Children's Speech & Language Therapy - Kingston

17/06/2026

🏳️‍🌈 COLOURFUL SEMANTICS 🏳️‍🌈

Colourful Semantics is a structured approach used in speech and language therapy to help children build sentences by breaking them into key parts using colours:

🧡 Who (orange)
💛 What doing (yellow)
💚 What (green)
💙 Where (blue)

This visual system makes language easier to understand and organise. For children with learning disabilities, it reduces cognitive load and provides clear, consistent support for sentence building.

By using colour cues, children can:

✨Improve sentence structure and grammar
✨Develop expressive language skills
✨Increase confidence in speaking
✨Better understand how language works
✨Colourful Semantics is especially effective because it combines visual, verbal, and structured learning, helping children to gradually move from simple to more complex sentences.

15/06/2026

🌟 Learning Disability Week 2026 🌟

A message from Amie, one of our speech and language therapy assistants:

At St P’s we support children and young people by using visuals, adapting activities, encouraging social interaction, promoting confidence and independence, and creating inclusive communication-friendly environments where every child feels valued and heard. 💙

We support this by:

✨ Offering supported and structured lunch clubs
✨ Using Aided Language Displays to increase vocabulary, support understanding, and encourage communication
✨ Supporting emotional understanding and regulation
✨ Encouraging turn-taking, conversation, and peer interaction
✨ Adapting activities to meet individual communication needs
✨ Providing visual supports and clear routines to aid understanding and engagement

Together, we celebrate every child’s strengths and support them to achieve their full potential.

11/06/2026

💡How to Play with LEGO to Boost Language & Communication at Home 🏠

LEGO isn’t just for building towers - it’s a brilliant way to support language and communication skills through play!

🗣️ Talk as you build
Describe what you’re doing. Use descriptive words such as “big block”, “red one”, “square one”, and “next to” to help develop your child’s vocabulary. Hearing language in context helps us link meaning to words.

👉🏼 Take turns
Say things like “my turn” and “your turn” to build turn taking and social communication skills.

❓ Ask questions
Try asking questions like “What should we build next?” or offer choices like “wheel or window?”.

✅ Expand language naturally
Talk naturally instead of quizzing. Copy what your child says and add more words. For example, if you child says “yellow one”, adult can respond by saying “big yellow one” or “yellow one on top?”.

♥️ Follow the child’s lead
Follow the child’s lead when playing with LEGO. Watch what they choose and how they play — this tells you what motivates them, and motivation drives communication.

🌟Most important of all: have fun playing and interacting with your child

04/06/2026

Every child deserves the time, space, and support to express themselves. 💛

Small changes in how we listen and respond can make a big difference for children and young people who stammer. From giving them time to finish their thoughts to focusing on what they say rather than how they say it, supportive communication helps build confidence and connection.

26/05/2026

🌟 Supporting Children Early with *School Start* 🌟

School Start is an early intervention programme designed to support Reception children in developing language and sound awareness skills in mainstream primary schools.

✅ 30 weekly group sessions
✅ Linked to the Foundation Stage Curriculum
✅ Easy-to-use activities for school and home
✅ Designed for Teaching Assistants with support from SENCOs, teachers, parents & speech therapists
✅ Includes checklists, resources, handouts & progress tracking tools

📈 Results from a 3-year pilot in Kingston schools showed significant improvements in:
• Language skills
• Sound awareness
• Attention & listening
• Social interaction

The programme provides schools with a practical, measurable and preventative approach to supporting vulnerable children early.

19/05/2026

“MyStammeringTap” is a powerful awareness project sharing the message: “Hear the message, not the stammer.”

Created through a collaboration between Speech and Language Therapy at Humber NHS Trust, Artlink Hull, people who stammer, and the wider community, the video highlights the everyday impact stammering can have on communication and confidence. It encourages people to listen with patience, understanding, and empathy- because how we respond can shape how someone feels about themselves and their voice. 💙

Hear In Hull A City of Culture Creative Communities Project“Hear the message not the stammer”The project is collaboration between Speech and Language Therapy...

14/05/2026

Supporting children’s speech, language, and communication with signs can make a huge difference. Signs help reinforce spoken language, gain attention, reduce frustration, and support understanding- especially for children with complex communication needs.

Top tips:
✨ Keep language short and simple
✨ Sign key words while speaking
✨ Use facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact
✨ Accept your child’s version of signs as they learn
✨ Encourage everyone around the child to use signs consistently

In the UK, common signing programmes include Makaton and Alongside signing, using speech together gives children more ways to understand and express themselves.

If you would like to learn more about signing you can check out some resources here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iD6uyCU-kjPrR4lZ1muc_xA8-6gh6Pd8/view?usp=sharing

11/05/2026

Did you know that our children's speech and language therapy team has a youth justice service? The Youth Justice Service (YJS) supports young people aged 10–18 who have come into contact with the justice system. We work with children, young people, and families to help reduce offending, build confidence, and create positive opportunities for the future. YJS works closely with schools, social care, health services, and local youth organisations to make sure young people get the right support at the right time.

06/05/2026

This week is Deaf Awareness week!

Here are a few simple ways we can ALL make a difference:

🤟Learn basic sign language as a family- it opens doors to connection
⌛Be patient and attentive in communication
💪Advocate for inclusive education and equal opportunities
💙Teach our children kindness, empathy, and respect for all abilities

Some great organisations to check out this deaf awareness week:

✨https://rnid.org.uk/it-does-matter/
✨https://royaldeaf.org.uk/youthadvance/
✨https://www.ndcs.org.uk/

04/05/2026

Happy Deaf Awareness Week 👂

To mark Deaf Awareness Week, two of our Speech and Language Therapists have created a video sharing about the work they do to support deaf children and young people. 💙

In the video they’ve also included recommendations of some fantastic organisations offering resources, advice and ongoing support for families:

https://www.ndcs.org.uk
https://elizabeth-foundation.org