What to do to support children and young people with identified speech, language and communication needs

Parent information, advice and resources - Worcestershire

The Worcestershire Speech and Language Therapy service website provides a comprehensive range of resources, advice and You Tube videos to help parents to support their child / young person at home. 

Visit the website to find:

• Information about speech, language and communication
• Free resources you can download and use at home
• Links to our You Tube channel where you will find demonstrations of activities you can do at home
• Further information about the local team, where we work and what services we provide 

Cost: Free

Learning About New Words

This video focuses on learning new words and strategies to support young people in developing their vocabulary.

Cost: Free

Supporting Understanding

This video features six top tips to help a young person better understand what is being said to them.

It is part of a series that has been made to help parents and carers support young people (aged 11-18) with communication difficulties. 

Cost: Free

Black Sheep Press resources

Black Sheep Press produce a wide variety of resources for professionals and speech and language therapists working with children with speech and language needs.  The resources have been devised by experts and include worksheets, assessments and apps.  Resources are colourfully illustrated and come with clear guidance on how to use them.  As well as assessment tools, the resources include activities to support speech sound development; attention and listening; vocabulary; word-finding; sentence structure; narrative structure and social skill

Cost: £

Universally Speaking 11-18

Universally Speaking is a series of booklets for anyone who works with children and young people. The booklets show where children and young people should be with their communication skills at any given age.  You can use the booklets to find out whether the children and young people you work with are on the right track, what helps them learn to talk and listen and what to do if you have concerns about any of their communication abilities.

Cost: Free

What Works database

The Communication Trust worked with the Better Communication Research Programme to develop the What Works database of evidenced interventions to support children's speech, language and communication. What Works is endorsed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.  It supports practitioners to deliver evidence-informed interventions and approaches to support children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

Speech and Language UK Talk for Work

Talk for Work (formerly called Talk about Talk Secondary) is an evidenced targeted intervention that helps students aged 14 to 18 with difficulties in talking and understanding words to be ready for the workplace. It can be used in both secondary schools and Further Education colleges. 

The programme consists of a series of 13 fully planned one-hour lessons delivered by trained teaching or support staff. 

Cost: Free

Blackpool Classrooms That Communicate is a curated collection of resources and advice that puts speech, language & communication at the heart of helping staff to help the children and young people they work with.  This includes a wide range of resources and information on the use of visuals to help support the understanding of written and spoken language that can used with young people who find it difficult to listen, process and remember. 

Cost: Free

BCTC Toolkit - Effective Communication

Blackpool Classrooms That Communicate is a curated collection of resources and advice that puts speech, language & communication at the heart of helping staff to help the children and young people they work with.  This includes a wide range of information and strategies for supporting understanding, talking and communication.  

Cost: Free

Makaton sign and symbol resources

These free Makaton resources are available for you to access and use to support communication with young people.  These symbols and signs, which can also be shared with families and carers, help you to provide extra information and clues about what you are saying as well as support the development of essential communication skills such as attention and listening and understanding. 

Cost: Free

Language for Behaviour and Emotions

This practical, interactive resource is designed to be used by professionals who work with children and young people who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs and Speech,Language and Communication needs.  Gaps in language and emotional skills can have a negative impact on behaviour as well as mental health and self- esteem. Language for Behaviour and Emotions provides a systematic approach to developing these skills so that young people can understand and work through social interaction difficulties.

Cost: £

Vocabulary Enrichment Intervention Programme

This book helps to enhance the understanding and use of vocabulary in secondary school students and young adults. Specifically designed for older children and young adults (8-18) with language and communication needs, this practical language programme was created by a specialist speech & language therapist with input from secondary school teachers and students.

Cost: £105

Narrative Intervention Programme

This book improves the understanding and telling of stories in secondary school students and young adults. Specifically designed for older children and young adults, this practical language programme was created by a specialist speech & language therapist with input from secondary school teachers and students.

Cost: £94.50

Talking Mats

Talking Mats communication symbols tool is based on extensive research and designed by Speech and Language Therapists. It uses unique, specially designed picture communication symbols that are attractive to all ages and communication abilities and is used by clinical practitioners, carers and support workers in a wide range of health, social work, residential and education settings to increase children, young people and adults' capacity to communicate effectively about things that matter to them. 

Signs and Symbols

Widgit provides symbols that can be used to support communication making information, documents and resources to be more accessible and inclusive.  The symbols can be used for a variety of purposes such as creating communication books to share information; visual timetables to support understanding of structure and routine; task boards to support independent learning; pictures to develop vocabulary and to support children learning English as an additional language.

This website has information to support your understanding of how to use symbols including training resources, events and links to a network of organisations around the UK who offer advice and support.

There is also information for parents and carers to help them understand how they can use symbols to support young people.

Cost: £9/month upwards

Makaton training

Information about a variety of Makaton training options including online; face to face and inhouse workshops.  This page also provides information about the different levels of training that Makaton offer.

Cost: £