When I was about nine years old I had piano lessons. I went to visit a lady in a lovely old house down a long gravel drive. She would greet me at the door and usher my mum to her cosy waiting room before then leading me through to her music room to play for half an hour on her grand piano.

I always had a nice time working through my big red ‘beginners’ book and my mum no doubt enjoyed the rare opportunity to sit in peace with a magazine and a cup of tea. After half an hour my teacher would bundle me and my mum out the door and we’d say cheerio until next week. It was all very lovely and truthfully not very effective. I never practised between my visits and I never really had a sense of learning or improving at anything.

When you seek Speech and Language Therapy for your child you may picture it looking a little bit like my old piano lessons: weekly 1:1 between therapist and child and a bit of peace and quiet for you. I am sorry to say that, whilst this can make some difference, it is absolutely not where the magic happens! Therapy that really makes a difference in a child’s life involves a lot more.

Shared goals

It’s important to talk together about your hopes for your child and the challenges you face. By agreeing together your goals for therapy, you can carry your practice beyond a weekly SaLT visit, spot everyday opportunities to practise together and notice when your child is trying out their new skill.

Shared conversations

No child is an island. Whether it’s mum or dad, the nursery key person or the class teacher, talking together ensures that we all can provide the right support in a cohesive way.

Shared work

An hour a week practising a new skill is simply not enough to make a lasting change. Yes, time is limited and our weeks run away from us. But if you can find regular time to practise between SaLT visits and to bake that into your weekly routine, you will enable your child to make much faster progress. Which leads me to my next point…

The right timing

Sometimes life is simply too busy. Sometimes there are other priorities or events going on that mean you’re not able to make the most of SaLT support. I want therapy to really make a difference for your family. So I often ask parents to think about the best time to begin a block of therapy sessions and make sure it complements the rest of your busy schedule.

Good fun

Far from a last minute extra, ensuring that sessions are fun is actually a crucial part of effective therapy. We learn and remember information best when it’s attached to good feelings. So, having some laughter in therapy sessions and being flexible in how we approach our targets can ensure more lasting change.

What I really want to tell you is that therapy is absolutely a team effort. Yes, you can ask a therapist to work 1:1 with your child and you can have that cup of tea in the waiting room. But, when you invest your time and attention, then you can really make the most of Speech and Language Therapy.