“Speech and Language Therapists provide an evidence-based service that anticipate and respond to the needs of individuals who experience speech, language, communication, or feeding/swallowing difficulties”
(Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists)
Skybound Speech and Language Therapy strive to provide a thorough assessment and detailed observation of each individual, to enable us to provide you with a bespoke package of interventions to develop functional communication, speech and language skills.
We also have a passion for addressing feeding issues and increasing the number and range of foods within an individual’s diet ensuring that we focus on the child’s health and wellbeing, the child’s inclusion in social routines and the wellbeing of the family.
Skybound Speech and Language Therapy are based in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and travel all over the UK and Europe to provide a specialised services for children, adolescents and adults. Our team possess a wide range of knowledge, skills and experience and offer a variety of professional and client focused services to many families, schools, organisations and individuals.
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY FROM SKYBOUND THERAPIES
We work together as part of a wider multi-disciplinary team at Skybound Therapies combining Speech and Language Therapy, Applied Behaviour Analysis, Positive Behaviour Support, Occupational Therapy, and Social Skills.
Skybound Therapies believe that there is every reason to be optimistic about an individual’s future, with the right interventions anything is possible. We have high expectations of what each individual is capable of and we truly believe that given the necessary support, anybody can Reach for the Sky, One Step at a Time.
HOW WE HELP
At Skybound Speech and Language Therapy we use Speech and Language Therapy programmes combined with ABA/VB techniques to focus primarily on the following:
Functional Communication
Communication is always one of the first things that we assess at Skybound, as teaching individuals to communicate their needs and wants is vital! By teaching functional communication, many challenging behaviours can be reduced. We may recommend to initially teach a form of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC).
Developing Speech
At Skybound, our ultimate goal is to develop functional speech. By combining a range of different techniques and programmes, including Applied Behaviour Analysis
Feeding Difficulties
It has been suggested that up to 90% of children with autism present with some sort of feeding problem (Kodak & Piazza, 2008). At Skybound, we aim to assess sensitivity, oral motor skills and behaviour to determine which factor is most likely the cause of the feeding issue.
Receptive and Expressive Language Difficulties
Children with receptive (understanding) language and expressive (using) language difficulties may experience problems following simple directions, responding to questions, understanding what gestures mean, have poor listening skills, and need additional time to process language.
WHO WE HELP
Skybound Speech and Language Therapy offer a range of services for children, adolescents and adults who need help and support for any of the following:
Need More Information?
Find out more about Who We Work With, And The Difficulties That May Need To Be Addressed
WHAT WE DO
Our individualised services are offered at our centre in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and throughout the UK and Europe. We travel to homes, schools, organisations and recreational areas suited to the individual’s needs to carry out assessments, consults and training.
Speech Assessments
Regular Consults
Therapy Sessions
Speech Assessments
- Assessments can take place at our Therapy Centre in Pembrokeshire, West Wales or at your home.
- Assessments usually take 6hours and include a full assessment of the child’s speech, as well as training for those individuals who work with the child, for example; parents/carers, therapists, teachers, and LSA’s. The assessments chosen are based on the child’s needs which are taken from the Case History form which parents/carers are required to complete.
- Written notes and relevant programmes will be sent following the assessment. A full assessment report is recommended following an assessment which will include information from all formal assessments and observations made, and a detailed explanation of all recommendations. This will be included within the quote sent following initial enquiry.
Feeding Assessments
- Assessments can take place at our Therapy Centre in Pembrokeshire, West Wales or at your home.
- Feeding assessments are usually 6 hours in length, however this can be discussed with the family following an enquiry to determine what would be most appropriate. The session would include a full assessment of the child’s feeding difficulties, to determine whether the issues are sensory, oral motor or behavioural in nature
- Recommendations will be made following the assessment and those working with the child will be trained in any specific techniques required to address the feeding difficulty
- Written notes and relevant programmes will be sent following the assessment. A full assessment report is recommended which will include any conclusions drawn following the assessment and the observations made. There will also be a detailed explanation of all recommendations, along with a written programme for you to follow at home. This will be included within the quote sent following initial enquiry.
