Our Son Owen
Since about the age of three we had started to worry about Owen's speech as he seemed to struggle with pronouncing certain letters and when watching him play with other children and even when taking to adults we noticed that they were struggling to understand him. We decided to make an appointment with our health visitor and discussed our concerns about Owen's speech and she advised us that she would recommend Owen was referred for Speech therapy but there was about a 6 - 9 month waiting list.
As parents we wanted to help our little boy and try and get his speech problems sorted before he started school, so we went on the internet to look for private speech therapists of which ITS was at the top of the list, but also a friend who’s son had also had some speech problems had recommended ITS to us. We then contacted Sarah who then sent all the relevant literature through for us to read. We decided to go ahead with a private therapist and booked Owen in for his first assessment.
On the first assessment Sandra, Owens speech therapist made a very thorough assessment of Owen's speech by obtaining some history from us and then by observing and listening to Owen's speech sounds through play and by using lots of picture cards, which took over an hour. I have to say that it opened our eyes, as there were sounds that Owen was struggling to pronounce that we hadn’t even realised as we had got so use to understanding the way he talked. Once the initial assessment had been done Sandra then discussed the speech problems she had identified with us, and then recommended a plan of action if we felt comfortable with it.
Owen then received his initial assessment with the NHS, which lasted only 15minutes. So after his consultation with the NHS we realised that the best route for us to take was with ITS as they seemed more professional and definitely more thorough in their initial assessment in identifying Owens speech problems and action to be taken. ITS have however always supported and encouraged us accessing the NHS speech and language therapy provision and would also put us in contact with other health and education agenices should we need them.
From the word go Owen felt very comfortable around Sandra and made a connection with her. After a few visits from Sandra you could start to hear the difference in Owen's speech, which was really encouraging and reassuring. We feel that part of Owens quick improvement is because he enjoys the lessons, as it isn’t just sitting down doing homework; Sandra makes the lessons varied through using different games and toys as well as pictures and books. Sandra is also very good at structuring the lessons to Owen's personal needs and as soon as she recognises that Owen is starting to get bored she will change the task and her approach and will also not drag out a task once she feels that he has accomplished it. Sandra is also very willing to give advice on how to encourage Owens speech along in an everyday situation and watching the lessons also gives us ideas on different ways of playing to assist in the development of Owens speech at home. Throughout Owens short time with Sandra his speech had vastly improved, with friends and family even commenting on the improvement, which makes it all worthwhile.
I would fully recommend ITS as firstly we have found that Sarah is always there for you at the other end of the phone, no matter how big or small the problem is she always makes you feel very reassured. We have found that Sarah has always been very understanding and obliging to our own personal needs. Secondly I feel that the therapist coming to the home has made Owen feel more at ease and has hence made a more relaxed teaching / learning environment. Thirdly Sandra is also understanding to both our and Owen's needs and is very good at structuring Owens lessons to get the most from him. All in all we are very pleased with Owens progress and feel that ITS offers a very professional service but at a very personal level.
Richard Wardle (February 2008)
