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My son’s speech therapy

Posted By Katds56

"My son’s speech therapy"

About: Fife Community Services / Speech and Language Therapy

(as a parent/guardian),

We have been trying to get help for my son’s speech for the last 4 years.  We were told by the health visitor not to worry and then by nursery that we should get help.  We were referred to the helpline which was fine but we really needed help.  Our GP sent us for an audiology referral then to ENT to check our son's tonsils, delaying us getting help from SLT by about a year.

Once we had jumped through those hoops, I made an appointment with the GP again, only to be seen by someone who was covering from Edinburgh and had no idea how referrals for SLT worked in Fife.  I was given a printed form which I could have done years ago had I been given the correct information.

Our experience once being seen by the SLT team has been amazing.  I cannot praise Emily highly enough and I hope she gets the recognition she deserves for the help she provides.  Our son now confidently speaks and has a new level of confidence in communicating.  Emily was very kind and made us feel very comfortable.  Our son loved his time with her.

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Responses

Response from Gemma Wilson, Operational Lead, Children & Young People Speech and Language Service, Children & Young People's Speech & Language Therapy, Health & Social Care Partnership, West Fife 3 days ago
Gemma Wilson
Operational Lead, Children & Young People Speech and Language Service, Children & Young People's Speech & Language Therapy,
Health & Social Care Partnership, West Fife

I manage the children and young people's speech & language therapy team in West Fife

Submitted on 30/06/2025 at 21:14
Published on Care Opinion on 01/07/2025 at 07:22

picture of Gemma Wilson

Dear Katds56

My name is Gemma Wilson and I manage the Children and Young people’s Speech & Language Therapy Service in West Fife. I am also Emily’s line manager.

Thank you for taking the time to write your review about our service and more importantly to tell us about the support you have received from Emily. I will ensure that she has access to your review and she will be delighted to read the feedback about your son’s sessions. I am really pleased to hear that your son’s communication and confidence have both improved during his treatment. We know that it can be stressful when children experience difficulties with the development of their speech and language skills.

I am sorry to read that you felt that you had a difficult time accessing our service and I will certainly look into the information we share with our GP colleagues. We have what is known as an 'open' request system which means that families and carers do not need to go through their GP to access our service, unless they choose to do so. If required, individuals can make their own requests for support, but most importantly they can access immediate advice via our advice line rather than waiting for a referral. We know people really value this option as they have the opportunity to discuss their child’s communication and can obtain strategies to put in place to support their child straight away. While I understand that your son also required some direct support through his sessions with Emily, I am glad you were able to contact our SLT team on our advice line and I hope they also gave you helpful advice.

Thank you again for your review and I wish you and your son the very best for the future.

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