Welcome to Practical Speech & Language Therapy

Why is it called ‘Practical Speech & Language Therapy’?

• The idea for the name has come from comments from adult clients, parents, teachers and special needs assistants with whom I have worked. They have regularly commented on the practicality of each session and the targeted goals being tailor made to the child/adult on the given day.
• Parents and staff are also encouraged to ask about areas of difficulty they would like addressed with the child to them as they become apparent and these may become session goals for that session or in future sessions. This leads to a practical approach which can benefit all.

Who are we?

• We are fully qualified and registered Speech and Language Therapists who work as a team to provide Speech and Language Therapy to children, teenagers and adults in Dublin and the surrounding areas.

What is an Outreach service?

• An Outreach service exists when the Therapist travels to the client and works with the client and caregivers at home or at school. The Therapist and parent or the Therapist and school work in partnership together to help the child develop language and communication

Who is involved?

• It is our ethos that parents and staff are central to the process with the child and therefore are encouraged to observe each session allowing them to learn strategies and techniques used by the Therapist for language and behaviour remediation.
• Therapy is a step by step approach for the child and for the parents/ caregiver as it is seen as a learning curve for all.

What happens at the session? (Child sessions)

• The Therapist uses her own equipment and programmes and plays fun and motivating games with the child. Discrete goals are set by the Therapist at each session. These are written up from each session for home and school.
• This allows for parents, family and staff to observe and learn specific techniques and strategies from the SLT within an open communication approach. This practical approach is seen as key to the provision of SLT to the child.

How do I make the most of each session?

• Because each goal is fine tuned at each session, it allows for the parents and caregiver to carry out successful activities and routines with the child.
• This allows the adult to see progress through their practice with the child. This allows for a feeling of success all round. It also allows for new goals to be set at each successive session.
• This provides a programme which is defined and developing on a continuous basis. In relation to adults a similar format is followed.

How often are the sessions and how many sessions will we need?

• Initial assessment takes about an hour and a half. Following on from this sessions are usually an hour.
• Sessions are generally fortnightly and are sometimes weekly depending on the needs of the child or adult. From my experience to date, parents and school staff have reported that a week can ‘fly by’ and depending on the week minimal work may be carried out. Therefore fortnightly sessions are more productive for child and adult.
• The frequency of sessions are monitored closely by the Therapist with the adult. Breaks between sessions occur when time is needed to consolidate the goals and revise earlier work. Every effort is made to accommodate parents. Extra work can be given for an extended period and then revised at a later date if this is deemed appropriate.

How long will the sessions be?

• Sessions are usually for an hour. Parents and Therapists report that the time goes by very quickly because there is a lot of structure to each session. This allows for the child to ‘play’ (‘work’!) with the Therapist for about 40/ 45 minutes and the rest of the session is spent with the parents or staff going through goals and findings from the session and clarifying points for the parents.

Can I reclaim any of the cost?

• In relation to claiming back on your expenses, certain Quinn Direct, Vivas and V.H.I. Health Plans continue to cover a percentage of Private Speech and Language Therapy fees. Please contact these agencies for more information in relation to your plan of cover. A printed receipt for all sessions will be provided on receipt of payment. In addition, Private Speech and Language Therapy receipts can be submitted on the Med. 1 form, which can be obtained from the Revenue Commissioners.