Children's Speech & Language Therapy - Kingston

18/03/2026

🍼🥤Today is Swallowing Awareness Day 2026 🍕🍔

For many of us, eating and drinking are everyday activities we rarely think twice about. But for some, these simple acts can be challenging and may impact their quality of life and overall health. Speech and Language Therapists play a pivotal role in assessing, supporting and empowering individuals to eat and drink safely.

Do you know the signs of eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties?
🔹 Changes in eating habits (eating slowly or avoiding meals)
🔹 Significant unintended weight loss
🔹 Recurrent chest infections or pneumonia
🔹 Food or drink coming out of the nose when swallowing
🔹 Anxiety when eating or drinking

If you notice these signs, support is available. Speech and Language Therapists play a vital role in helping children and young people eat and drink safely and confidently.

Therapists can:
✔️ Assess and identify possible causes of eating and drinking difficulties
✔️ Provide mealtime assessments
✔️ Refer for specialist assessments, such as videofluoroscopy or FEES (Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing)
✔️ Recommend changes to feeding equipment, food and drink textures, feeding positions and other interventions

15/03/2026

Happy Mother’s Day!💐

Today we wan't to wish a very happy mother's day to those mum's supporting their child’s speech and language journey- practising sounds, celebrating new words, and showing up everyday for your child(ren). 💬

You are seen, appreciated, and truly valued. Wishing you a wonderful Mother’s Day. 🌷💖

13/03/2026

🧠Neurodiversity Celebration Week 🧠

next week (16th-20th March) is Neurodiversity Celebration Week.

🌏The week-long celebration is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities.

📅During the week, there will be a range of free workshops available exploring different topics focussing on key neurodiversity topics.

🆓All events are free of charge and open to all and you can sign up to as many events as you like.

To book onto a workshop or to learn more visit: https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/

12/03/2026

🌟 Supporting Your Child’s Communication at Home! 🌟

At school, we use Aided Language Displays (ALDs) to help children develop their expressive communication skills. These displays are visual tools that use symbols to support language learning in a fun and natural way.

Here’s how we use them:

We model language naturally, pointing to symbols like “more” or “want” during play. Children are free to explore at their own pace — there’s no pressure to copy.

We start slowly, using single symbols to match what the child is interested in.

As children grow more confident, we combine symbols, for example “more + book”, to encourage more complex communication.

Activities are motivating and engaging, so learning feels like play!

💡 Tips for Using ALDs at Home:

Follow your child’s lead — let them choose what they want to play with.

Point to symbols while talking — e.g., “You want more?”

Keep it simple at first — start with one symbol and gradually combine them.

Celebrate attempts — even if your child just looks at or touches a symbol, that’s communication!

Use fun activities — snack time, story time, or favorite toys are great opportunities to model language.

Want to explore ready-made options? Smartbox offers Super Core paper-based ALDs that cover a variety of activities and are easy to use at home.

💬 Learning language can be fun, and small, consistent steps make a big difference!

10/03/2026

🫶Adapted tools and specialist equipment for eating and drinking🙌

With Swallowing Awareness Day approaching, Clare, one of our dedicated Speech and Language Therapists, would like to highlight the ways students at Bedelsford are supported to eat and drink safely while building their independence.

Many of our pupils have an unsafe swallow, which means they are at risk of choking or aspiration. To help keep them safe and confident at mealtimes, we use a range of adapted tools and specialist equipment tailored to each individual’s needs. Our approach focuses not only on safety, but also on promoting dignity, choice, and independence.

Swallowing Awareness Day is a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of dysphagia and celebrate the thoughtful, personalised strategies that help our students thrive every day! 💙

09/03/2026

Yesterday was International Women’s Day 💜 and today the children at St Phillip’s School celebrated this special occasion by making paper flowers 🌸 to give to a woman who is important to them.

One thoughtful student chose to give their flower to our wonderful Speech and Language Assistant, Amie 💐... a lovely gesture that truly brightened her day.

The students also learnt about some inspiring women in history, including Florence Nightingale 🏥📊, who was one of the first people to use visual data to present information clearly, helping to advance the field of statistics.

A wonderful way to celebrate the incredible contributions of women, past and present 🌍✨

06/03/2026

02/03/2026

Exciting news from Kingston Children’s Speech and Language Therapy! 💬

Jodie Fuller, one of our service leads, recently met with Jenny Musclewhite, a SEND Advisor with Achieving for Children, to explore how we can bring our iChatter programme into early years settings across Kingston.

(By the way, in the video you’ll see Carmel Brady, our department lead, speaking- she forgot to introduce herself!)

To learn more about the iChatter programme, check out our leaflet here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tkp-pRMDHK4-vfVFfYvghkfDuyI6r0rq/view?usp=sharing

26/02/2026

📱 Screen time for under-5s

If you’re wondering what the UK advice actually is- you’re not alone!
The government has committed to publishing guidance on early years screen time in April 2026.

Ahead of this we would like to share advice that is currently used by the NHS and based on WHO guidance.

👶 Under 2s
• Try to avoid screen time where you can
• Video calls with family are fine

🧒 Ages 2–4
• Aim for no more than about 1 hour a day
• Less is better- but don’t feel guilty if some days are higher
• Watching together and chatting about what’s on screen really helps
•Low arousal/low stimulation tv shows are preferred for ages 2-4 - these have gentle pacing, muted colours, simple plots, soft music and kind characters including: Bluey, Hey Duggee, Kiri and Lou, TwirlyWoos, Yakka Dee!, I spy You Spy, Something Special

✨ The key message isn’t “no screens”, It’s balance. Screens can be part of family life, but young children learn best through talking, playing, reading and everyday interaction.

Learn more about screen time guidance here:
https://www.healthiertogether.nhs.uk/child-under-5-years/safe-screen
https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/screen-time-online-harms-resources-members

's

17/02/2026

No special materials needed, just time, conversation, and a little wonder! 🌿👣

Try chatting about:

👀What you can see (colors, shapes, animals, vehicles)
👂What you can hear (birds, cars, wind, footsteps)
✋🏻What things feel like (rough bark, smooth stones, cold air)
🏃‍♀️Actions happening around you (running, digging, flying)
💯Counting steps, dogs, trees, puddles
🤔Questions: “What do you think will happen next?”
🔁Choices: “Should we go left or right?”

Little conversations add up to big language growth 💬💛 Enjoy the walk.

10/02/2026

Skylarks offer 'stay, play and support' sessions on Tuesdays in Twickenham & Thursdays in Hounslow.

Skylarks Charity is an independent charity offering a range of activities for children and young people with additional needs, their siblings and parents/carers, both online and face-to-face.

Find out more: https://www.skylarks.charity/

09/02/2026

We can't wait to watch the new episodes!

Peppa's brother, George, is revealed to be moderately deaf, and is fitted with a hearing aid. As part of George’s hearing loss journey, we’re incredibly prou...