Private Speech Therapy V's NHS Speech Therapy

[kamath]

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with both NHS and private speech therapy sessions and can tell me what the difference is ?

My son is currently having speech therapy under the NHS and I am not totally convinced that he is making any progress. There are issues that I need to discuss with the speech therapist but was wondering if having private speech therapy would offer anything different?!

Thanks for reading

[CFM]

i do. My son has Asperger's and we have been on both NHS and independent. You get good therapists in both, but I cannot compare the care we have received with our independent therapist with what we got with NHS, and the progress my son has made. It really comes down to the luxury of the time she has with my son, the detailed followups etc - all of which of course we pay for. Worth every penny.

[bluesuperted]

Agree the difference is time... The NHS model is typically a 6 week or 6 session block with varying levels of intensity. A private therapist can be much more tailored and will probably allow/offer a longer time frame and more sessions. The therapists will be as good in either model and like anything there will be an element of oersonal preference and fit. In addition, some people mix private and NHS care - in this case the private clinician should offer to communicate with the NHS team to ensure good joint working practice.

If you can afford it, in this time of austerity and prioritisation/waiting lists, go privately.

[kamath]

Thank you that has been really helpful. x

[bluesuperted]

Also, NHS kids therapy, depending on the difficulty, may be given in groups of children or an indirect model (ie training to caregivers/teachers), which may or may not be more effective. This can be true of independent SLT as well but I think they are also more likely to offer direct therapy and one-to-one therapy sessions, again this comes down to cost.

[Pugwash]

I had speech therapy for almost 5 years under NHS but that was in the 1950's - however that was because I became deaf at age of 2 which was not diagnosed until I was 5 years old so was still at a 2 year old level. I had intensive speech therapy for about 1 year 2 - 3 times a week, then weekly for next year or so, then gradually reduced during my junior school years. However, my speech therapist continued to meet me at least once a year until I left school at 18.

One of my grandchildren needed a SALT (speech and language therapist) and due to long waiting lists he was enrolled into a council run nursery which specialised in language delays.

There is a general shortage of SALTs especially in the NHS hence long waiting lists and group sessions.

[Nikki1391]

We are having a nightmare with nhs speech therapist. We went on waiting list in October last year...waited 3 months and finally got given an appointment in early February, they done an assessment and picked up that there is a slight understanding and speech and language development delay and we would get full feedback at next appointment. Since ten the speech therapist has been off sick! She was at work a month ago and made an appointment with me but when I showed up last week (I even took the day off work) they said sorry she off sick again. Complained and the manager called and apologised and said they've been looking for a locum as the other therapists are unable to take on the workload of te therapist that has gone off sick. Really annoyed! These people are so unreliable!!! Can't even go private because I can't afford it and I'm very worried as my daughter starts school in sept and alot of people can hardly understand her. Thanks for the help nhs! I advise going private if you can afford it

[bluesuperted]

Nikki that sounds really frustrating for you and your little girl. Part of the problem is funding cuts and it is a crying shame as communication is the cornerstone for everything in life but sadly hasn't been ring fenced by this or previous governments, there is a shortage of SLTs and now a shortage of budget to pay for them. The trust's hands may be tied regarding sickness as they may not have the budget for long-term (or even ad-hoc) locums. I do think saying 'these people are unreliable' is unfair, SLTs, like many professionals in health, education, social care etc at the moment are struggling under increased workloads and swingeing cuts. But I fully agree that your daughter should be seen and would encourage you to call and complain again explaining your concern about her starting school and being able to communicate with those around her.

[Nikki1391]

I understand that but it's highly frustrating. I wouldn't mind waiting for someone else to see us as I know there's issues with ST shortages but it's the way I've been messed about. It's also been 7 months now which I think is a bit too long. I've taken 2 days off work and one appointment was cancelled less than an hour before. I say they're unreliable because our SLT has been constantly ill from February and no one has attempted to contact me to rearrange appointments or at least explain 5 he situation. I mean come on is there not one SLT in the whole of Southwark that we can see instead. It's not until I went to the last appointment to be told the therapist was off again and had been for 3 weeks that I decided enough was enough and requested a manager who finally explained the situation. It's been 7 months since my daughter was referred and all we've had is an assessment which I haven't even been given feedback on, along with not even a single speech and language session.they said they're looking for a locum but who knows how long that will take. I'm going to call the manager in the week and ask if we can possibly get someone from another area. My work colleagues son was on the waiting list for a SLT for just 3 weeks before he was seen and that was in Lambeth. And he has already had sessions...This was in April.

