At SSLT I measure my success in the progress made by the children I am privileged to help.

You will see from the answers to some of the most frequently asked question, I am able to assist with a wide range of speech and language difficulties. However, if you don’t see the answer to your question or concern, please contact me for a no-obligation chat and I will be pleased to help in any way I can.

About SSLT
"Under Clare’s expert guidance for twelve weeks my daughter’s speech improved dramatically, improving her confidence at school and interaction with her peers."
"I had searched for speech therapist on Google and came across Clare and it was the best decision I had made to call her."

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the assesment and therapy be funded by medical insurance?

If you are insured and you want to claim your sessions on private medical insurance, this needs to be arranged with your insurer and you will need to check the terms of your cover and whether they will reimburse you.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a condition where children have problems understanding and/or using spoken language. There is no obvious reason for these difficulties, for example, there is no hearing problem or physical disability that explains them. In the past DLD was known as specific language impairment (SLI) but recently the name has changed so that it better reflects the types of difficulties children have.”

A child can be diagnosed with DLD if their language difficulties:
  • are likely to carry on into adulthood
  • have a significant impact on progress at school, or on everyday life
  • are unlikely to catch up without help
This is referenced from the Ican website.
Websites for further information:
www.dldandme.org
www.ican.org
www.radld.org

Receptive language looks at the child's understanding. E.g. can they follow simple to complex instructions and understand questions e.g. who? where? when?

Expressive language looks at how much the child says. Are they talking in single words? or are they starting to join words together? As the child gets older the expectations on their sentences and grammatical structures e.g. use of 'because', 'and', 'but' is greater.

Many children have difficulty with pronouncing sounds which can affect their clarity when talking e.g. 'cup' becomes 'tup'. Often if children have delayed language skills they will often have difficulties with their speech sounds.

It is when we repeat the first sound of a word, repeat the whole word, stretch out the sound/word or cannot produce a sound. Everybody can stammer/stutter when talking particularly when tired. However if it becomes noticeable in everyday conversation frequently then it is best to seek advice for early intervention.

This could be a sign of glue-ear (middle ear blockage), which can affect your child's hearing, this can in turn increase the risk of speech and language difficulties. It is best to contact your GP and possibly have further assessment with an Audiologist.

This is dependent on your child's age. However by approximately the age of 3 most adults should be able to understand what the child is saying.