Type of service: Diagnostic services, Child Development Centres (CDC)

We are the provider of community health services in south west Essex. We are part of North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT). Our services are provided across Thurrock, Brentwood, Basildon and surrounding areas, ensuring local people can receive the care they need close to their homes.

Speech and language therapy - Children's Service: We provide assessment, diagnosis, therapy, practical advice and equipment to ensure children with speech, language and communication needs and their family and carers are able to develop and achieve academically, socially and emotionally to reach their full potential. This service is provided to children with disorders or delays in their development of speech, language and communication, which includes stammering, disorders of voice production, and eating and drinking difficulties. We provide for the full age range, from newborns to 16 year olds, or up to 19 years old with a statement of special educational needs (SEN). This service has an open referral system where anyone can refer, including patients and their families. Speech and language therapists work in these areas:

• community health centres
• Children's Development Centres
• mainstream and special schools
• pre-schools and nurseries
• clients' homes
• Children's Centres
• units for hearing or language difficulties
• hospital wards

Our patients are - BABIES with: feeding and swallowing difficulties, (see specialist team for feeding and swallowing); and CHILDREN with: language delay, specific language impairment, specific difficulties in producing sounds, hearing impairment, cleft palate and related difficulties, stammering, autism/social interaction difficulties, voice problems, Speech or language difficulties related to physical or learning difficulties.

Aimed at: Adolescent , Child , Young person

Specialisms: Has autism-specific elements