I started trying to think of the reasons parents would opt for private speech and language therapy, but very quickly I decided the best people to ask were some of our parents themselves!
So I texted the question, “What are the benefits of going privately for Speech and Language Therapy?” to a fair few of my families, and here are some of the responses I got, some of which made me laugh:
- “Are you joking? It was a complete no-brainer because we weren’t having any speech therapy before we went privately” from a mother in South Birmingham.
- “Hey, because it was so much faster and I felt the quality of the service we got was a lot better” from a mum in Gloucestershire.
- “Our private speech therapist always saw everything from our point of view and helped us to unpick what was really going on” from a mother in Worcestershire.
Others followed similar themes. I worked in the NHS for 14 years in three different areas, but, before I left, a lot of my time was spent writing reports and attending meetings, probably two of the worst things about my job! I love being a speech and language THERAPIST, and the therapists in the NHS are great but they are so so stretched, and schools, having not received much speech and language therapy in the past, are forgetting the benefits it can bring to their settings.
Why not try the private route and …
- Feel supported. We can help bring a written report to life by modelling the activities, enhancing them and updating them when needed.
- Help to incorporate the parents’ ideas into the targets / objectives, ensuring that issues that affect home and school are worked on.
- You can be the guide, where we can put our heads together about how much speech therapy is needed.
- Speak to team members and clinical supervisors about how to ensure every aspect of your child’s needs are being addressed, e.g. psychotherapy for anxiety, OT for sensory integration needs, perhaps an autism assessment might be needed (there is a 10% discount for all
- ASD assessments in April), or advice about medication from our paediatric psychiatrist, etc.
- We have time to unpick all the child’s needs and see the world through the child’s eyes to see the fuller picture
- We have your child’s and your best interests at heart, providing tailor made speech and language therapy resources and activities.
We’re here if you need us.
