How can we support babbling and early speech development? SLT tricks and tips

ByLondon Speech and Feeding May 3, 2024May 3, 2024

My baby isn’t babbling and developing speech – what can I do to support?

While every baby develops at their own pace, if your child isn’t babbling by nine months, it’s worth seeking help from an Early Intervention Health Professional, such as a doctor and a speech therapist. Don’t panic! There are many reasons for delayed babbling, and early intervention is key.

In the meantime, it is highly recommended that we talk, sing, and read to our baby often. Exaggerate sounds and expressions, and respond to their coos and smiles. This playful interaction helps stimulate their communication skills.

Below are some tips and tricks from my experience of working with babies and toddlers who need a little bit of help and support to develop.

The benefits of imitating your baby

Copying your baby’s sounds and gestures isn’t just silly fun, it’s a powerful learning tool! By mimicking their babbles and actions, you activate “mirror neurons” in their brain that help them connect sounds with meaning. This playful back-and-forth teaches turn-taking, a foundation for conversation. Plus, it encourages them to copy you, building their own language skills and social interaction abilities.

This is a nice clip on youtube showing how copying/imitating your baby looks like:

Here are some fun ways to imitate your baby:

Matchmaker: Grab two of the same, or two similar toys your child loves, like rainmakers or shakers. Give one to your baby and keep the other for yourself. When your child plays with his/her toy, mirror his/her actions with yours! This creates a fun, interactive game.
Face Time: Get down to your baby’s level, sitting opposite him/her on the floor or kneeling. This makes eye contact easy and encourages him/her to look at you during your playful imitation.
Be the Funniest You: Go all out with silly faces, exaggerated sounds, and big gestures. The goal is to capture your baby’s attention and make you irresistible to watch. This playful energy encourages him/her to interact and potentially imitate you back!

By incorporating these tips, you can turn imitation into a fun and engaging way to boost your baby’s communication skills. I have seen this happen numerous times over the past decades. It is very powerful, go ahead and try it! You cannot be silly and goofy enough!

Great toy ideas:

Organza Veil Fabric good for hide and seek

Bubbles – always handy keep in every room

Antic Duck Peekaboo Knob Puzzle Suction Cup Spinner toys

Did you know that speech and language development starts with how we talk to our babies?

Adults naturally use a special way of speaking called motherese. It involves a higher pitch, slower pace, and exaggerated sounds compared to regular conversation. Sentences are simpler, with shorter words and repetition. This grabs babies’ attention, helps them distinguish sounds, and reinforces word meaning.

Imitation is a key part of motherese. We wait for our baby to make a sound or gesture, then playfully imitate it with exaggeration. Babies notice this right away and often respond with more vocalisations, creating a mini conversation. This back-and-forth teaches turn-taking, a foundation for future conversations.

By responding warmly and engaging in these playful interactions, we encourage our babies to keep exploring the world of communication. Talking, singing, reading and, of course, imitating, these simple actions can have a big impact on a baby’s language development.

Once your conversation is underway then try and keep it going for as long as possible. It’s a beautiful dance of turn-taking, even without words!

A last word on oxytocin

There’s evidence suggesting early non-verbal communication with your baby can increase a mother’s oxytocin levels, often called the ‘love hormone’. This hormone plays a key role in bonding and social connection. Positive interactions, touch, and stress reduction all contribute to oxytocin release, strengthening the mother–baby bond.

For parents of babies with extra needs

The stress of caring for a child with medical needs or developmental delays can be difficult. Stress can lower oxytocin levels, creating a cycle of sadness for both parent and child.

Breaking the cycle:

Knowledge is Power: Understanding the importance of communication can empower parents.
Seek Support: Speech therapists and other healthcare professionals can provide valuable guidance on communication strategies.
Start Small, Celebrate Big: Even small interactions can boost oxytocin. Focus on playful imitation and positive reinforcement. Remember, friends, family and healthcare professionals are there to encourage you.

This approach can help reverse the negative cycle and create a more positive and connected relationship between parent and child.

I hope this is helpful! Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Kind regards

Sonja McGeachie

Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist

Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice

The London Speech and Feeding Practice

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

Neurodiversity · Speech and Language Therapy

Understanding Angelman Syndrome: A guide for parents
ByLondon Speech and Feeding May 8, 2025May 7, 2025
Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a complex neurological disorder that affects development. It’s caused by a missing or functionally incorrect gene (UBE3A) on chromosome 15. While AS is rare, understanding its characteristics is crucial for parents and caregivers.

