Speech & Language

Our Services

Description

The Speech-Language Centre offers an ISO certified service under the auspices of Primary HealthCare. The SLP offers guidance, diagnostic assessments, intervention, support and information for both clients and their significant others. Our role includes the care of individuals who experience communication and/or swallowing difficulties, together with increasing awareness and prevention of such difficulties within the community. The Speech Language Pathologist works with both congenital, developmental and acquired difficulties across all age groups.

Speech language services are offered in hospitals where SLPs are committed to help people to communicate to the best of their abilities and swallow safely. Services are also provided in long stay institutions & elderly homes. Intervention in an interdisciplinary team aims to maximise the communication potential of their service users by identifying, modifying and enriching their communicative environment.

Services in the community are offered from all health centres and various district clinics to maximise service outreach in the community. SLP services in the community ensure the enhancement of the client’s communication skills in their own everyday environment, through the continuous enrolment and support of their communication partners. SLP community services value the important role that significant others have in the communication development and skills of our clients. Domiciliary visits are organised to service users who are bed bound or require specific intervention in their home environment.

For school aged children, intervention in mainstream schools makes it possible to provide SLP intervention as an integral part of their school life. It enables educators to incorporate the aims of the communication and language intervention within the curriculum. Services are also provided in some resource centres, where clinicians work with students with a variety of special educational needs. Apart from the regular school services, indirect intervention is also provided through occasional school visit on a specific need basis.  

The Speech and Language Centre also provides specialised intervention programmes and information courses through the support of Specialised Divisions.

All services operate on an open-referral system, allowing the general public to have the best possible access.  This means that referrals can be made directly by the client or carer to the speech-language pathologist. One may contact directly the nearest speech language clinic. Other professionals and carers may also refer you to a speech language unit.

Eligibility

• Any individuals who are experiencing the following:
• Speech and language developmental delay;
• Speech development difficulties including both articulation, phonology;
• Language disorders affecting the development of vocabulary, syntax, grammar and/or the social use of language to convey meaning;
• Communication problems associated with hearing and sensory impairments, learning disability and autism;
• Fluency problems;
• Reading and spelling problems related to specific learning difficulties;
• Voice disorders;
• Neurological conditions (such as head injuries, stroke, progressive diseases);
• Swallowing and feeding difficulties.

Required Documents

No specific documents are required. However, any relevant documents (e.g. medical reports; Well-Baby Record Book) from other professionals relating to the difficulty would be useful.

Aims of Service:

• T​o receive a first appointment within 15 working days.
• To be seen within 10 minutes of your appointment time. Exceptional circumstances may sometimes prevent us from achieving this target.
• To be given follow up appointments as indicated by the speech language pathologist according to your needs.
• To attend intervention sessions that will normally take between 30 and 45 minutes.
• To receive a full assessment and evaluation of your communication abilities and if indicated, a thorough assessment of oral motor skills and swallowing abilities.
• To receive an intervention program according to your needs.
• To have all records and information about you stored in a confidential manner.
• To be given detailed information regarding your condition.
• To have any queries addressed accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question:  How are services accessed in the community?

Answer: Our services are offered on an open-referral system. One may call at their local Health Centre or District Clinic to make an appointment with the Speech-Language Pathologist offering their services there.

Question: How frequent are follow-up sessions?

Answer: Frequency of sessions is determined by the SLP following the detailed assessment findings, the client’s specific needs and potential.

Downloads

Information Leaflet