Are you concerned about your child’s speech, language and/or communication skills?

If you are concerned about your child’s development, including their speech and language skills, you should first speak to your Healthy Family Team. Speak to a Healthy Family Support Practitioner on: 0300 247 0122, option 1. Your Healthy Family Team can offer a range of support and advice including Ready Steady Ones, Ready Steady Twos and Talk Together. Please also look at their resources on their website: https://essexfamilywellbeing.co.uk/

If your child is over 2 years, 6 months and you have accessed other support, followed the advice and still feel that your child needs a specialist assessment from a Speech and Language Therapist, please contact the Pre-School Telephone Drop-In Assessment Clinic.

What is the Telephone Drop-In Assessment Clinic?

This is a telephone assessment clinic for Pre-School children aged over 2 years, 6 months, who must be registered with a West Essex GP.

You will have the opportunity to discuss your concerns with a Speech and Language Therapist and/or Speech and Language Therapy Assistant. They will ask you information about your child, which will help them to assess their speech, language and/or communication skills, give you advice and agree a follow-up plan, if appropriate.

Please be aware that this clinic does not carry out assessments of eating and drinking.

What to expect when you call the Telephone Drop-In Assessment Clinic?

• • A Therapy Assistant will take essential information to register your child, such as full name, date of birth, address, contact telephone number and email address
• • You will be asked to give various consents, such as for the therapy team to access and use your child’s medical records, consent to send SMS messages and emails, and to share your child’s information with other key professionals.
• • A therapist will call you back either that day, or on another Tuesday in the following weeks. An appointment time for the call back will be agreed with you.
• • It is a ‘first-come, first served’ system. If the clinic is full, you will be advised of this when you phone and you will be able to register for a clinic in the following weeks.
• You will have the opportunity to discuss your concerns about your child with a Therapist. Please be prepared to answer questions about your child’s general development and specific questions about speech, language and/or communication.
• At the end of the call, the Therapist may suggest some ideas on how you can help your child at home.

Please call to register for a Telephone Assessment on Tuesdays mornings between 9am and 11am on

01279 342170

If phone lines are busy, please leave a message. Messages are closely monitored and responded to as soon as possible.

For further information and advice, please see the Speech and Language Therapy pages on the Essex Family Wellbeing Website

http://www.essexfamilywellbeing.co.uk/service/speech-and-language-therapy/

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