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Early Years Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and Language Therapy - Early Years

The Early Years Speech and Language Therapy team will provide assessment and intervention for:

  • Children under 5’s with language and communication difficulties including Autism Spectrum Condition and Developmental Language Disorder.

  • Children with stammering difficulties up to 7 years old.  

  • Children with speech sound difficulties up to 11 years old. 

  • Children and young people with voice difficulties up to 16 years old.

Speech and Language Therapy - Clinic Team

Address

West Ham Lane Health Centre
84 West Ham Lane,
Stratford, London  E15 4PT

Phone

020 8586 6380

Email

children.slt@nhs.net

Who we are

The Early Years Speech and Language Therapy service helps children and young people who may need some extra support in communicating their needs or being understood. Our Complex Needs Team also work with babies and children with feeding and swallowing needs.  We often work with parents, carers, health and education staff so that they can provide support and activities to help these children in all their environments. The Early Years Speech and Language Therapy team is staffed by qualified Speech and Language Therapists who are supported by Speech and Language Therapy Assistants and Administrators.

What we do?

Once we have received your referral and your child is accepted in to the service, we will contact you so that your child can be seen for a block of individual therapy sessions. Following their assessment and individual therapy, we may offer your child a review appointment after 4 months or your child’s case may be closed with a programme and / or advice.

If your child has social communication needs and/or language delay, parents/ carers will be invited to a parent-only group session (in person or online) with a Speech and Language Therapist as part of their first appointment. This session is designed for sharing information about what SLT is and how adult-child interaction strategies can support their childs communication and language development every day. Once parents/carers have attended this session, their child will be seen for an assessment and intervention with a Speech and Language Therapist in clinic.

Who do we see?

We see children who may present with any of the following conditions:

  • Language Delay / Disorder
  • Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
  • Speech Sound Difficulties
  • Stammering/ Stuttering
  • Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
  • Hearing Loss
  • Voice Disorders
  • Difficulties with feeding and swallowing, complex needs (e.g. Cerebral Palsy, Down ’s Syndrome, Epilepsy). Find out more about 'fussy eating' here.

We may see children in clinic, in their homes, at nurseries / schools and children’s centres depending on the needs of the child and family.

Children need to be registered with a Newham GP to access the Early Years Speech and Language Therapy service.

Referrals for Early Years Speech and Language Therapy are accepted from parents / carers, GPs, nurseries / schools and other healthcare professionals.  We have a standard referral form which will provide us with the information we need to decide how it is best to help the child.  These referrals can be posted or emailed directly to our service.

Universal-Referral-Form- Feb 2019.pdf

We also have a helpline for those not known to the service, or waiting for an appoinment.  Further information can be found on the link below.

HOTLINE flyer new from 8.6.21.pdf

You can phone us on 020 8586 6380 or email children.slt@nhs.net

Please return your completed form and any relevant reports to:

Intake Team
West Ham Lane Health Centre
84 West Ham Lane
Stratford
E15 4PT

  • Once we have received your referral you will be sent a letter acknowledging the receipt of your referral. Your child will be placed on a waiting list and you will be contacted by a member of the SLT team to book an appointment. An acknowledgement letter will indicate the approximate wait time.
  • During the individual therapy session, we will spend some time asking you about your child’s development and then ask you about your concerns. We will either observe your child playing or ask you to play with them. This is to enable your child to feel as relaxed as possible so that we can assess their understanding and communication skills. Sometimes we may assess your child using a more direct assessment depending on their age and abilities. The Speech and Language Therapist will then advise you on ways you can help your child at home and discuss the next steps. A report will be written and sent to you as well as to any other professionals involved in your child’s care.

Eating, Drinking and Swallowing (EDS) difficulties:

  • If they are coming for a feeding assessment, we will spend time asking about your child’s eating and drinking history, their medical history, and find out what they are currently having difficulty with. We will observe them eating and drinking. You will be required to bring food and drink for your child. This may include things they regularly eat or drink but also things they have difficulty with. We ask that families bring from home all the utensils, food, drink and seat if specified by your Speech and Language Therapist so that we can attempt to recreate a natural setting for your child.
  • The Speech and Language Therapist will advise on strategies to use at home and may make modifications to the utensils, bottle, food and/or drink to help your child. A report will be written and sent to you as well as to any other professionals involved in your child’s care.

Our team is made up of specialist, highly specialist and newly qualified Speech and Language Therapists who are registered with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), Assistants and Administrators. We also work closely with Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Paediatricians.

We are joined by prospective SLT students from London universities on placement each year.

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