Speech and language therapy services

If you are concerned about your child’s speech and language development, there is lots of support available and things you and others can do to help.  

Most children can successfully develop their speech and language skills without needing specialist support from a speech therapist. 

Every child's rate of speech and language development is different. However, knowing what you should expect and when can be helpful. 

• Do a quiz on your child's speech development and learn about stages of communication development on NHS Just One Norfolk website  
• Read a guide on stages of speech and language development on the Speech and Language UK children's communication website 

Remember these are just guides.

As a parent you are your child's best teacher. You know them best and spend the most time with them.

There are lots of activities you can try at home to help support your child's speech and language development. Doing something every day is the best way for most children to make progress. Your child will love this time with you.

Do encourage other family members to take part. If every person who spends time with your child gets involved, it really can make an enormous difference.

• Talk and play ideas for 0-5s from our home learning team
• Activities for 0-5s and older childrenon NHS Just One Norfolk website
• Excellent resources and advice on the Speech and Language UK children's communication website
• Top tips and resources on Just One Norfolk website

Most children can successfully develop their speech and language skills without needing specialist support from a speech therapist. 

Good progress can usually be made by: 

• Doing activities at home
• Getting support and advice from Norfolk NHS healthy child programme team  
• Getting expert help from your child's nursery, preschool, or school staff 

Norfolk NHS healthy child programme team 

The NHS healthy child programme team provides health services to support all families with children aged 0-19-years-old. An understanding health professional will be able to give you advice. They may refer you to a health team in your local area. If your child is 0 to 5-years-old they might also refer you to the early childhood and family service.

• Call: 0300 300 0123
• Text: 07520 631590

Available 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm Saturday. 

2-year-old review 

All two-year-olds in Norfolk get a 2-year-old health review by a health visitor from the healthy child programme team. The team will contact you to arrange the meeting. You will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your child's communication skills before the meeting. Do not be worried about this, it is not a test! You can discuss any concerns you might have at the review. The health visitor will help you get more support if needed. 

Support at your child's place of learning

If your child is at nursery, preschool, or school, you should speak to their keyworker or class teacher. They are trained professionals who can help develop speech and language skills on a day-to-day basis. They can assess your child's speech and language skills, and start a support process to help your child.  

Your child's nursery, preschool, or school will use speech and language tools and strategies. It might take time to see progress.

It is important that you are involved in the support process, and the nursery, preschool, or school explains what is happening. You might be asked to come in and watch how your child is being supported.  

Your child's place of learning should let you know how long they will use a specific tool or strategy. It will depend on your child's level of need. The process might need to be repeated several times. You should ask to speak to the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) if you have concerns. 

Continuing to support your child at home, doing activities and exercises, is just as important as the support at your child's place of learning.  

Your child will have the best outcomes if everyone works together.  

Keep records 

The nursery, preschool, or school should keep records of everything they are doing to help your child. It is also helpful to keep a record of what you are doing at home. 
 

If your child's speech and language skills do not improve, even after you have: 

• Tried different activities at home
• Raised your concerns with Norfolk NHS healthy child programme team and/or had support from your child's nursery, preschool, or school

the NHS healthy child programme team, or your child's place of learning, can make a referral to the NHS speech and language therapy service in Norfolk.

Your child can be referred to a Speech and Language therapist if they have an identified speech language and communication need.

Your child does not need an education, health and care (EHC) plan to get support from the speech and language therapy service.  

If English is your child's second language, English language support is available in schools. The speech and language therapy service is only for children with speech and language development needs. 

Supporting evidence  

Supporting evidence must be sent with the referral. The speech and language therapy service will want to know:

• What speech and language assessments the NHS healthy child programme team or your child's place of learning has done 
• The speech and language support that has been tried. Your child's place of learning should supply their records

It is also helpful to include records of what you have done at home. 

Contact the NHS speech and language therapy service 

If the referral is accepted

If the speech and language therapy service accept the referral, your child will go on the waiting list for an assessment by a qualified speech and language therapist.

Unfortunately, the waiting list can be long, so your child's place of learning should continue to support your child using speech and language support tools and strategies.

You should also continue doing activities at home, as these really do help in the long term. 

If the referral is not accepted

The speech and language therapy service might not be able to accept the referral, if:

• No supporting evidence is provided
• The evidence is not detailed enough
• Activities have not been tried at home
• No initial speech and language assessment has been made by the NHS healthy child programme team or your child's place of learning
• Your child's place of learning has not tried different support tools and strategies
• Support has not been tried for long enough (this will depend on your child's level of need)

If the referral is not accepted, the speech and language therapy service should explain why and what your child's place of learning or the NHS healthy child team programme team can do.

You should also continue to support your child at home and keep records of what you are doing.

Speech and language therapists also work with children with eating and drinking difficulties that are physical in nature. They do not work with children with eating disorders.

If you are concerned about a child’s physical ability to eat and drink please ring Just One Number on 0300 300 0123. A therapist will then ring you back to discuss your concerns.

If you are thinking of paying for your child to see an independent speech and language therapist, it is important that you know what questions to ask.

If your child has a private therapist, you can still also use the NHS speech and language therapy service. 

However, you should let the NHS service know, so everyone works together to best meet your child's needs.

Find an independent therapist

You could start your search by visiting the Association of speech and language therapists in independent practice (ASLTIP) website.

It is worth speaking to more than one independent therapist, to find one that best suits your child. 

Things to consider when employing a therapist:

• Are they registered with the Health and Care Professions Council?
• Do they have experience of working with children similar to your child?
• Do they have regular supervision from a more experienced therapist?
• Do they have professional insurance?
• If they specialise, for example, in autism or developmental language disorder, they should work with this client group most of the time 
• They should let the NHS speech and language therapy service know when they start seeing your child
• They should consult with the NHS speech and language therapy service on the assessments and interventions they provide for your child  

Guidance for education providers on how to support children with speech, language and communication needs.