West Lothian

Families can come along to the Toddle In sessions to discuss their child’s communication with a Speech and Language Therapist and will receive key strategies to try at home. These drop in sessions are to support children from 18 months to 3 years old and are provided jointly with NHS Community Nursery Nurse and our colleagues in Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.

Signalong

Signalong is a keyword signing system used to support speech, language and communication skills. A number of our local Speech and Language Therapists are certified Signalong Tutors who provide one hour sign sharing sessions, workshops and Foundation 1 Courses throughout the academic year.

Our NHS Lothian Speech and Language Therapists have created many videos demonstrating Signalong. Click on the link below to view them:

https://vimeo.com/channels/1635003

For further information regarding Signalong, please visit their website through the link below:

https://signalong.org.uk/

Formal Signalong Foundation Phase 1 courses run regularly in West Lothian and can be booked through the CLPL directory. If you have any questions, you can contact your local Speech and Language Therapist for further information.

Training for Nursery and Schools

The Speech and Language Therapy department provides a wide range of training to mainstream nurseries and schools and specialist provisions.

Topics include:

• Typical speech, language and communication development
• Identifying speech and language difficulties in the classroom
• Supporting speech and language difficulties in the classroom
• Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• Eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties
• Building vocabulary
• Signalong

If you have a specific speech, language and communication training need or interest for your nursery, please discuss this with your local Speech and Language Therapist and we can tailor training sessions to suit.

Universal Resources

The West Lothian Speech and Language Therapy service have recorded training videos for Stammering, Visual Supports and Supporting Autistic Children or Children with Social Communication Differences. West Lothian education settings can access these training videos through the NHS Partners SharePoint channel.

Language Link

Language Link is a computer based assessment program which school access between P1-P3. Children are assessed by education staff at the beginning of the school year and materials are available that are tailored to each individual child’s needs, to help support their language development.

Building Language and Literacy Skills in Early Years

This is a joint initiative between Murrayfield Language Centre and Speech and Language Therapy. It is a universal training opportunity delivered over 5 online live sessions and aimed at Early Years Practitioners. Topics covered include a range of topics aimed at building the pre-requisite skills for later learning and literacy for all children in Early Years settings. These include: listening and attention, vocabulary, oral narrative skills and phonological awareness. Follow up support and activities are provided throughout the year to nurseries and schools that have attended the course.

For more information please contact Murrayfield Language Centre or look for more details on West Lothian Education Continuing Professional Development.

For more information or to make arrangements for any of the services detailed above, please contact your local SLT department.