What are the key characteristics of Angelman Syndrome?

Children with AS typically exhibit a range of unique characteristics, which can include:
- Developmental delay: Significant delays in reaching developmental milestones, such as sitting, crawling, and walking.
- Speech impairment: Limited or absent speech. Individuals with AS may use few or no words.
- Movement and balance issues: Difficulties with coordination, balance, and movement, sometimes causing a jerky or unsteady gait.
- Happy demeanour: Frequent smiling, laughter, and a generally happy, excitable personality.
- Intellectual disability: Varying degrees of intellectual disability.
- Seizures: Seizures are common and often begin in early childhood.
- Sleep difficulties: Disrupted sleep patterns and difficulty falling asleep.
The role of Speech and Language Therapy

Speech development and social communication is significantly affected in Angelman Syndrome, and therefore, Speech and Language Therapy plays a vital role in helping individuals with AS to communicate. As Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) we can work with the child and family support any of the following:
- Assess communication skills: We evaluate the child’s current communication abilities, including any vocalisations, gestures, or signs they may use. With younger children we do this through play and playful social games as well as observation of a child playing and interacting with their siblings or caregivers.
- Develop alternative communication strategies: Since spoken language may be limited, SLTs can help the child learn other ways to communicate, such as nonverbal communication, e.g
  
  Gestures: use of pointing, waving and miming certain activities.
  
  More formal sign language: Teaching basic signs to express needs and wants.
  
  Core boards: Using pictures and symbols to represent everyday common words, actions, and feelings.
  
  Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices: Providing electronic devices that can produce speech.
- Encourage vocalisations: When words don’t readily develop, SLTs can encourage the child to make vocalisations and sounds, as these can be a form of communication.
- Support language development: SLTs can work on understanding of language, even if expressive language is limited.
- Educate and support families: SLTs provide families with strategies and techniques to support their child’s communication at home.
The importance of a multidisciplinary approach

Caring for a child with Angelman Syndrome requires a team effort. A multidisciplinary approach, involving various healthcare professionals, is essential to address the diverse needs of the individual. This team may include:
- Paediatrician: Provides overall medical care and monitors the child’s health.
- Physiotherapist: Helps with movement, balance, and coordination.
- Occupational therapist: Works on daily living skills, such as feeding, dressing, and self-care.
- Speech and Language Therapist: Addresses communication and language needs.
By working together, we can provide comprehensive care, address the unique challenges of Angelman Syndrome, and help the child reach their full potential.

Conclusion

Angelman Syndrome presents unique challenges and opportunities. With early diagnosis, appropriate interventions, and a strong multidisciplinary team, children with AS can make good progress and live fulfilling, joyful lives. As Speech Therapists we delight in supporting parents in their role in advocating for their child.

Do get in touch via my contact form if you are concerned about your child’s development.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Top tips

Six ways to prepare your child for the Christmas festivities
ByLondon Speech and Feeding December 14, 2022January 31, 2023

It feels like the Christmas festivities start earlier and earlier every year. This makes it harder for your child with communication difficulties to process what is happening. Whilst you can’t do anything about the events that happen around your child, you can start to put into practice strategies which may support them and allow them to regulate their emotions.

Six ways to prepare your child for the Christmas festivities

Explore six ideas here:

1. Print off or buy a blank calendar to use at home

You can start to write in activities out of the usual routine and add a picture to allow your child to understand what it’s about. You can also use it as a countdown to Christmas Day to try to prevent ‘how long’ questions.

2. Make use of visual timetables

These are useful in everyday settings and activities but also when change occurs.

3. Be aware of any non-uniform days

Days like ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ can make your child feel uncomfortable and may affect their behaviour. By giving yourself time, you can have conversations with your child’s teacher to find a more suitable alternative. For example, they can wear a Christmas t-shirt that they find more comfortable.

4. Think about what will benefit your child

Do they like being surrounded by people or do they prefer a quiet space on a 1:1 basis? Christmas activities often involve lots of group work in school (e.g., rehearsing for carol concerts or plays). They might prefer to pre-record their part in the Christmas play or create pieces of art which can be used. At home, they may prefer one guest visiting at a time, rather than all at once.

5. Explore how your child is feeling

It’s important to find out how your young person is feeling and how these impact on the activities of that day. It might be that your child doesn’t like surprises and the intensity of opening gifts is too much for them. They may prefer gifts to be left unwrapped and given throughout the day, rather than all at once.

