Service description
Due to an increased demand for our speech and language therapy service, we are sorry that children and young people are experiencing waiting times of up to 24 months for a follow up appointment. We are doing all we can to reach children and young people on our waiting lists as quickly as possible whilst maintaining a good standard of care. Our website has resources that can help parents and our education colleagues to support children and young people with a variety of speech and language or eating and drinking difficulties. If you have significant concerns about your child’s needs, please contact the speech and language therapy office on 0116 2955256.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
We are a team of speech and language therapists and support workers who provide episodes of care to children and young people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
We support children and young people who have difficulties with:
- Speech, language and communication skills
- Eating, drinking and swallowing skills
We work in episodes of care. At the end of an episode of care, parents and carers may be given strategies to support their child and many children will be discharged from the service at this point. Children and young people can be re-referred to the service if they need further specialist support from a speech and language therapist.
We work in partnership with a range of other agencies and colleagues including schools, Early Years settings, children’s centres, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical teams and the voluntary sector.
How are we currently working?
Click here to find out what our service can offer.
Research
The children’s speech and language therapy service is committed to delivering high quality, evidence-based care for children’s speech, language, communication and eating and drinking needs. Research activity includes:
- Taking part in a feasibility research study in association with the Michael Palin Centre, London and other UK sites regarding stammering therapy for school aged children.
- Small individually designed research projects undertaken by staff completing Masters’ Degree studies.
- The service has an appointed Research Envoy. This provides opportunities for staff and families to be informed of and to participate in research activities when available.
- There is now an established monthly journal club for staff to read and discuss current research articles.
Utilising ReachDeck for text-to-speech and translations
ReachDeck, a web accessibility toolbar, is available on this website to help you understand our content and interact independently. Features of the ReachDeck toolbar, which can be launched by clicking the orange ‘Speak’ icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, include:
- Text-to-speech: reads the text out loud with highlighting
- Translation: translates the text into over 100 languages
- Screen mask: provides a screen tint overlay
- Picture dictionary: displays the meaning of a word through illustration
View this video to find out more about the ReachDeck toolbar:
Referral criteria
Please see “Referrals” tab.
Who to contact if you need an interpreter or information about disabled access
Please ask the professional referring into our service to let us know if an interpreter is needed for your appointment. Alternately, requests can be made by contacting us on 0116 295 5256.