Our team includes speech and language therapists, speech and language therapy assistants, speech and language technical assistants and an administrator.
All our speech and language therapists are registered with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and Health and Care Professions Council.
We work with children and young people with complex neurodisability who have limitations to speech, communication, oral skills for saliva control, eating, drinking and swallowing. We assess, design, modify and provide bespoke treatment programmes and solutions to ensure that each child and young person can participate in all aspects of their lives.
We assess for and meet these needs via clinics at Chailey Clinical Services including:
We also work directly with children and young people who attend Chailey Heritage Foundation School and Residential Care, providing integrated care with education, social care and health professionals.
The speech and language therapy team at Chailey Clinical services is also involved in research and innovation projects. We have collaborated with leading researchers in childhood disability to ensure that the voices and experiences of the children and families we work with are heard by policy makers.
We have been successful in obtaining funding to develop ideas through research which have been adopted internationally, such as the eating and drinking ability classification system for individuals with cerebral palsy (EDACS) study. We are currently involved in a range of other national research projects, such as Breathe Easy, YourTube, the FEEDS study, and G-PATH.
Archie, aged six, is a determined, inquisitive and competitive young boy. Archie also happens to have complex physical disabilities and health needs. He has a diagnosis of the rare Pompe Disease, severe neuromuscular weakness and uses a ventilator. The only movement he has is very little in his hands. He lives at home with his parents and has nursing care overnight, seven days a week.
Before attending Chailey Heritage School, communicating with Archie required his mum to be there to interpret his facial expressions. Archie has been able to develop a yes/no response, which enables him to clearly make his own choices.
Using BIGmack (a message recording device operated by button) and Eye Gaze technology (using the mouse by tracking eye movement), Archie has been able to express himself more and communicate with his peers. Before Chailey Heritage School, Archie spent the majority of his time with his mum and didn’t have the chance to be around people his own age. Now, he thoroughly enjoys ‘Hello time’ when class meets in the mornings and even rocks his hand to say hello to his classmates.
As well as this, Archie has been using Chailey Communication System (CCS) to help with his interactions. The CCS is a symbol communication book which has sixteen categories, each with a number of subcategories and potentially an unlimited number of vocabulary items. CCS provides huge flexibility, and it enables Archie to express single words, short phrases and complex novel phrases. He has even begun putting short stories together!
Find out more about Archie's journey.
Our services can be accessed in a range of ways, including:
You can also get involved by engaging with our service's social media accounts by helping with the latest fundraisers and events.
If you need advice about our services, facilities or staff, or would like to make a comment, please contact Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS).
You can contact PALS by the following:
Tell us what you think about our services, what we are good at, where we can improve, and what matters to you? All feedback will be shared anonymously wherever possible, but if you have any questions about this, please ask.