6. Consider sensory needs

Ensure your young person has everything they need to meet their sensory needs. This can be e.g. noise cancelling headphones, fidget toys, or comforting items. These will particularly be helpful with routines changing, often with little notice. If at home, you may wish to not put lights on the Christmas tree if visual stimuli become too much.

Remember clear communication between home, school and other family members is vital during this time. By having clear communication and expectations, your young person will feel more secure. And you can have a Christmas that is right for you and your family.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Unlocking language and thinking skills: The power of sequencing
ByLondon Speech and Feeding April 28, 2025April 28, 2025
As speech and language therapists, we often use a variety of techniques to help children develop their communication and cognitive skills. One incredibly valuable tool in our toolkit is the use of sequencing activities. But what exactly is sequencing, and why is it so beneficial?

What is sequencing?

Sequencing, at its core, involves arranging items, events, or actions in a specific order. This could involve putting pictures in the correct order to tell a story, following the steps in a recipe, or understanding the order of daily routines like brushing teeth or getting dressed.

The link between sequencing and language

Sequencing is fundamental to language development and is quintessential to executive functioning skills in several ways:
- Narrative skills: Storytelling, whether oral or written, relies heavily on sequencing. A child needs to understand the order of events (beginning, middle, end) to construct a coherent narrative.
- Explanations and instructions: Providing clear explanations or instructions requires the ability to sequence information logically. For example, explaining how to play a game or how to get from one place to another. In the video clip below we are working on ‘how do make a sandwich’.
- Vocabulary development: Sequencing helps children understand temporal words and phrases like ‘first,’ ‘then,’ ‘next,’ ‘before,’ and ‘after’.
- Sentence structure: Constructing grammatically correct sentences often involves sequencing words in a specific order (e.g., subject-verb-object).
Beyond language, sequencing plays a crucial role in developing executive functioning skills. These are higher-level cognitive skills that help us plan, organise, and manage our time and actions.

Sequencing activities can help children improve in the following areas:
- Planning and organisation: Sequencing tasks require children to think ahead, plan the steps involved, and organise them in a logical order.
- Problem-solving: When they are faced with a problem, sequencing helps children break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
- Working memory: Holding information in mind and manipulating it, such as remembering the steps in a multi-step direction, is supported by sequencing skills.
- Cognitive flexibility: Being able to adjust to changes in a sequence or think of alternative sequences promotes cognitive flexibility.
Examples of sequencing activities

Here are some practical examples of sequencing activities you can do with your child:
- Picture sequencing: Use a set of picture cards to tell a short story or illustrate a process (e.g., making a sandwich, going to the park). Ask your child to arrange the cards in the correct order.
- Story retelling: After reading a story, have your child retell it, focusing on the order of events.
- Following instructions: Give your child multi-step instructions to follow (e.g., ‘First, get your shoes. Then, put on your coat. Next, go to the door.’).
- Sequencing during play: Integrate sequencing into everyday play. For example, while building with blocks, talk about the steps: ‘First, we put this block here. Next, we add this one…’
- Daily routines: Create visual schedules for daily routines, like getting ready for school or bedtime, to help children understand the sequence of events.
- In the video clip below I am using an on-line language activity which is often fun for children as they can use their finger to swipe the pictures effortlessly into the right place and, if we realise at the end of the story that we have made a little error, we can then easily re-jig the pictures into their correct place.
In conclusion

Sequencing activities offer a powerful way to support children’s language development and enhance their executive functioning skills. By helping children understand and create order, we equip them with essential tools for communicating, learning, and navigating the world around them.

Do get in touch via my contact form if you are concerned about your child’s development.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Feeding · Speech and Language Therapy

A bite-sized guide to Speech and Language Therapy: feeding and swallowing
ByLondon Speech and Feeding October 7, 2024October 7, 2024
What is a Speech and Language – Feeding Therapist?

You’ve probably heard of speech therapists helping people who stutter or struggle to pronounce words. But did you know that they also work with children and adults who have problems with eating and swallowing? This specialised area is called Speech and Language Therapy: Feeding and Swallowing, or Dysphagia Therapy.

Why does a Speech Therapist help with eating and swallowing?

