After the initial assessment your therapist will recommend a treatment plan, including the approaches to be used and the frequency of sessions that would be appropriate. These recommendations are made according to their clinical knowledge and expertise and in line with up to date clinical evidence. We will typically recommend either weekly or fortnightly therapy sessions and will always recommend we start with a minimum of 8 sessions because the evidence clearly shows that 8 sessions of any therapy approach are needed to be able to achieve change.

We are committed to being able to offer appointments within a week or two of referral. We don’t want to keep anybody waiting. Early intervention has been clinically proven to significantly improve outcomes when treating speech, language and communication difficulties.

We do at times become inundated with new referrals and are forced to start a waiting list. If this does happen we do everything we can and pull out all the stops to get appointments booked as soon as possible. We make sure that anyone who is on a waiting list gets regular, clear, honest communication as to where they are on the list and when they will be seen.

We do not provide intervention into client’s homes but we can visit our client’s education or care settings or other public locations to provide intervention. In rare circumstances we will provide home visits, at our discretion.

If you cannot travel to one of our clinics online therapy is a great option. This way of receiving therapy has a robust and growing evidence base and our therapy team are skilled at providing our therapy via video link.

We always strive to work in harmony with the NHS, whether this be NHS speech and language therapists or other NHS health professionals involved with your teen.

We choose to work in harmony with other professionals not just because the RCSLT (Our professional regulatory body) recommends it but also because this is clearly in the best interests of the children and teens we work with. It will of course provide better outcomes for the child / teen if everyone involved in their care works closely together.

We are often asked to provide therapy as a ‘top up’ to what the NHS is able to provide and we are always happy to do so.

As long as we have full parental permission to contact other professionals, then yes. In order to provide the most comprehensive, holistic and appropriate treatment for each client, we need as full a picture as possible from all the different professionals who may be involved with their care. This can include teachers, educational psychologists, paediatricians, occupational therapists or any other professionals involved.

Many of our therapists are registered with multiple private healthcare insurance providers. Just ask our referral team about whether we can work under the insurance cover you have. If you have a provider that we are not registered with, we will endeavour to register with them, if we can, so that we can help your teen.

A lot of us here at Magic Words have our own children and we really do understand that children can get sick and unforeseen things can crop up that might prevent a family from being able to attend their appointment. However, we also need to function as a business so we can continue to run and pay our therapists to carry on providing such a vital and life changing service for thousands of children and their families. For this reason, we have a strict 72-hour cancellation policy, except in exceptional circumstances. If cancellations are made within 72 hours of the appointment the session will still be charged for in full.

All our Speech and Language Therapists hold either an undergraduate or postgraduate degree from a fully recognised university in speech and language therapy. We are also all fully registered with the HCPC (Health Care Professionals Council) and the RCSLT (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists). In order to practice as a speech and language therapist in the UK these registrations are an essential requirement. Many of our therapists are also members of ASLTIP (Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice). As an organisation we take our memberships with our professional bodies very seriously. To continue to be eligible for membership there are certain fulfillments that are required of us as healthcare professionals. For example, we have to complete a set amount of hours of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) each year. This means we have to continue to learn and develop our clinical and professional skills and knowledge year on year.