The Mainstream and Community Team provides assessment and diagnosis of a range of communication difficulties in preschool and school age children.
Children may have difficulties pronouncing speech sounds, coping with a stammer/stutter, developing language (learning words and developing sentences), listening and behaving well. They may have other diagnoses such as cleft lip or palate, autism, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy or learning difficulties at mainstream school or nursery (Including Down’s syndrome, etc.).
For children with complex difficulties, we liaise with parents/carers and any other professionals involved with the child. e.g. teachers, specialist teachers, teaching assistants, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, teachers of the hearing or visually impaired, educational and clinical psychologists etc.
Intervention following assessment may take place at home, in nursery or school, or in a clinic. A package of care will be overseen by a speech and language therapist and delivered by a therapist, assistant or assistant practitioner. It may involve a combination of: direct Individual or group therapy; a programmes of work to be carried out by parents/carers/teaching assistants and reviewed by the therapist; input to a child’s Individual Education Plan in school or pre-school setting; advice to home/school and review after a set amount of time; training and advice to home/school on strategies which will help the child in his/her environment
Children are seen in chronological order from the time the service receives a referral.
General enquiries should be made to:
Speech and Language Therapy Service
Central Clinic
Cannon Street
Oldham
OL9 6EP
Tel: 0161 909 8266
Service Manager: Gill Barrett
Team Manager: Heather Martin-Netherwood
The office is staffed from 9.00 a.m. until 5.00 p.m. (Monday to Friday) and has a telephone answering machine connected at other times.
You can help us by: Attending appointments and sessions, giving us information about your child and being involved in therapy. The success of a package of care and the progress a child makes relies on support from people at home and school.