Children
Key levers for SLTs
Disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs
- Successful communication is central to social inclusion.
- It is particularly important to the increasing number of disabled children who use alternative communication systems to speech, such as symbol boards/books and computer-assisted systems.
- Assessment for children with developmental delay to include speech therapy for assessment of communication and feeding.
- Delaying early intervention results in intervention being less effective (speech and language therapy used as a specific example).
- Early intervention has a positive effect both in terms of promoting development, and minimising decline or regression among children with developmental disabilities.
- Recommends providing interventions such as speech and language therapy to support optimal physical and cognitive development and to promote the child's inclusion to their local community.
- Staff need training as appropriate in communicating with children who do not use speech to communicate and children who find interaction difficult.
- Information is one of the most valued services. Efforts need to be made to provide appropriate information in understandable formats.
- Protocols are agreed between agencies and professionals including speech and language therapists, which specify maximum waiting times and demonstrate efforts to co-ordinate appointments, to reduce repeated visits to services and improve access for children.
- Children and young people have a right to appropriate prevention, assessment and control of their pain. In order to treat children's pain effectively, a thorough pain assessment is necessary. Particular attention should be given to children who cannot express their pain because of their level of speech or understanding, communication difficulties, or their illness or disability. This includes babies, children with communication or learning difficulties, and those with altered consciousness or serious illness.
- Children's and young people's access to therapy services is inconsistent across regions, with long waits in some areas. Waiting long periods for therapy harms the educational attainment and wider development of individual children and young people.
- This will enable PCTs, which identify this as a priority area to increase the capacity of the allied health professionals' workforce to help meet identified need and reduce waiting times.
- Lack of appropriate stimulation in the early years may result in language delay and may lead to emotional or behavioural disorders.
Standard for hospital services
- Particular attention should be given to children who cannot express their pain because of their level of speech or understanding, communication difficulties, or their illness or disability. This includes babies, children with communication or learning difficulties, and those with altered consciousness or serious illness.
- Many children have complex disorders that cross specialty boundaries, they need access to a whole range of services including speech and language therapy.
Other documents
Green Paper Every Child Matters (DfES), September 2003
NSF for children and young people, September 2004
Childcare Act, 2006
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