Children's Speech and Language Therapy

Integrated Children's Nursing and Therapy team

The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service in Lancaster and Morecambe provides specialist assessment, diagnosis, treatment and management of communication difficulties for children and young people aged 0 to 16 years old. We may occasionally see slightly older children.

The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service is for children with speech, language, communication and/or eating and drinking difficulties.

This might include:

  • Children who are taking longer than expected to learn to talk
  • Children with limited vocabulary, who struggle to form sentences, or who get their words and sentences muddled up.
  • Children who find it difficult to understand what others are saying.
  • Children who struggle to communicate socially with others.
  • Children who struggle to say certain sounds or make themselves understood.
  • Children who stammer.
  • Children who have problems with their voice.

Some children have difficulties with managing food and drink. There is a feeding and swallowing service which provides advice for some children who have more complex difficulties with managing food and drink. (General advice on weaning, picky eating or mealtime behavioural issues is provided by your Health Visitor.)

The Speech and Language Therapy team will work in a variety of settings and they work in close partnership with the child, their family and other professionals such as teachers, nursery staff, health visitors and Early Years workers, to promote positive outcomes for all children. All Speech and Language Therapists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council https://www.hcpc-uk.org/ as the national regulatory body. Our professional body is the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Anne-Marie Casement, SLT, with PPE.JPG Anne-Marie Casement, SLT.JPG Anne-Marie Casement, Speech and Language Therapist

Becky Roshanfekr, SLT.JPG Becky Roshanfekr, Speech and Language Therapist

Dawn Richards, SLT.jpg Dawn Richards, Speech and Language Therapist

Karen Cross, SLT.jpg Karen Cross, Speech and Language Therapist

Karen Kelly, SLT.jpeg Karen Kelly, SLT, with PPE.jpeg Karen Kelly, Speech and Language Therapist

Kimberley Harrison, SLTA.jpeg Kimberley Harrison, Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Maja Moller, SLT.jpg Maja Moller, Speech and Language Therapist

Mandy Blair, SLT.jpg Mandy Blair, Speech and Language Therapist

Mike Phillips, SLT.JPG Mike Phillips, Speech and Language Therapist

Rachel Klein, SLT.png Rachel Klein, Speech and Language Therapist

Sophie Barlow, SLT.jpg Sophie Barlow, Speech and Language Therapist

Trisha Wilkinson, SLTA.JPG Trisha Wilkinson, Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Floor 3
Moor Lane Mills
Moor Lane
Lancaster
LA1 1QD

Tel: 01524 591671

If you are unsure about whether a child needs a referral into the speech and language therapy service, please contact our advice line. Tuesdays 9am-11am - 07816 194918 or email sltadvice@mbht.nhs.uk

Referrals to the speech and language therapy service can be made by completing the referral form. Referrals can be made by a variety of different professionals including Health Visitors, GPs, Medical Consultants, teachers.  Please provide clear information about the specific difficulties. For example if it is a speech sound issue then to write down how some words are said, or if it is language then to write down the sort of sentences that are used.

If the referral is for a child younger than 2.5 years, please contact the advice line for support before completing a referral. You do not need to go to your GP to get a referral. It is useful for us to have information from your child’s nursery / school, or Health Visitor.

We no longer accept referrals from parents.

Some things that may be addressed include: issues with 

  • speech clarity (speech sounds)
  • early language delay (2 ½  - 3 years)
  • concerns with understanding of language
  • concerns with use of spoken language
  • attention and listening
  • feeding / swallowing
  • stammering, quality of voice.

We do not accept referrals for:

  • A language delay in a child with learning difficulties where language is in line with their general learning abilities, and whose needs can be met and managed within their school provision.
  • Where there are concerns regarding English as an additional language, but where there are no concerns about the development of their first/home language.
  • Children with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) diagnosis whose language and communication can be managed/facilitated appropriately by other people around them.
  • Children who use only British Sign Language to communicate, where no language difficulties are evident.
  • School-age children needing an assessment for an opinion as to their need of an ASD diagnosis. These children will be assessed through a team co-ordinated by Lancashire Care.
  • Children with a GP outside of Lancaster and Morecambe, other than in specific individual circumstances.
  • Children with concerns about their voice quality, who have not been assessed by ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) to check if there are any underlying medical reasons causing the changes to their voice.