How our therapists help your child
Our therapists are all based at Helen Allison School and work side by side with the teaching and support staff. They assess your child and develop an individual programme to build their communication, social and behavioural skills.
Our speech and language therapists and communication assistants work with your child, both in school and in our residential houses. They draw up a plan for your child which outlines how their language and communication skills can progress. They run circle time groups for our primary school children, and social communication groups for our secondary and sixth form students. They also work with small groups and individual students who need extra help.
Our psychologist and two behaviour and wellbeing specialists build a profile for your child. They work individually with them, and in class groups throughout the school. They provide a night-time service for residential students and support children on our short breaks.
Our occupational therapist will develop a sensory profile of your child, and plan support for their learning, working closely with our other staff. They use standardised assessments regularly to assess your child’s visual perceptual skills and visual motor integration skills linked to handwriting and visual stress. They will also assess your child’s fine motor (including handwriting/keyboarding), co-ordination and daily living skills such as dressing, eating and grooming. They will prescribe any individualised programmes and treatment your child needs.
The team supports you as parents, and often sends learning materials home. They train the other staff and keep everyone up-to-date with your child’s progress.
Above all, we look at your child holistically: our therapy team works as one unit, bringing together vast amounts of knowledge and experience. We are rigorous and systematic, and we constantly assess and monitor how your child is doing. We always look for the best way to support your child.
