By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Catherine Clancy
How we at Magic Words Therapy are continuing to support the schools and school children who rely on us during the COVID-19 lockdown
During this period of lockdown Magic Words Online has already helped hundreds of children across the 50 schools we work in to continue uninterrupted with their regular speech therapy sessions. Despite the suddenness with which we had to shift from face-to-face sessions to online speech therapy, the results have been extremely positive with great feedback from parents, SENCos and the children themselves.
We are also helping the staff teams of the schools we work with to update their skills by providing online training courses to help with their CPD and forums for teachers and teaching assistants to ask us questions and get support on how they can best support children with speech, language and communication needs.
I personally see online speech therapy as an innovative way of working with children to ensure they continue to make the progress they need to reach their potential. Therapists like myself work hard within schools, supporting children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) and it would be heart-breaking to see that progress plateau, or even more upsetting, regress, during this unprecedented time of COVID-19.
This is why speech therapists like me are working closely with schools to ensure that children can access our therapy in a new way. Online speech therapy allows us to connect with children and support their progress using a live platform that is creative and resourceful. I have personally found online therapy to be fun and engaging for the children through the various in-built apps, games and the interactive and gameified nature of the activities.
This big shift in delivery of therapy to 100% online has opened our eyes to the many benefits of conducting therapy online. Once we have fought this pandemic together, I hope that online therapy will continue to help children access speech and language therapy within schools across the world.
If you have any concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication, now is the perfect time to refer your child for a free online assessment: https://www.magicwordstherapy.co.uk/onlinetherapy-children
A therapist like myself will assess your child’s needs online and discuss the support we could give moving forwards. You will be able to see for yourself the interactive nature of online therapy and how this can be an effective solution for supporting your child’s progress towards their communication goals.