The mouth, tongue, and throat are all involved in both speech and swallowing. When there’s a problem with any of these parts, it can affect both your ability to talk and to eat. For example:
- Weak tongue muscles: Can make it hard to chew food and to form sounds.
- Difficulty coordinating swallowing: Can lead to choking or aspiration (when food or liquid goes into the lungs).
- Sensory issues: Can make certain textures or tastes feel unpleasant or overwhelming.
- Communication: If we are not able to express ourselves we are likely to have difficulties during daily mealtimes: how do we ask for ‘more’ of something, how do we say we have had enough or we don’t like a particular food?
How does a Speech and Language Therapist help?

Our work involves a combination of assessment and therapy. We carefully observe how your child feeds, eats and swallows, and we look into your child’s mouth to help us see what the cause of the difficulties are: could be a very highly-arched palate, it could be a very flaccid/low tone tongue, it could be poor dentition. Then, we create a personalised treatment plan to address your specific needs.

Here are some of the things we might do:
- Teach swallowing techniques: We can help your child learn strategies to improve or facilitate a safe swallow.
- Recommend dietary modifications: We may suggest changes to your child’s diet to make it easier to eat and swallow.
- Provide sensory therapy: If your child has sensory needs we can help your child become more comfortable with different textures, tastes, and smells.
- Work on oral motor skills: We can help to encourage more effective chewing, or drinking skills, or we can help your child to close his/her mouth more during chewing or drinking from a straw.
- Collaborate with other professionals: We often work closely with doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, and dietitians to provide comprehensive care.
What kinds of problems do Speech and Language Therapists help with?

We see a wide range of feeding and swallowing difficulties, including:
- Delayed feeding: Children who are slow to develop feeding skills or who have difficulty transitioning to solid foods.
- Tongue-ties: Babies can have significant difficulties with feeding when the tongue is very tightly tethered to the floor of the mouth.
- Refusal to eat: Children who refuse to eat certain foods or textures.
- Aspiration: When food or liquid goes into the lungs, which can lead to pneumonia and other serious complications.
- Chewing difficulties: Problems with chewing food, such as difficulty breaking down food or keeping food in the mouth.
- Swallowing difficulties: Problems with swallowing, such as feeling like food is stuck or choking.
- Neurological conditions: Conditions like cerebral palsy, down syndrome or other genetic syndromes can affect feeding and swallowing.
- Developmental delays: Children with developmental delays may have difficulties with feeding and swallowing.
Is there hope?

If your child is struggling with feeding or swallowing, know that there is help available. Speech and Language Therapy can make a significant difference in your and your child’s quality of life. We’re here to support you every step of the way.

Remember, you don’t have to suffer in silence. If you’re concerned about your child feeding or swallowing, please reach out. You can find a Speech and Language Therapist with a Feeding/dysphagia qualification near you via www.asltip.co.uk or contact me.

Sonja McGeachie

Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist

Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice

The London Speech and Feeding Practice

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Feeding · Neurodiversity · Speech and Language Therapy

The hidden impact of mouth breathing and open mouth posture on speech and feeding
ByLondon Speech and Feeding November 17, 2025November 17, 2025
When most people think about speech or feeding difficulties, they picture the tongue, lips, or chewing skills, but how a child breathes at rest plays a surprisingly big role too.

Mouth breathing and open mouth resting posture can quietly influence everything from how a child’s face grows to how clearly they speak, to how confidently they chew and swallow. It’s something many parents never think about, until they start noticing the subtle signs.

Let’s explore why this happens, what to look for, and how to gently support better breathing and oral posture.

Recent research supports this link between mouth breathing and speech difficulties. For example, a 2022 study by Alhazmi et al., published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, found that 81.7% of children aged 9–17 who breathed primarily through their mouths presented with speech sound disorders. The study highlights how mouth breathing can significantly influence orofacial development and articulation patterns.

💨 Why we’re designed to breathe through our nose

Our bodies are made for nasal breathing. When we breathe through the nose, the air is filtered, warmed, and humidified before reaching the lungs. The tongue naturally rests against the roof of the mouth, the lips close gently, and the jaw stays relaxed, all of which encourage healthy oral development.

In contrast, mouth breathing often means the tongue rests low in the mouth and the lips stay apart. Over time, this posture can subtly reshape how the muscles and bones of the face grow.

Children who breathe through their mouths most of the time may develop:
- A longer face and narrower palate
- Forward head posture
- Slightly open lips and low tongue position at rest
- A tendency toward drooling or noisy breathing
- A dry mouth and consequently bad breath
- At times the tongue pushes constantly against the front teeth causing them to grow forward (buck teeth)
These changes are not anyone’s fault, as they often start because of blocked noses, allergies, enlarged adenoids, low facial muscle tone or habits formed when a child was younger. But understanding the pattern helps us know how to support change.

