Monday 14 October 2013

Free speech and language therapy resources available on our website!



The resource pages were set up by one of the research team following the suggestion from the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit Parent Panel. 

The research team were trying to find ways to encourage parents to take part in our research.  The Parent Panel suggested that we needed to offer parents them something useful and interesting about children’s language development as a thank you for taking part.  They also pointed out that the quality and appropriateness of information and resources on the internet is variable!
So one of the speech and language therapists on the research team searched the internet and identified some useful sites developed by other organisations.

The resource pages were originally only accessible to people who had completed the ‘Child Talk – What Works’ parent online survey.  We received some very positive feedback from parents, and also from Afasic who liked the way that the resources were designed for parents.  So, when the survey closed we made the resource pages open to all.

The resources with links are produced and provided by a range of sources so, although reviewed by a therapist, are not necessarily evidence based.  
Online Resources and Recommendations were identified from searching the internet and our experience as therapists here at the research unit including:

  • Helpful advice and information sheets
  • Games ideas
  • Picture cards and board games to print
  • Tips to use at home
  • Links to internet games

To make this easier to navigate we’ve put them into categories by age group:


They are then divided down further into:

  • Speech activities - ideas to help your child say particular sounds
and

  • Language activities - how to support your child’s attention and listening, to develop their understanding of language and to support them to say more words or longer/more complex sentences


We’ve also put together a list of some free or under £5 speech and/or language apps (prices accurate as of the end of April 2013). This market changes regularly but we hope it will be a useful starting guide to help you investigate what’s out there.

The resources do not replace speech and language therapy.  So, if you have concerns about the speech and language development of your child, it is always advisable to seek the advice of a speech and language therapist.

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