By The Bay Speech and Language Therapy IOW

07/01/2026

✨ Let’s talk about autistic scripting ✨

There was a time when scripting was seen as “meaningless” or something to be discouraged. But we now know better 💙

Scripting is communication. It shows strong memory, pattern recognition, language processing, and a deep understanding of how words are used in real contexts. For many autistic children, scripting is one of many meaningful ways they communicate, alongside spontaneous language.

The memory behind scripting is incredible, the ability to store, recall, and use large amounts of language is a powerful strength that can be applied to learning, problem-solving, creativity, and so many real-world skills.

Scripting often connects closely with special interests, allowing children to share joy, knowledge, and identity in ways that feel motivating and authentic. These scripts can open the door to rich interaction, shared attention, and deeper connection.

Through scripting, children can learn:
🧠 how conversations are structured
🗣️ new vocabulary and language patterns
🤝 ways to engage socially around interests they love
💬 how to flexibly use language across different situations

Instead of discouraging scripts, we can value them, engage with them, and build from them. When we respect scripting and special interests, we respect the communicator ✨

Communication doesn’t have to look typical to be meaningful 💙

31/12/2025

✨ 2025 in review ✨

Are you looking for support for your child in 2026? Send me a message or email me at by-the-bay-salt@outlook.com 📧

20/12/2025

This research is so needed 😔

The Autism and Parental Blame research project explores how parents of autistic children experience parental blame when they approach health, education, and care…

16/12/2025

14/12/2025

I’m reassessing most of my clients before Christmas, and seeing the progress they’ve made is so rewarding! The improvement in this child’s vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure has been fantastic, and it’s having a positive impact on his academic progress, social communication and emotional wellbeing too ❄️

This is what consistent, regular, direct, evidence-based language therapy, delivered by a qualified speech and language therapist, looks like 🎉

07/12/2025

🎄 Looking for calm, cosy Christmas viewing for your children? Low-stimulation TV provides slower pacing, gentle visuals and strong narrative structure, giving children more processing time. If children are going to watch TV (and let’s face it, most children are going to be watching more TV than usual over the festive period!) what they watch really makes a difference for their communication development. 💬✨

Here are my favourite Christmas picks:

🐈‍⬛ Mog’s Christmas (3+)
A gentle, familiar story with simple language and predictable sequences. Great for supporting early narrative skills and introducing festive vocabulary.

❄️ The Snowy Day (3+)
Warm, calm pacing showing everyday social interactions. Ideal for modelling emotional and seasonal vocabulary and talking about routines.

✨ Angela’s Christmas (4+)
Soft visuals and a heartfelt storyline. Encourages conversations about feelings, empathy and problem-solving.

🎁 Franklin’s Magic Christmas (4+)
Steady pacing and relatable family themes. Useful for supporting understanding of social situations, perspective-taking and sequencing.

⛄ The Snowman (2+)
No dialogue and beautiful, slow animation provide space for children to comment, predict and describe what they see, which is great for early language and shared attention.

🐸 The Muppet Christmas Carol (5+)
A little more language-rich (and may be slightly scary for much younger viewers) but still structured and predictable. Perfect for older children working on story recall, character understanding and vocabulary building.

✨ Save for later and share with families who might find this helpful!

Are there any shows you would add? 👇

29/11/2025

🎄 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE 🎄

Looking for Christmas gifts that will boost communication skills? Check out my Christmas gift guide in highlights on my Instagram profile .speechtherapy for gift ideas for children aged 0-12+ ❄️

27/11/2025

🗣️ What is a ‘Late Talker’? 🗣️

A late talker is a toddler (18–36 months old) who understands language well and shows typical social interaction, but uses fewer spoken words than expected. They may have:

✨ Fewer than 20 single words by 18 months old.
✨ Fewer than 50 words and not combining words into phrases by 2nd birthday.
✨ Fewer than 300 words and not speaking in sentences by 3rd birthday.

How common is it?
✨ Around 15% of 2-year-olds are late talkers (Bernstein Ratner, 2013; Rescorla, 2011).

Do late talkers catch up?
✨ The reassuring news: 70% of late talkers make significant progress and ‘catch up’ by age 4.
✨ But around 30% continue to have language difficulties and need longer-term support (Rescorla, 2009; Ellis & Thal, 2008).
✨ We cannot be sure which late talkers will catch up without speech and language therapy, and which won’t.

Why does early support matter?
✨ Even for children who eventually catch up, early language intervention boosts:
• Vocabulary growth
• Grammar development
• Social communication
• Confidence and connection

✨ And for the 30% who won’t catch up naturally, earlier intervention is a huge predictor of more positive long-term life outcomes!

⚠️ ‘Watch and wait’ without some form of early intervention is NOT an evidence-based approach! ⚠️

If your child is 2+ and has fewer words than others their age, or if you feel something ‘just isn’t right’, seek guidance early. Qualified speech and language therapists can help you understand what’s typical, what to watch for, and the best next steps. The majority of independent SALTs will be happy to have a free consultation with you to discuss your child and whether they would benefit from support at this stage.