🗣 How mouth breathing affects speech

Speech depends on precise coordination between the lips, tongue, and jaw. The resting position of these structures affects how ready they are to move.
1. Reduced tongue strength and placement, i.e. the tongue rests low in the mouth (as it does in mouth breathing), it’s harder for children to lift it efficiently for sounds like /T/, /D/, /N/, /L/, and /S/. This can lead to speech that sounds slightly slushy or unclear, or a frontal lisp.
2. Open mouth posture and resonance: An open mouth at rest may affect how air vibrates in the oral and nasal cavities. Children might have speech that sounds a bit ‘muffled’ or lacks crispness because the lips and jaw aren’t fully supporting articulation.
3. Fatigue and breath control: Mouth breathing can lead to drier mouths and less efficient breath support. That can make longer sentences or conversations feel tiring, especially in noisy environments.
🥄 How mouth breathing affects feeding and chewing

Feeding involves the same structures that control speech, so posture and breathing patterns matter here, too.
1. Chewing efficiency: Children who habitually keep their mouths open often have low tongue tone and reduced jaw stability. They may prefer softer foods, chew slowly, or struggle with mixed textures.
2. Swallowing pattern: A tongue that rests low may push forward when swallowing. This ‘tongue-thrust swallow’ can interfere with efficient chewing and even affect dental alignment over time.
3. Breathing while eating: Since it’s hard to chew, swallow, and breathe through the mouth simultaneously, children who can’t comfortably nasal breathe may rush bites or pause to catch their breath. This can contribute to coughing, choking, or food refusal.
Common signs to watch for

Parents often notice subtle clues before realising mouth breathing is a pattern. Some red flags include:
- Lips habitually open at rest
- Drooling after the toddler years
- Snoring or noisy breathing during sleep
- Preference for soft foods or grazing eating habits
- Dark circles under the eyes due to allergies
- Frequent colds, congestion, or mouth odour
- Speech that sounds slushy or unclear despite good effort
If several of these sound familiar, it’s worth mentioning them to your child’s GP, dentist, or speech and language therapist.

👩‍⚕️ What can help
1. Address the underlying cause: If nasal blockage, allergies, or enlarged adenoids are making nasal breathing difficult, a medical assessment is the first step. ENT specialists can rule out or treat physical causes.
2. Encourage closed mouth rest: Gentle reminders like ‘Lips together, tongue up, breathe through your nose’ can help older children become aware of their resting posture. For younger ones, visual cues (stickers or mirrors) can make it a game.
3. Build oral-motor strength and awareness: Speech therapists can design activities to strengthen the tongue and lips, improve jaw stability, and encourage balanced breathing. This might include blowing games, tongue-tip lifts, use of dental-palatal devices or oral-motor exercises disguised as play.
4. Support good posture: Sometimes mouth breathing goes hand-in-hand with forward-head posture. Encouraging upright sitting during meals and screen time helps keep the airway open and supports better breathing habits.
5. Make nasal breathing part of daily routines: Gentle nose-breathing practice during calm times (reading, bedtime, car rides) helps normalise it. Avoid making it a battle: calm, consistent reminders work best.
🌱 A gentle note on change

Patterns of mouth breathing develop over time, and change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s important to approach this with curiosity, not criticism. The aim isn’t ‘perfect breathing,’ but to give your child the tools and awareness to breathe comfortably and efficiently.

Small improvements in nasal breathing and resting posture can lead to big gains in speech clarity, eating confidence, and even sleep quality.

💡 The takeaway

Breathing seems automatic, and it is! but how we breathe matters. Mouth breathing and open-mouth posture can quietly shape how a child speaks, eats, and grows.

By noticing early signs, addressing underlying causes, and building supportive habits, you can help your child move toward stronger, clearer speech and more comfortable mealtimes.

Just like every area of development, progress starts with connection, patience, and gentle consistency, one calm breath at a time.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

References

Alhazmi, A., Alshamrani, A., Alhussain, A., et al. (2022). Mouth Breathing and Speech Disorders: A Multidisciplinary Study. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences 14(5):911. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361978128_Mouth_breathing_and_speech_disorders_A_multidisciplinary_evaluation_based_on_the_etiology

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Speech and Language Therapy

A day in my life as an Independent Speech and Language Therapist
ByLondon Speech and Feeding February 5, 2024February 5, 2024

During the pandemic I wrote a blog on what my working day looked like. Now a good year has passed since coming back to some sort of normality and I thought I would update this ‘day in the life of an SLT’ as my working life has changed of course to reflect the ‘new normal’.

