I was reading an email from a parent today who mentioned that the key feature of her child's expressive language is questions. It remind...

I popped into a coffee shop for brunch today. Two carers came in with their young disabled clients — both lovely young people, probably in ...

I'm writing a report about a 4 year old autistic boy I saw a couple of weeks ago. We had discussed that he was being completely misunder...

In the run-up to World Kindness Day (13 November), and in my role as a speech–language therapist working with children with SEND and their f...

There’s a growing narrative that children missing school are simply refusing to attend — and their parents need to “get a grip.” But that st...

For many children, friendships are built on the playground, in classrooms, or through after-school clubs. But for autistic children, these e...

When a child who previously spoke at home suddenly stops talking, even though they can still communicate in brief written messages, it often...

Parents are often encouraged to “work with the school” or to “trust the process” when challenges arise in education. While collaboration ...

When most people think of dyslexia, they think of difficulties with reading, spelling, and written expression. But underneath these challe...

Why Connection Matters More Than Compliance for Neurodivergent Children in School For many neurodivergent children, school can bring bot...

Today something extraordinary happened in school. I was visiting one of my clients, a 7-year-old boy who is “minimally speaking.” He uses...

For many children, starting secondary school is a mixture of excitement and nerves. But for teenagers with selective mutism (SM), the tr...

The government’s recent proposals to scale back Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services — including reducing access to ...

Communication Is So Much More Than Talking: This week in a group session, something happened that really struck me. One of the children I ...

As a speech and language therapist, I spend much of my time thinking about what happens when communication is hard work. I spend hours ana...

'Oh don't worry he's fine!' Just wait and see!' Parents often have an instinct when something isn't quite right but ...

When people think about communication, the first thing that usually comes to mind is *talking*. We place so much importance on spoken words ...

Ive just had a very familiar conversation with a parent about their potentially autistic child. He lies about small things like what he has ...

Guest blog post Listening to Harry Thompson on his Facebook live today asking for contributions to the essence of PDA has inspired me to o...

I wrote this blog a couple of years ago https://www.smarttalkersblog.com/2019/02/doesnt-listen-is-rude-homophobic-racist.html In many ways...