Speech and Language Therapy
Evolving Families offers Speech and Language Therapy assessment and intervention for children, young people and adults where communication, language, social interaction or functional communication needs are affecting everyday life.
Speech and Language Therapy can help people understand how they communicate, process language, express themselves, take part in conversations, manage social communication demands and advocate for their needs.
Communication difficulties can affect confidence, relationships, learning, emotional wellbeing, behaviour, independence and participation at home, nursery, school, college, work or in the community. They may also overlap with autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma, learning needs or other developmental differences.
Our Speech and Language Therapy service is particularly suited to children, young people and adults who need a thoughtful, neuroaffirming and practical understanding of their communication strengths and needs.
What We Offer
- Speech and Language Therapy assessment for children, young people and adults
- Assessment of receptive language, meaning how someone understands spoken or written information
- Assessment of expressive language, meaning how someone communicates thoughts, ideas and needs
- Speech sound assessment where appropriate
- Social communication assessment and recommendations
- Functional communication assessment
- Communication support linked to autism, ADHD or neurodevelopmental differences
- Assessment of communication needs in nursery, school, college, work, home or care settings
- Advice for parents, carers, education settings, employers or professional networks
- Contribution to autism or wider multidisciplinary assessment where appropriate
- Communication strategies and intervention sessions
- Written recommendations or reports where agreed
The recommended pathway will depend on the person’s age, needs, communication profile, current concerns and the type of support required.
Difficulties We Support
- Understanding spoken or written language
- Expressing thoughts, needs, ideas or feelings
- Speech sound development or speech clarity
- Finding the right words
- Processing information quickly
- Following instructions or conversations
- Play, interaction and early communication
- Social communication
- Conversation skills
- Understanding implied meaning or inference
- Communication confidence
- Self-advocacy
- Functional communication at home, nursery, school, college, work or in care settings
- Communication linked to autism or ADHD
- Communication and emotional regulation
- Communication needs that are misunderstood as behaviour, avoidance or lack of motivation
- Situational or selective communication differences, where appropriate
- Cognitive-communication needs following neurological, developmental or acquired difficulties, where within scope
Communication needs can sometimes be misunderstood as behaviour, anxiety, avoidance, defiance or lack of motivation. Careful assessment can help clarify what support may be needed.
Assessment Options
Speech and Language Assessment
A Speech and Language assessment explores how a person understands, processes and uses communication in everyday life.
This may include looking at spoken language, comprehension, expressive language, vocabulary, sentence structure, speech sounds, conversation skills, narrative skills, inference, processing, communication confidence and functional impact.
This type of assessment may be helpful where there are questions about communication needs, language development, social understanding, learning, education, independence or support planning.
Functional Communication Assessment
A functional communication assessment looks at how communication works in real life.
This may include how someone communicates needs, choices, feelings, boundaries, preferences, discomfort, distress or requests for help. It may also consider whether communication demands at home, nursery, school, college, work or care settings are placing additional pressure on the person.
This can be helpful when someone appears withdrawn, overwhelmed, frustrated, avoidant, distressed or misunderstood, and there are questions about whether communication needs are contributing.
Communication Support and Intervention
Speech and Language Therapy intervention may focus on practical strategies to support communication in everyday life.
This could include developing understanding, expressive language, speech clarity, social communication, play and interaction, communication confidence, self-advocacy, visual supports, parent/carer strategies, school-based recommendations or environmental adaptations.
Where appropriate, Speech and Language Therapists may also advise on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, or AAC, which includes additional or alternative ways to support communication.
Follow-Up Intervention
Following a Speech and Language Therapy assessment, follow-up intervention sessions may be offered where appropriate.
These sessions focus on putting recommendations into practice. This may include supporting language development, speech clarity, communication confidence, social communication, self-advocacy, parent/carer strategies, school-based support or environmental adaptations.
Intervention is planned collaboratively so that strategies are realistic, respectful and useful in everyday life.
