others to develop services for children and young people who have SEMH & Speech Language and Communication Needs? This is an issue […]
The adolescent brain – working with it, not against it
By Jo Stockdale on 9th December 2019 in Learning in adolescence, Secondary education, SEMH, Strenths based approaches
Stereotyping stops us seeing what is really going on for young people In the 15 years that I’ve been working with adolescents I have seen the best and the worst of them. There is no doubt that many can be challenging to both live and work with, and the young offenders that I’ve worked with […]
Using the SHAPE CODING™ system – A Practitioner’s Story
The SHAPE CODING™ system works with natural conversation I’d like to share a little of my clinical experience in using The SHAPE CODING™ system with school-aged students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). This evidence-based intervention approach explicitly teaches the rules of English using a combination of shapes, colours, arrows and lines to indicate phrases, parts […]
Can Speech and Language Therapy be Attachment and Trauma friendly?
I have been trying to understand the impact of negative early experiences on children who experience social emotional and mental health needs (SEMH), for many years. The difficulties they often have with emotion regulation, socialisation and learning are obvious. Their SLCN tends to be less recognised, of course. Over the years, I have encountered many […]
Is this Social Emotional and Mental Health needs, bad behaviour or a communication breakdown?
Children’s behaviour can be very puzzling; why would a boy prefer to hang upside down over the chair in silence than do an assessment, or play with Lego? Why did two eleven-year olds (who can use words) have a ‘conversation’ in screeches while taking turns to scribble on a chalk board? There are often a […]
