Working with Allied Health Professionals

The role of the early years speech and language therapist

The focus of this week is for you to hear from Joanne Gibson, an early years speech and language therapist (SALT) who works in Lanarkshire.

In Joanne’s presentation she will be discussing how ELC practitioners and SALTs can work together to support children with speech, language and communication needs. She will highlight some of the ways that ELC practitioners and SALTs can work collaboratively to improve this aspect of development to meet the aims of GIRFEC. This is an example of how ELC practitioners can work with other professionals not to ‘pass on’ the issue, but to ‘hold on’ and gain advice from experts on what ELC practitioners can do to meet additional support needs in the child’s setting.

Besides SALTs there are other professionals who ELC practitioners can work with to help maximise children’s potential – dietitians, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, health visitors and physiotherapists can all make a vital contribution to supporting children. Such roles are referred to as Allied Health Professionals (AHPs). In Scotland there are several initiatives that are aimed at bringing ELC practitioners and AHPs together with the aim that AHPs can pass on the specific knowledge and expertise that is required to support children with additional needs.

One example of an initiative where AHPs and educators have come together is the Highland Literacy Early Level Progression Tool. This is an online resource that has been developed to collaboratively support early literacy:

Perhaps you could locate similar initiatives in your area and reach out to access resources where you can work with AHPs to support children who have additional needs?

But before that, please join us as Joanne talks about how you can work with a SALT in your area to support children’s speech, communication and language skills.

Continue to the Webinar presentation details.

Webinar presentation