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Workshops for Parents and Carers

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Workshops for Parents and Carers

We offer sessions for parents and carers of young children with delayed speech and / or language development. The courses are free for parents and carers who pay their council tax to Leeds City Council and/or has a Leeds GP and have a child with an open referral to the speech and language therapy service. There will be a charge for parents and carers accessing our courses who are out of the area.

The workshops are very informal and give practical advice on helping your child and will give you the chance to:

Find out more about how children develop communication skills.
Think about the way children and adults interact together, and how this can influence children’s communication development when there are difficulties.
Share ideas and get support from other parents and carers whose children have delayed speech and / or language development.

The workshops are for parents and carers only. Unfortunately, there is no provision for your child to attend and there are no crèche facilities.

Following a speech and language assessment, if appropriate, your name will be added to a waiting list for parent training workshops. You will be offered a place on a parent training workshop via an opt-in letter. In order to book a place please follow the directions on the opt-in letter.

Workshop Information

Parent training is provided in a variety of venues across the city. Details of the parent and carer workshops we offer can be found below.

Course Details

Universal Workshop

We offer a Universal workshop for parents / carers with top ten tips for talking. This is aimed at parents / carers of children who are following our universal pathway.

Following this workshop, the children will be discharged. This workshop is to help parents and carers understand how general communication and interaction develops and what can be done to help at home. Parents / carers are invited to choose three of the top ten tips they wish to implement at home in the first instance and they will be included on the discharge report. Participants will also get the opportunity to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children are having similar difficulties.

Language Workshop

We offer a Language workshop for parents and carers of children with language difficulties. This workshop is to help parents and carers understand how language skills develop and what can be done to help at home. Participants will also get the opportunity to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children are having similar difficulties.

Speech Sounds (pronunciation) Workshop

We offer a Speech Sounds workshop for parents / carers of children with speech sound (pronunciation) difficulties. This is a workshop to help parents / carers understand how speech sound skills develop, what can go wrong, and what happens in speech and language therapy. Participants will also get the opportunity to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children are having similar difficulties.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Workshop

We offer a short workshop for parents / carers of children who have a diagnosis of DLD. This workshop is to help parents / carers understand what DLD is and what can be done to help at home. Participants will also get the chance to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children have similar difficulties. This workshop is for parents / carers of children who have a diagnosis of DLD from the DLD team.

Specific Speech Disorder (SSD) Workshop

We offer a short workshop for parents / carers of children who have a diagnosis of SSD. This workshop is to help parents / carers understand what SSD is and what can be done to help at home. Participants will also get the chance to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children have similar difficulties. This workshop is for parents / carers of children who have a diagnosis of SSD from the SSD team.

Makaton Workshops

We offer Makaton workshops for parents / carers of children who use Makaton. The sessions give parents / carers an opportunity to develop their Makaton signing skills in an informal and supportive atmosphere.

Makaton Level 1 and 2 Workshops

The Level 1 and 2 workshops provide a practical introduction to parents / carers who need to use Makaton in everyday situations. Signing instruction is given for over 200 early vocabulary concepts. Makaton symbols are included, and examples of their use are given. Methods of implementing and using Makaton are discussed and developed.

Makaton Levels 3 and 4 Workshops

The Level 3 and 4 workshops concentrates on improving and developing signing and symbol skills and develops everyday use of Makaton. It revises the early vocabulary introduced in the Level 1 and 2 workshops and teaches an additional 250 signs and symbols of later vocabulary. Participants must have attended the Level 1 and 2 workshops and use Makaton daily.

Communication in ASC (age 5-19)

This workshop is aimed at families whose school-age children regularly use and understand spoken language. This workshop is for parents / carers of children who have a diagnosis of autism.

For parents / carers of school-age children who are at a pre-speech or very early stage of communication development, the Intensive Interaction workshop (see below) will be more useful.

Intensive Interaction Workshop (age 0-4)

Intensive Interaction is an approach to teach the basic fundamentals of communication that come before speech. It is used with both children and adults who have severe learning difficulties and / or autism and who are still at an early stage of their communication development. Based around a parent – infant interaction model, it uses natural interaction to create enjoyable and understandable interaction experiences and thus develops the individual’s communication and interaction skills.

This workshop is useful for parents / carers who have a pre-school child who would benefit from using this approach. The sessions give parents / carers an opportunity to develop their understanding and use of Intensive Interaction in an informal and supportive atmosphere.

Intensive Interaction Workshop (age 5-19)

This workshop is useful for parents / carers who have a school aged child who would benefit from using this approach. The sessions give parents / carers an opportunity to develop their understanding and use of Intensive Interaction in an informal and supportive atmosphere.

Visual Support Workshop

This workshop is designed to help you understand and find visual strategies that will support you and your child at home and in an educational setting. The course is designed for children attending mainstream educational settings with or without a diagnosis of autism.

Children Under 6 Who Stammer

We offer a workshop for parents / carers of children who stammer. This workshop provides information about stammering behaviours that might be seen as children are developing their language skills and looks at what parents can do to support comfortable communication and interaction. Participants also get the opportunity to meet and speak to other parents / carers whose children stammer.

Children Over 6 Who Stammer

We offer a workshop for parents / carers of children over 6 who stammer. This workshop helps parents to learn more about the development of stammering and what can be done to support a child who stammers. Participants also get the opportunity to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children stammer.

Selective Mutism

We offer an introductory course for parents / carers of children presenting with Selective Mutism. This workshop is to help you to understand what selective mutism is and offers support and guidance as to what can be done at home to help. Participants will get the opportunity to meet and speak with other parents / carers whose children are having similar difficulties.

Information Workshops Frequently Asked Questions

Why have I been invited to attend this workshop?

Your child has been seen by a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) and they feel this workshop would be useful for you.

You will be given information to support your child’s communication development at the workshop.

What will the workshop involve?

Workshop descriptions are in the section above.

Do I need to attend both dates for the Intensive Interaction (5-19) face to face workshop or Makaton online workshops?

Yes, it is important for you to attend both sessions.

If you cannot attend both sessions contact the SLT Admin team.

Tel: 0113 843 3650

We will contact you when we schedule more workshop dates. You will need to call or email to book on in the same way.

Do I need to bring my child that I am attending this course for?

No. This workshop is for parents/carers only. It is for you to be given information to support and develop your child’s communication skills. There are no childcare facilities.

Is there any childcare provided?

No, unfortunately we are unable to provide any childcare provision. If you cannot attend due to childcare contact the SLT Admin team.

Tel: 0113 843 3650

We will contact you when we schedule more workshop dates. You will need to call or email to book on in the same way.

Can I breastfeed during a face to face workshop?

If you are currently breastfeeding a child, you can request a 1-1 session in clinic where you will be welcome to come along with your children. The face to face workshops are for adults only.

Can I leave early if needed?

Ideally, you will attend for the full session/sessions. We appreciate this may not always be possible. Please speak to the staff running the workshop when you arrive.

If you cannot stay for the full workshop contact the SLT Admin team.

Tel: 0113 843 3650

We will contact you when we schedule more workshop dates. You will phone/email to book on in the same way.

How many people can attend with me?

You can book on with one other person.

I will need an interpreter, will this be arranged?

If you need an interpreter contact the SLT Admin team. We need to know which language you speak.

Tel: 0113 843 3650

If we have invited you to attend an online workshop and you need an interpreter please contact the admin team. We are not able to provide interpreters for online workshops. We can arrange a 1-1 session with an interpreter.

Are refreshments provided for face to face workshops?

Yes, tea and coffee will be provided, plus access to drinking water.

If it is a full day workshop you need to bring a packed lunch with you.