• helping a child to achieve a new speech sound pattern

• helping parents to feel confident in supporting their child’s communication

• enabling a young person to express how they are feeling without the need for spoken words

• supporting a young person to understand why something is difficult for them

I’ve always had an interest in language. I have lived in a couple of different countries, and learning new languages has come easily to me. I love words and how languages change and develop through time and place. I’m passionate about supporting people to achieve their potential, and SLT work allows me to combine these interests and passions together.

• NHS (2004 - 2022) Experienced Speech & Language Therapist (Community Paediatric caseload)

• NHS (2022 - current) Advanced Speech & Language Therapist (Child & Adult Mental Health Services)

• University of Edinburgh (1998 - 2002) MA (Hons) Spanish and Linguistics with distinction in spoken Spanish

• Queen Margaret University College (2002 - 2004) BSc Speech Pathology and Therapy with distinction

• Vital Connexions (2010 - 2012) Diploma in Counselling

• I can offer some therapy appointments from a space in Livingston, West Lothian

• I can travel to your home for therapy appointments. Travel miles will be charged at the current government business mileage rate

Obviously, a large part of the fee pays for my knowledge, skills and years of experience. However, there are also lots of hidden costs.

For a therapy session, the fee includes

• Time spent preparing for the session

• Time spent writing my notes after the session

• Insurance costs

• Membership of professional bodies

• Administrative costs

• Room rental where applicable

After an assessment, I’ll write you a quick summary report, outlining any difficulties I’ve noted as well as my plan for supporting you and your child with those difficulties.

If you would like a more detailed report, this will incur an additional fee due to the time involved in preparing this.

If you want me to come with you to a meeting in your child’s school, I am happy to do so. This will be charged at the standard hourly rate. Please be aware that my availability for this is limited to my usual working hours.

I am committed to a neuro-affirming approach to therapy. I will empower your child or young person to be their most authentic self. I will celebrate the things that make your young person unique, including their communication style.

I will not teach traditional ‘social skills’ to autistic children. Autistic adults tell us that this kind of input just teaches them to mask their true selves and is extremely damaging in the long term. I’d much rather teach your child to communicate and advocate for themself, in whatever way is most comfortable for them.

I am an LGBTQI+ ally. I’m comfortable working with people of any gender identity and sexual orientation.

I don’t always get it right, but I’m committed to educating myself. If you feel that I’ve got something wrong for you, please tell me so that I can do better.

One of the joys of language is that it’s always changing and developing. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all of the new words, phrases and jargon. Over recent years, the term neurodiversity has become part of everyday conversation. Like many concepts, the terminology can be a little confusing. Here’s how I understand and use the language:

• Neurodiversity – the notion that all brains are different. However, within that, there are patterns to how groups of brains work similarly. For example, there are autistic brains, there are brains with adhd, there are brains that are both.

• Neurotypical – how most people’s brains work. The majority of people world wide have a neurotypical brain. There are, of course, individual differences, but on the whole, they work in much the same way.

• Neurodivergent – these are brains that work in a way that is different from the (neurotypical) majority. Neurodivergence includes, but is not limited to, autism; ADHD, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), anxiety, dyslexia.

If you want to use private health insurance to pay for sessions, I would ask that you settle your invoice with me directly. You can then claim the money back from your insurer.

During Covid lockdowns, many of us became adept at using video calling. Speech and Language Therapy online isn’t easy, but it is possible. If this is something that you are interested in, please get in touch via the Contact form.