Your first appointment
Once your child has been referred to the Speech and Language therapy service and the appropriate forms have been completed an appointment will be arranged. This first appointment is known as an initial assessment.
The First Appointment - What to Expect (initial assessment)
This initial assessment appointment will allow the Speech and Language Therapist to assess your child’s speech and language difficulties.
What will happen at my Initial Assessment Appointment?
- The appointment usually lasts between 45 minutes and an hour.
- The Therapist will ask about your child’s development. Bring your parent held record if you have one.
- It is a two-way discussion. You will be asked for your views on your child’s speech and language, and what you think is important for them. Feel free to ask any questions.
- There will be toys for your child to play with while we talk.
- Bring along your child’s favourite toy or book.
- The Therapist will play with your child, or use books and pictures if they are older.
- Don’t worry if your child is shy at the first appointment. We’re used to this!
- You could bring some notes of what your child says or an audio/video clip.
- If your child is in nursery or school, it is helpful if you seek the views of the staff on your child’s speech and language.
What will the Speech and Language Therapist look at?
Depending on why your child has been referred the Speech and Language Therapist will want to find out about some of the following areas of your child’s speech and language development:
- their attention and listening skills
- their understanding of words and sentences
- the words they use
- how they put words together
- their speech sounds
- their play skills
- their social skills, eg., eye contact, taking turns
- what their voice sounds like
- how fluently they speak
What Happens after my Initial Assessment Appointment?
Towards the end of the appointment the Therapist will discuss their findings with you and together you will decide what should happen next. This may be a monitoring review in clinic, a school/setting visit or being listed for further therapy sessions.
It is important that you attend your appointment. Please let us know if you are unable to keep the appointment. If you do not attend and do not contact us, your child will be discharged from the service and no further appointments will be sent.
Student training and what this might mean for you
Salford Care Organisation is a teaching organisation. All our clinical services are committed to the education and training of the next generation of health and social care professionals.
If you and your child use our service you may come into contact with students. Sometimes students may observe you or your child’s treatment. On other occasions they may carry out assessment or deliver treatment.
Please be assured that any information, which you share with either the student or the supervising clinician, will be treated with the strictest confidence in accordance with Salford Care Organisation's policy on confidentiality.
All assessments and interventions carried out by students are overseen by a qualified Speech and Language Therapist, so that the quality of your care will not be affected in any way. All procedures carried out by students are in accordance with the same policies and guidelines that govern qualified clinical staff.
You will always be asked for your consent for a student to be present. You have the right to refuse this request. Should you refuse consent for a student to be present or to carry out treatment, the quality of your care will not be compromised in any way.
All students working in Salford Care Organisation have undergone health and police checks to ensure that they are suitable to work with patients.