Baseline Assessments
- Baseline speech and language assessments can be undertaken to form an initial representation of where the child’s speech and language skills lie.
- These can take place at our therapy centre or at your home, depending on location. The time taken to complete baseline assessments can vary depending on the abilities and age of the child, therefore, please contact us for more information.
Regular Consults
- Regular consults can be arranged following an assessment.
- We usually recommend that consults take place every 6-12 weeks to ensure that the programme is progressed at an adequate pace, however, this is ultimately the parents/carers decision and we are happy to be flexible and liaise with you to determine the frequency of input
Therapy Sessions
- Therapy sessions of 1-2 hours in length can be arranged for local clients. The frequency of sessions can be discussed.
Report Writing
- A full assessment report is recommended following an assessment which will include information from all formal assessments and observations made, and a detailed explanation of all recommendations. This will be included within the quote sent following initial enquiry.
- Reports can also be written for school, other professionals, or for statementing purposes if required.
INTERVENTIONS WE USE
SPEECH INTERVENTIONS
Talk Tools is an oral placement therapy treatment plan based on the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy model where therapy is focussed on the tactile and proprioceptive sensory systems. Oral placement therapy techniques involve a hierarchy of tactile proprioceptive therapeutic activities using a vast range of tools to teach targeted oral movements that are needed for speech. These oral movements are immediately transitioned in to speech (Bahr & Rosenfeld-Johnson, 2010).
(Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) is a tactile kinaesthetic approach, which was designed with the aim to help organise, plan and execute speech sounds. Deborah Hayden (1984), the founder of PROMPT, describes the programme as a method of supporting the child’s speech by providing a vocal model and specific tactile cues to evoke a word approximation. As the child’s success at producing a range of sounds increases, the aim would be to fade the PROMPTs, giving visual cues as opposed to using touch (Hayden, 1984).
It is a motor learning skills approach which focusses on the following:
- Working directly on speech
- Focusses on small, graded steps
- Based on repetition and practice – short, frequent sessions are considered to be more effective than long, infrequent sessions.
- Utilises cues and feedback
- Works from the child’s strengths
The Kaufman Sign to Talk Kits are used regularly to develop word shells. Word Shells are useful when starting to use speech to request. It allows us to use the sounds that the individual has in their phonemic repertoire to make the best approximation of a word.
FEEDING INTERVENTIONS
Talk Tools is an oral placement therapy treatment plan based on the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy model where therapy is focussed on the tactile and proprioceptive sensory systems. Oral placement therapy techniques involve a hierarchy of tactile proprioceptive therapeutic activities using a vast range of tools to teach targeted oral movements that are needed for feeding.
The main goal of the food chaining programme is to get children to eat as many foods from various food groups as possible. A food chain is a list of foods that have the same features as the foods that are currently in the child’s diet. It is a gradual and non-threatening way to add new foods.
Focusses on systematically desensitising the child to a variety of different foods.
Escape extinction is one of the many procedures that may be used with children who have feeding issues. Escape extinction is when challenging behaviours do not provide the child with the opportunity to escape demands.
This can be combined with the escape extinction technique. Behavioural momentum involves giving the child a number of preferred foods followed by an un-preferred food, initially at a typical ratio of 3:1. The ratio can then be reduced until the child is readily accepting the un-preferred food.
ASSESSMENTS WE USE
At Skybound Speech and Language Therapy , we utilise the following assessments which enable us to thoroughly assess each individual’s strengths and needs in order to determine the most suitable intervention package
Talk Tools – Oral Placement Therapy Assessment
Oral placement therapy techniques involve a hierarchy of tactile proprioceptive therapeutic activities using a vast range of tools to teach targeted oral movements that are needed for speech and feeding. The Talk Tools assessment uses a range of different tools to determine whether there are any oral motor skills deficits which may affect speech or feeding. The main articulators that are assessed are the jaw, cheeks, lips and tongue.
