Anna Ashley Speech and Language Therapy Services

16/01/2026

Life is busy when you're a parent and, certainly in my case, it's definitely not as easy as this photo could suggest (!!). Fitting in Speech Therapy practice is another job on the 'to do' list but it is soooo important if you want to help bring about real change. But remember - it's not all about sitting down doing a task at the table (although this is helpful too!). How about practising tricky words as you go up the stairs, one practice word per step. How else could you make practice more interactive and fun?!

19/12/2025

From me to you: Wishing you a happy, fun and restful (wishful thinking?!!) Christmas with best wishes for the New Year. Looking forward to working with some of your lovely children next year :)

25/11/2025

While many 'errors' that children make in their talking are part of normal speech development, one atypical speech pattern, that does generally require early intervention, is when children miss off the first consonant in a word. For example, a child might say "us" for 'bus' or "at" for 'cat'. If you think that your child might miss off consonants in this way, please reach out for support as soon as you can. As always, I am happy to arrange an informal call to discuss any concerns.

04/11/2025

I am a member of ASLTIP, the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice. To join, a therapist must be registered with the government's Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), ensuring they are fully qualified and regulated to practise in the UK. If you are looking for an independent Speech and Language Therapist, this is the logo to be looking out for.

17/10/2025

Today is Developmental Language Disorder Day (DLD). DLD affects 1 in 14 children. Lexie's video is a helpful introduction...

12/10/2025

Does your child struggle to say their 's' clearly? Speech therapy does work to improve this sound (coupled with a good dollop of motivation and practice - SLTs don't have magic wands 😜)

26/09/2025

I've been working with a lot of reception age children recently and love it! It's a privilege to get to work alongside these little ones and help them to communicate more effectively ☺️

18/09/2025

02/09/2025

Back to school for my 3 today after a lovely summer and they've all gone in happily! 🌞👌

17/08/2025

I've often heard parents say "I thought they'd just grow out of it", and many children do. But there are children who continue to have difficulty with their speech sounds at school age and for some, this can affect their learning and their ability to communicate easily with their friends. If you have any concerns about your child's development, drop me a message and we can have a chat about whether additional support might be helpful.

09/08/2025

Have you ever heard of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?

DLD is a condition where children have ongoing difficulties understanding and/or using spoken language, that are not explained by hearing problems, learning disabilities, or other medical conditions. These difficulties can affect vocabulary, grammar, and conversation skills, and often continue into adulthood.

DLD is common — it affects about 1 in 14 children (around two in every UK classroom).

Some children with DLD also have difficulties producing speech sounds clearly. They might:

1) Use simpler sound patterns or miss out sounds in words

2) Find it harder to learn and use the correct sounds for their age

For more information on DLD, check out the RADLD website, or get in contact and I'll be happy to help 😊

28/07/2025

Do you know that it's never too late to work with a child to improve their speech sounds? I have experience of working with many secondary school age children to improve their sounds. Typical sounds that may be difficult include s, sh, or l. One of my most interesting clients was a 17 year old who wanted to be able to make the 'sh' sound so that she could sing accurately along with pop songs, say her 'sh' words clearly for her German exams and say complex words in science such as contamination (con-tam-in-ay-shun)!