Welcome to our new website, lots more information will be coming over the next few months.
The Speech and Language Therapy team provide a range of services for children from birth to 18 years. These include: prevention, training to settings/schools, assessments and therapeutic interventions for children and young people having difficulties with language, speech sounds, fluency, voice and dysphagia.
We work with parents, education staff and other health professionals to set functional goals
Before referring to Speech & Language Therapy you may find it helpful to try some of the strategies in this toolkit
The Exeter East and Mid Team supports familes in Exeter, Cullompton, Exmouth, Honiton, Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary, Tiverton and the surrounding areas.
The North team supports families in Barnstaple, Bideford, Holsworthy, Ilfracombe, South Molton and Torrington and surrounding areas.
The Torbay South and West Team supports families in Torbay, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Totnes, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Tavistock and the surrounding areas.
Community Speech & Language Therapy
Request for Service Form
Speech and Language Therapy School Age Triage Form
Please attach any useful reports or forms with your referral to help our decision-making process
Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapy:
School-Aged Autism
Criteria for accessing this service are:
School age children with a diagnosis of ASD.
Their language difficulties should be over and above those typically expected to occur with ASD*, in communication and social interaction skills, and will be impacting on their everyday functioning.
*Typical difficulties that many children with ASD may experience are:
> Processing spoken information, particularly in situations where social and sensory demands are high
> understanding inferred meanings, and non-literal language, such as figures of speech and idioms
> using language and non-verbal skills appropriately in social situations.
Help in school for understanding and supporting children and young people with ASD may also be requested by schools from the Communication and Interaction team at Devon County Council.
Hearing Impairment
Criteria for accessing this service are:
> The child or young person must have a permanent hearing loss with a significant impact on language acquisition and access to learning – in most cases this will be a sensori-neural loss but sometimes a conductive hearing loss can be permanent / long standing.
> The child’s hearing loss may occur alongside another disability / disorder
> The child or young person will have a Teacher of the Deaf
Clinical decision-making tool for hearing impairment
Feeding and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)
This part of the service is for babies, infants and children who have eating, drinking and/or swallowing problems – this might be as a result of being premature, or because of physical or mechanical feeding difficulties. We will see babies and children who:
> Are at risk of aspirating, e.g. food or drink going down the wrong way into their lungs
> Who have a history of repeated chest infections/pneumonia which is caused by swallowing difficulties
> Are preterm or a baby with a neurological problem/medical condition associated with feeding difficulties, e.g. Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy
> Are being weaned off a feeding tube
> Have a tracheostomy tube
> Have problems with food and drink when it is in their mouth or throat
Important information:
> Referrals for this service must be made by your child’s Paediatrician, Dietician, Community Children’s Nurse, Ward Nurse, Special School Nurse or Speech and Language Therapist.
> Please note we do not provide a service for children who have feeding difficulties as a result of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, children with just sensory and/or behavioural issues affecting their eating and drinking or children who are ‘fussy’ eaters, toddlers/children who refuse to eat lumpy/chewy foods or for children generally refusing to eat.
What happens next (Dysphagia) ?
Once the request for service has been accepted, you will be notified and sent an appointment.
URGENT requests will be seen as follows:
> Inpatient referrals – within 2 working days
> Outpatient referrals – within 5 working days
NON URGENT requests will be seen as follows:
> Inpatient referrals – within 5 working days
> Outpatient referrals – within 1 month
If you are looking for more information on infant feeding or breastfeeding, please click here.
East, North, West Devon, and Torbay and South Devon
The Exeter East and Mid Team supports familes in Exeter, Cullompton, Exmouth, Honiton, Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary, Tiverton and the surrounding areas.
The North team supports families in Barnstaple, Bideford, Holsworthy, Ilfracombe, South Molton and Torrington and surrounding areas.
The Torbay South and West Team supports families in Torbay, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Totnes, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Tavistock and the surrounding areas.
Community Speech & Language Therapy
Request for Service Form
Speech and Language Therapy School Age Triage Form
Please attach any useful reports or forms with your referral to help our decision-making process
Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapy:
School-Aged Autism
Criteria for accessing this service are:
School age children with a diagnosis of ASD.
Their language difficulties should be over and above those typically expected to occur with ASD*, in communication and social interaction skills, and will be impacting on their everyday functioning.
*Typical difficulties that many children with ASD may experience are:
> Processing spoken information, particularly in situations where social and sensory demands are high
> understanding inferred meanings, and non-literal language, such as figures of speech and idioms
> using language and non-verbal skills appropriately in social situations.
Help in school for understanding and supporting children and young people with ASD may also be requested by schools from the Communication and Interaction team at Devon County Council.
Hearing Impairment
Criteria for accessing this service are:
> The child or young person must have a permanent hearing loss with a significant impact on language acquisition and access to learning – in most cases this will be a sensori-neural loss but sometimes a conductive hearing loss can be permanent / long standing.
> The child’s hearing loss may occur alongside another disability / disorder
> The child or young person will have a Teacher of the Deaf
Clinical decision-making tool for hearing impairment
Feeding and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)
This part of the service is for babies, infants and children who have eating, drinking and/or swallowing problems – this might be as a result of being premature, or because of physical or mechanical feeding difficulties. We will see babies and children who:
> Are at risk of aspirating, e.g. food or drink going down the wrong way into their lungs
> Who have a history of repeated chest infections/pneumonia which is caused by swallowing difficulties
> Are preterm or a baby with a neurological problem/medical condition associated with feeding difficulties, e.g. Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy
> Are being weaned off a feeding tube
> Have a tracheostomy tube
> Have problems with food and drink when it is in their mouth or throat
Important information:
> Referrals for this service must be made by your child’s Paediatrician, Dietician, Community Children’s Nurse, Ward Nurse, Special School Nurse or Speech and Language Therapist.
> Please note we do not provide a service for children who have feeding difficulties as a result of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, children with just sensory and/or behavioural issues affecting their eating and drinking or children who are ‘fussy’ eaters, toddlers/children who refuse to eat lumpy/chewy foods or for children generally refusing to eat.
What happens next (Dysphagia) ?
Once the request for service has been accepted, you will be notified and sent an appointment.
URGENT requests will be seen as follows:
> Inpatient referrals – within 2 working days
> Outpatient referrals – within 5 working days
NON URGENT requests will be seen as follows:
> Inpatient referrals – within 5 working days
> Outpatient referrals – within 1 month
If you are looking for more information on infant feeding or breastfeeding, please click here.