[Pugwash]

When my grandson was diagnosed with language delay- his parents were told to expect upto 2 years wait for therapy (in Harlow) hence the specialist nursery. He is now approaching 20 years old and speech is equivalent with his age.

He was also found by the nursery to have mild learning difficulties and when started infant school was provided with additional help via a special needs assistant.

Is the difficulty with your daughter due to incomprehensible speech - i.e can say words but is not pronouncing them correctly or not finishing off ends of words? Or is her language development very behind for her age?.

There is an organisation which gives advice re children/young people who have speech delays but I cannot remember its name.

I wonder whether it would be quicker for your child to see a psychologist who specialises in speech disorders to get an understanding of the problems preventing the 'normal' development of speech.

[buggie]

Think these are the chaps Pugwash is referring too: http://www.ican.org.uk/help

Have heard v good things about them and know they have lots of helpful information on their sister website: http://www.talkingpoint.org.uk

[Nikki1391]

Hi pug wash. . She has difficulty with pronunciation, she can't pronounce the f or v sounds in words and either replaces it with b, s or drops it altogether. Also at the speech and language assessment they did comment that it seems as though her understanding is behind. I understand everything she says but other people tend to constantly ask me what she's trying to say or misunderstand her. Her nursery also suggested speech therapy. I work in a nursery and I'd say her speech is on the level of a 2.5 year old which is worrying me as she turns 4 in July. Thank you for your suggestion, I will look into it

[Nikki1391]

Thanks buggie

[bluesuperted]

Ican are great, good idea Pugwash and Buggie, definitely might be worth a call/to provide advocacy. It's really bad, I totally agree but unfortunately the people at the coal face are not necessarily the ones to blame for this delay. Really hope you get sorted soon.

[Nikki1391]

I know bluesuperted..even if they just looked qt the assessment that was done and someone spent 30 min talking with us with us or even emailed me some activities, advice, techniques etc I'd be satisfied. I just feel disappointed that in all this time no one has been able to look at the assessment results and at least give me some advice while we wait. I'm not asking much. Even just coming on this thread has provided me with more info on speech and language than the the SLT group have. I have looked for activities online which ive been doing with her but so far havent helped. The website provided is great and I'll definitely be calling them in the week for some advice, wish I knew about it sooner

[verivoice]

hello

I haven't read all the messages above but just to say I start working again in September.

If anyone needs me I work in Forest Hill on Fridays. For more info see my website: www.verivoicetherapy.co.uk

Regards

Verity

[scareyt]

There is a free drop-in session with a SLT at Bessemer Grange Children's centre on Tuesdays in term time. Not sure if it's on tomorrow or what time but it might be worth calling them to check.

[EmilyE]

For what it's worth, my son had speech therapy at a similar age and was mostly incomprehensible to other people. The kind of things she did with him and asked us to do at home were to repeat a short text with endless repetitions of a certain sound.( the king who lost his key, looked in the cookie jar but couldn't find his key etc etc)

Also games identifying sound. So do little cards with a violin or fire on, for example and see if she can identify the appropriate sounds. Post them into a letter box. Or have to run across the room to put them somewhere, anything that makes it fun.

Also lots of rhymes and singing and reading stories. I'm sure you've thought of lots of these, but what I found useful was the idea that endless repetition from me was helpful, even if he did nothing but listen.

I was really worried about him starting school but in fact they said they could offer him some therapy in school if necessary, and it seemed that the repetition of phonic sounds in school was also very useful and his speech improved massively very quickly.

I know not all children are the same, but I hope that provides some reassurance.

[reckrockaree]

I appreciate this is a bit of an old thread now but if anybody is reading this in 2018, I?m a local private speech and language therapist accepting new clients now, contact details on my website www.abcspeechtherapy.co.uk

I would be happy to offer a free telephone consultation to any parent with concerns, to see if your child might benefit from some appointments.