I have become truly busy, perhaps busier than I have ever been to be honest. It’s probably mostly due to the fact that I do most of the aspects of my work myself — though I want to mention two invaluable people here without whom I could not function as well as I do: the excellent Nathalie Mahieu (nathalie@nmediting.nemediting.co.uk) helps me with my SEO, Insta posts and blog uploading and the wonderful Sue Bainbridge (sueybee@btinternet.btinternet.com) makes sure that my accounts don’t get into trouble with His Majesty’s tax office.

Attached to our role as Speech and Language Therapists is an arguably enormous amount of administration/paperwork and preparation required for each and every client. This needs to be factored in when deciding how many families I can realistically see each working day. For me it works out as typically 3–5 clients a day, Monday to Friday.

So how does my day typically look? Each day varies a lot depending on what type of client I have, but on average it looks a bit like this:

First thing in the morning — after having a coffee and a quick check-in with my besties on WhatsApp — I do my Buddhist chanting for about an hour. My Buddhist prayers are the base of all I do and get me connected to my higher purpose and how to create value with each activity and each person I see that day. It sets me up for the day, I keep in mind who is going to come and see me and how I can best help them.

Next up, I do the daily ‘spring-clean’ of my therapy room (on all fours! no joke ???? those kids see every speck!), vacuum the floors, wipe down the toys with flash-wipes and tidy up all my boxes, making sure that the battery toys are working, and everything else is in place. On to the guest toilet, the hallway needs to be rid of all the men’s shoes and trainers and coats… It’s endless what needs tidying when you are living with three men… This takes about 45 minutes.

An articulation activity – packaging practice into a little game

Then I prep for all my clients that day. I have now got so much quicker about selecting therapy materials. For one thing I have purchased so many toys and materials over the past five years that I can literally now open a shop and need to consider building an extension! ???? The upside is that it is now very easy for me to select a good handful of toys or games for any one child, even at a minute’s notice. Though, on average, I spend about 30 minutes per child preparing activities.

Hurrah, it’s 11 am and my first client of the day arrives and the fun begins.

When they leave around an hour later, the cleaning and wiping down starts again, this time less extensively. I write up my notes and send homework whilst enjoying a cuppa.

The next client comes at 12.30 pm and once they have left, floor cleaned, toys wiped, notes written it is time for a quick lunch. No more than half an hour usually.

Afternoon clients tend to be one more little one (nursery age) at 2.15 pm and thereafter I see mostly older school children for a variety of reasons (mainly speech production but also some language-based activities). I tend to say farewell to my last client of the day around 6 pm. I spend another hour, sometimes more, on writing up notes, answering new enquiries, blogging and phone calls to keep my service fresh, inspirational and exciting.

And then dinner and the rest of the day rushes by. I tend to finish my day with some more Buddhist chanting, not a lot, perhaps 10–20 minutes to reflect on what has gone well and what could have been better — re-determine to improve or make better as needed.

Tele therapy activity using online materials plus a coreboard

In terms of where I provide a service, I still do a good mix of online clients (tele-therapy) and in-person clients in my clinic, which I love. Occasionally, I visit children in their nursery or at home but this service is now only available for long-standing clients.

Each client is hand-picked to make sure that we are a good fit: no one client gets the same treatment as another; each client is unique, we get to know one another well over the time we work together and they are always highly valued. That takes time and, in reality, each client gets about two hours of my time. That is the actual session plus all the preparation and aftercare, i.e., bespoke hand holding, tweaks, problem solving and reassurance in between sessions.

I absolutely love this way of working and would not ever want to do anything else. Nearly three decades of working both in the NHS and in private practice, countless courses (continual professional development) have enabled me to flourish as a therapist and I know that I offer something special and very valuable to my clients.

My unique way of working affords all my lovely clients the help they need to support their children to make progress; and it gives me the right balance of job satisfaction and work life balance for now. My lovely reviews and testimonials tell me that my clients appreciate my service and this at the end of the day is the most important.

If you are interested in exploring Buddhism/buddhist chanting then check out this link (https://sgi-uk.org/), and feel free to contact me about that specifically, regardless of whether you want speech therapy. I am always happy to chat about Buddhism, it has been so enriching for the last 43 years of my life.

If you need help with your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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