Claire Madeira

I am an East Kent-based Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist and have over 25 years experience. As a parent of now grown-up children with specific learning needs I have a unique understanding of what is involved in ‘sitting on the other side of the table’. I’m passionate about supporting and advocating for children to maximise their ability to access education, demonstrate their learning and reach their speech, language and communication potential.

I strongly value collaborative working and partnership between speech and language therapy, any other involved professionals and most importantly those who know the child best; parents, families and school staff. This approach enables a full and holistic view of a child’s strengths and needs to be shared and understood by all. Allowing everyone to jointly identify and prioritise support for a child together can lead to the best possible outcomes.

I have worked with children/young people aged 0-22 years with a variety of different challenges, such as: Autism Spectrum, Dyspraxia, learning difficulties, challenging behaviours, Developmental Language Disorder and Speech Sound Disorder.

What happens within an Initial Speech and Language Assessment?

The assessment appointment will usually involve:

Taking a case history from parents
Observation of the child
Direct Assessment of speech, language and communication skills (this may involve informal and/or formal assessment methods)
Verbal feedback of findings (this may be immediate or if detailed assessment scoring is required this may take place via phone later the same day)
A written summary report will follow which includes advice and recommendations

What does a Speech and Language Therapist do in an Autism Assessment?

As a Speech and Language Therapist I complete the ADOS 2. This is a semi-structured play-based assessment during which scored observations are made of you/your child’s social interaction. On the day of the assessment I will score the assessment and provide verbal feedback as to whether you/your child has met the threshold for an Autism diagnosis. A summary report and recommendations will follow.

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