The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Clinic at Newcastle University

Introduction

The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Clinic in the Speech and Language Sciences Section at Newcastle University is a joint venture between Newcastle University and the Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Service of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The clinic provides group and individual speech and language therapy for children who live in Newcastle and who have been referred to the Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Service, which is based at Newcastle General Hospital. Children are carefully selected for the clinic to ensure that they will benefit fully from the service we provide and will make maximum possible progress. The therapy is provided by student Speech and Language Therapists who are closely supervised by Speech and Language Therapists who work at the University.

When you bring your child to this clinic you are both making an important contribution to training the future generation of speech and language therapists. 

Benefits to the children

  • The children receive weekly speech and language therapy and lots of individual attention, even when they come to a group.
  • The students spend many hours researching the best kind of therapy
  • The students have time set aside for thinking up and making fun and stimulating activities for the therapy sessions.
  • Most of the activities are in the form of games so the children do not realise how hard they are working (and they do work very hard!).
  • Parents are involved in the therapy by observing groups through a two-way mirror or taking part in the individual sessions. Extra activities are usually given to follow up at home.
  • The children have lots of practice and lots of fun and we can see them making good progress with their speech and language skills

What happens to the children at the end of the clinic?

The children’s progress and needs are constantly monitored during the therapy sessions. When the agreed number of sessions comes to an end the most appropriate route for the child is agreed between the parents, speech and language therapist and students. As with all speech and language therapy intervention, a progress report is sent to parents and involved professionals such as the child’s school and GP. 

Contact

If you live in Newcastle and your child has speech and language difficulties you can ask your child’s Health Visitor or school to refer him or her to the Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Service, or you can contact them yourself on 0191 2563085.

Helen Stringer co-ordinates the clinic in the University and liaises with the NHS Speech and Language Therapists to ensure a seamless service for the children. If your child is attending the clinic and you need to contact Helen or one of the students, the clinic phone number is 0191 222 7385.