Contact the Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service

Children's speech and language therapy

Speech and language therapists are registered allied health professionals (a trained health professional who is not a doctor or nurse). Our service works with children and young people aged 0 to 19 with speech, language and communication needs in clinics, homes, and educational settings across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We work directly with children and young people alongside their key communication partners such as parents, carers, and educational staff.

We help children and young people:

  • communicate to the best of their ability
  • and their communication partners understand their strengths and needs
  • to feel confident supporting their speech and language differences and difficulties.

We want all children and young people, and their families to have timely and easily accessible support that is neurodiversity affirming and compassionate.

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs may have difficulties with:

  • understanding what is said to them
  • using spoken language
  • talking clearly (saying speech sounds)
  • stammering
  • using language to interact with other people

Speech and language therapists also provide support for children and young people with eating and drinking difficulties. These may include difficulties with:

  • sucking and swallowing
  • coughing on drinks, or other signs of aspirating fluids into the airway and lungs
  • difficulties developing chewing skills
  • coughing or choking on food, or other signs of aspirating food into the airway and lungs

The service follows an episodes of care model. This means we see children and young people when they need us the most and have a specific goal they need the support of a speech and language therapist to work towards. We then step back when communication partners have the confidence and skills to meet that goal and communication is well supported.

The best way to support communication is through joint working and having communication support in the child’s everyday environment. This means we require active participation when working with us.

Survey

We would value your feedback, please take the time to complete our service survey.

Eating and drinking difficulties

If you have concerns about a child or young person's eating and drinking skills, fill in a referral form (DOCX, 61 KB) and send completed forms to the Speech and Language Enquiries Team.

We support children with difficulties in the following areas:

  • difficulties sucking and swallowing
  • coughing on drinks, or other signs of aspirating fluids into the airway and lungs
  • difficulties developing chewing skills
  • coughing or choking on food, or other signs of aspirating food into the airway and lungs

What we do not support

  • Sensory-based eating difficulties, such as gagging on or refusing to eat specific foods. The advice is aimed at parents of toddlers, but it can be useful for older children too. If your child has an occupational therapist and/or dietitian involved, please speak to them for advice.
  • Restricted diets, including avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder. Please speak to your GP or paediatrician about making a referral to a dietitian and/or the CAMHS and learning disabilities team. Get advice on selective eating.
  • Difficulties with weaning to solids in babies who do not have additional physical, medical or developmental needs. Please speak to your health visitor, GP, or visit the Start 4 Life website.

What happens at a dysphagia assessment?

Your child will be seen at home, or if it’s more appropriate in their pre-school, education or care setting. Inpatients will be seen in hospital.

The therapist will take a case history and observe your child eating and/or drinking. Following the assessment, your therapist will write a report with recommendations and will discuss sharing this report with any other professionals who may be involved in your child’s care. You and the education or care setting may also receive a mealtime plan to describe your child’s feeding recommendations in detail such as positioning, textures to be offered or avoided.

What happens after assessment?

Depending on your child’s needs, they may be offered a review appointment to monitor progress with the recommendations or the case may be closed with the option to re-refer if required.

Your child’s case will be closed when they have developed their eating and drinking skills to their potential, or when they have the appropriate personalised mealtime plan to ensure that they are able to eat and drink safely.

Request for help information

General communication advice

To get general communication advice, email the Request for Help Team with your contact details and a brief message describing the advice you need. If you need to discuss a specific child or young person with us, complete the request for help form below.

Request for help information

To discuss concerns about a child's speech, language, and communication needs, ensure that you have parental or carer consent and then complete our request for help form. For young people over the age of 16, ensure that you have their consent to request support, if they have the capacity to do so.

Once the request for help form has been received, the Specialist Request for Help Team will email you to arrange a phone consultation once it has reached the top of the waiting list. The team is made up of experienced speech and language therapists.

There is a high demand for the Speech and Language Therapy Service and it could take 24 weeks for a request for help phone consultation.

How do I complete the request for help form for a telephone consultation?

Read the guidance below before completing the form:

  • The form needs to be completed in one go. You cannot save and return to it. Ensure you have enough time (approximately 30 minutes) to complete it.
  • The form can be completed by anyone who knows the child or young person well. We will arrange the request for help phone consultation with the person who has completed the form, unless you tell us otherwise.
  • Read the request for help prompts (DOCX, 1 MB). This will tell you what questions are asked within the request for help form.
  • If your concern is around a child or young person’s clarity of speech sounds then you will need to complete a speech sound screening checklist (DOCX, 1 MB) with the child or young person first and then enter this information in to the request for help form.
  • Once you have submitted the form you will receive an email receipt and a copy of the form that you have completed.

What happens during and after the request for help telephone consultation?

The Speech and Language Request for Help Team will discuss your child’s presentation and undertake an initial screen of their needs. During the call we will discuss the information you have already given us. We may ask you follow-up questions so we can find out more information. The most appropriate next steps will be provided depending on your child and the support they require.

After the telephone consultation, a copy of the request for help report will be emailed to the person completing the consultation and the parent or guardian. This will include any recommendations we have made and whether the child or young person will be seen for a further face-to-face assessment session with the Speech and Language Therapy Service.

Not all requests for help will need to have a face-to-face appointment. After a telephone consultation some may get a pack of activities and/or may be given advice and clear criteria to meet before contacting us in the future. Others may be signposted to another service or group, or attendance at a training course may be recommended.

Useful resources

Below are some things for you to try before you contact the specialist children’s speech and language therapy team.

Augmentative and alternative communication

We have links with the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Assessment Team. This is a multi-agency team made up of professionals from the Trust and Cornwall Council.

The team can provide an assessment to establish whether a young person would benefit from using a voice-output communication aid, up until they are 18 years old. Referrals to the team are through the student’s speech and language therapist only.

Bilingualism

Speech sound errors

Between the ages of 2 to 6 years old it is common for children to have speech sound errors as their communication skills are still developing. Some children speak very clearly from the moment they talk. Others have lots of sound errors that gradually resolve as they get older.

Speech sound screening checklist

If your concern is around a child or young person’s speech sound development you will need to complete the speech sound screening checklist (DOCX, 1 MB) with the child or young person before completing the form. You will need to enter this information in the form to be able to submit it.

If you have concerns around a child’s speech sounds and their language skills (understanding and/or use of language), select speech sound difficulties (articulation) as the main communication need from the drop-down, to populate the speech sound screening checklist.

We are unable to give any advice or support around a child’s speech sounds unless this information has been received which may delay your telephone consultation.

You will need to complete the speech sound screening checklist in full and submit it. You will be able to save a copy of the form for your own records once submitted.

Resources

Selective mutism

Stammering

Other useful resources

Down syndrome