Speech and Language Therapy

Adults with physical disabilities and sensory disabilities are often unable to express themselves fully using speech. At Dame Hannahs the speech and language therapy department help people realise their communication potential by providing them with the means, reasons and opportunities to do this.

People with physical disabilities and sensory disabilities are often unable to express themselves fully using speech. At Dame Hannahs, the speech and language therapy department help people realise their communication potential by providing them with the means, reasons and opportunities to do this.

Good communication is fundamental to all aspects of life. Learning how to interact socially and developing independence relies on communication skills.

The team consists of highly experienced speech and language therapists and assistants. They will assess and deliver therapy input to each person to enable them to communicate in a way that is most appropriate for them and empowers their learning and independence.

Therapists maintain close contact with all departments, liaising and providing training, to ensure people are actively encouraged to use and develop their communication skills throughout their day.

People take part in individual and group speech therapy sessions; while therapists are also actively involved in college and everyday activities too. Providing plenty of motivating opportunities to communicate by a variety of means improves participation and wellbeing.

The speech and language therapy department offer:
• Specialist assessment and access to speech and language therapy input to all people at Ivybridge, implemented across the day.
• A ‘total communication environment’, which embraces the person’s most effective form(s) of communication, including use of ‘objects of reference’, photos, symbols, signs
• Intensive Interaction Approach.
• Programs such as Attention- Autism Approach and Picture Exchange Communication ( P.E.Cs)
• use of Makaton signing, including a rolling programme of training from our qualified Makaton tutors
• low and high technology voice output communication aids
• a bank of AAC resources to try including: a range of switches, switch operable items, scanning devices, communication software packages.

If a child or young person is able to use a voice output communication aid we are able to make a referral to the Specialist AAC services.