Home Outreach service

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?
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.

School Outreach service

The Outreach model also allows for the child to be seen in the school setting. This has many benefits for the child and his/her extended communication team.

Benefits:
• The child does not have to leave the school premises
• Unnecessary time is not used in travelling to the clinic
• All schools to date have encouraged staff to attend and have provided space for the allotted hour for the session.
• All schools to date have allowed for parents to attend the sessions
• Staff report the benefits of seeing the therapy ‘in action’ as opposed to reading notes from the SLT as it can be easier to remember and therefore carryout activities between sessions
• More subtle behaviour strategies and methods of interacting with the child are also observed from the SLT
• The child’s familiar environment can also allow for optimum potential to be made of the hour that is spent with the child.

A combination of individual and group sessions are carried in the schools in a structured and fun way.