KSPT (Kaufman Speech Praxis Test)
The KSPT is an assessment which looks in detail at the child’s production of individual sounds, blends and words of increasing length and complexity. The KSPT is split into 3 parts:
- Part 1: Oral Motor > The child is required to imitate a range of oral motor movements
- Part 2: Vowels, Simple Consonants and Blends > The child is required to echo the vowels of English, simple consonants (/m, p, b, t, d, n, h/), and blends, up to CVCV level
- Part 3: Complex Consonants and Blends > The child is required to echo the remaining consonants of English and blends of increasing length and complexity, including multisyllabic words.
CLEAR
The CLEAR assesses how the child produces each sound within word initial, word medial and word final positions. The child is presented with a range of different pictures which they are encourages to label, or if they are unable to label the picture then they are presented with the word as an echoic model
Moving Across Syllables
This assessment looks at the production of all sounds within one, two, and three syllable words, and determines where the level of breakdown is. It also looks at whether the child has difficulties depending on the combinations of sounds used within the syllable.
BPVS (British Picture Vocabulary Scale)
The BPVS assesses an individual’s receptive language skills. It contains a choice of 4 pictures and the individual is required to point to a picture in response to a spoken word provided by the assessor. As the BPVS does not require individuals to verbalise, read or write it is a useful tool to use with children and adults who are non-verbal or have limited speech. Its main aim is to assess the vocabulary which the individual understands.
Clinical Evaluations of Language Fundamentals UK 4 (CELF-4)
The Clinical Evaluations of Language Fundamentals UK 4 (CELF-4) assessment consists of a number of subtests; that assess a child’s receptive (understanding) and expressive (use) language development. The language areas examined include; semantics (word meaning), morphology and syntax (word and sentence structure), and memory (recall and retrieval of spoken language).
The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales – 2nd Edition
The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales – 2nd Edition assessment consists of a number of domains and subdomains which assess the child’s adaptive behaviour in relation to communication, daily living skills, socialisation and motor skills, and a maladaptive behaviour domain which assesses problem behaviours.
Our Skybound Speech and Language Therapy Team are able to provide courses to groups of individuals, including parents, teachers, and other professionals who would like more information within this field of work.
These courses can be run as a full day which will discuss the topics in great detail, or we also offer 2 hour courses which will include an overview of the points discussed.
COURSE 1 : Feeding Difficulties? How to assess and increase success in feeding
Are mealtimes a difficult time for you and your child?
Do you work with children who have feeding difficulties?
Acquire information on the different causes of a feeding difficulty, how we assess them, and how YOU can increase feeding success at snack and mealtimes.
The learning objectives for the day are:
- Gaining an understanding of successful feeding and the skill deficits that may affect this
- To have an insight into how we assess each of the possible skill deficits and sensory issues
- Understanding the research discussing how Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) techniques can help with feeding difficulties
- Discussing the programmes available to address feeding difficulties
- Learning how these programmes, and ABA techniques can be combined to form the most appropriate programme for each individual
COURSE 2 : Developing Functional Communication and Teaching Speech
Is your child preverbal?
Does your child have difficulties articulating sounds and words?
Or does your child just have a specific articulation difficulty?
Do you work with children who have any of the above difficulties?
Developing speech can often be one of parents’ goals for their child. There are number of ways available to successfully teach speech, however our first and foremost goal should always be to develop functional communication either via Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) system or speech.
During the day, you will find out how we work to develop functional communication using both speech and AAC.
The learning objectives for the day are:
- Acquire an understanding of the oral motor difficulties that a child may experience which may be having an effect on typical speech development
- To be familiar with the assessment process
- Choosing the appropriate AAC system for each child
- To gain an overview of the different approaches/programmes available to teach speech
- Understand how Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) techniques can be utilised to compliment these programmes
- Discover how to transfer the skills taught into functional everyday communication
Here you can keep up to date with the latest news from the Skybound SLT team. We will also post links to useful resources, as well as program ideas. The latest three blogs are featured below but please click on Our Blogs to find all of our previous blog posts.
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