Seeking Specialist Support

The BBC's Tiny Happy People has answers to the top 14 questions asked of Speech and Language therapists, including:

• Which letters do children often struggle to pronounce at first?
• Do you have any top tips for learning first words?
• Does baby sign language delay speech?
• What's the best way to respond when my child says words incorrectly?
• My child seems to have lost words? Should I be worried?
• Is speech development linked to walking?
• Can it take longer for a second child to develop their speech?
• What impacts do dummies actually have on speech?
• What’s the impact of screen time on language?
• Should I be concerned about my toddler’s dribbling?
• Should I be worried about stammering?
• How can we support a child with selective mutism?
• Are lisps anything to worry about?
• Do tongue ties impact speech development?
• How can we support a child with apraxia or speech sound disorder?

Visit their Speech and Language development FAQs page for more information

Wise Owl and Owlets

Family Hubs have received some extra funding from the government called Start for Life. We have funded BHT Early Education and Training to support families all across the district if they have concerns about their child's speech and language. There are two parts to the support we have funded:

• a 'Wise Owl' drop-in session for families with children aged 18 months-4 years, taking place weekly in each area of the district. You can find these sessions on the Family Hub timetables
• a six week focused programme called 'Owlets' which is accessed by a referral from your health visitor 

The Incredible Years Preschool Programme

Incredible Years Preschool have been funded to deliver a brand new programme for families with children aged 3 to 4 years.

The programme will be suitable for any family that would like a bit of extra help with child attachment issues, language development concerns, their behaviour, or confidence with social situations.

Families can self-refer or practitioners can make a referral with consent.

Find out more and apply by visiting our Parenting Programmes for Families page.

Speech and Language Therapy Services

More targeted support information can be found on the BDCFT SALT website:

Children's Speech and Language Therapy - BDCT

Thinking about when and how to make a referral for specific specialist support.

If the parent lives in Bradford

Bradford SaLT for professionals has advice, screening tools and the referral process based on the age of the child.

Parents and carers can self-refer their child to the Speech and Language Therapy service. They can call our admin team on 01274 221166. We will arrange a time to discuss their concerns with a therapist. They will be provided with some strategies to support their child at home.

After three months they can access a review phone call and a further referral will be made if this is appropriate.

If the parent lives in Airedale

For children under 6 years of age, referrals are accepted directly from parents or from a range of health and education professionals. No referral form is required for this service.

Pathways differ according to age of the child and the type of difficulty (e.g. speech, stammering, receptive language).

Please telephone 01535 292821 and speak to the administration team to book an appointment.

For more details, refer to the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust Speech and Language Therapy (Airedale SaLT) webpage.