Supporting children’s Speech and Language Development from a young age is crucial, as some children attend nursery settings their are many professionals who are able to help support children in this area of development.
What to do if you worried about you child’s Speech and Language development?
Speak to your child’s Key person who will carry out numerous observations to identify any areas of concern. Observations will be shared with you to help determine the area of support your child requires. Sometimes children can be late talkers and this can be normal but if still worried speak to nursery. If your child is due their 2 year health check then mention your concerns and to your health visitor.
If the nursery setting has a Speech and Language Champion practitioners can approach them to gain further support and the process for referring the child to other agencies can be started.
Speech and Language Champion
A Speech and Language Champion is a trained practitioner who has attended many hours of training on children’s Speech Language and Communication development. Their role is to work within the nursery setting to promote children’s Speech, Language and Communication development.
They will work closely with practitioners to support children with Speech and language difficulties and signpost the family to the relevant agency. Before children are referred to a Speech and Language Therapist parental permission must be obtained to contact the Speech Therapist and for Speech and Language Champions to screen children’s development.
During the screening process a range of pictures, cues and props are used to help practitioners determine the child’s level of understanding,their communication and language skills. If the outcome is green then children’s development is correct for their age if it comes out amber this identifies the child needs some support within the setting however if it shows red then they need referring to a Speech and Language Therapist.
