Case Study: Speech Delay Disorder Impacting School Attendance

In the interest of safeguarding, this child has been referred to as ‘Nichole’ throughout the case study.

Our Speech and Language Therapist, Jaimisha, has been providing intervention for Nichole since 2021. 

Background 

Nichole has been working with Renata on her Speech Sound Delay. Prior to receiving therapy, she could not be understood in or out of context, making communication very difficult. Most commonly, she was missing lots of sounds from her words and showing an atypical speech development. 

This speech sound delay goes beyond struggling with the production of some sounds. This then leads to Nichole having difficulties communicating with others and making herself understood clearly. Naturally, this has created some difficulties in building some social relationships with her peers.

In addition to this, she has been struggling to engage in the classroom, creating a poor attitude to learning. As we all know, it can be frustrating to not understand or be understood, leading to Nichole’s attendance slipping. The less Nichole is involved with school or academic progression, the bigger the gap grows between her and her peers. 

As Nichole is currently in KS1, it’s essential to provide the intervention now so that we can help bridge the gap between her and her non-SLCN peers to help provide equal opportunity for all pupils.

How did Chatterbug help?

To support Nichole, Chatterbug provided multiple blocks of 1:1 therapy to work on her speech sounds. This involved games to ensure that she was always motivated in sessions, and, of course, a few rewards such as stickers. 

It is absolutely essential the ensure that intervention is consistent so that it has the best chance of success. For this reason, Jaimisha regularly involved parents, teachers and SENCOs with the intervention, so it could also be carried out at home and during class time. 

Due to the fantastic progress she has already made, Jaimisha plans to carry out another block of therapy to support wider speech sound skills. 

Nichole’s progress to date

Since receiving intervention, Nichole has seen massive progress! She now demonstrates much better phonological awareness and letter sound recognition. Her speech errors are still present, but these are slowly reducing. She can also now self-correct with the right support available! 

In addition to the improvements to her speech sounds, Nichole is much more engaged, especially in her therapy sessions. She has loved all the activities and has made her more motivated to work with Jaimisha! 

As a result, Nichole is much more confident in the classroom and is keen to participate. The staff in her setting have also reported on her improved attitude to learning and are keen to support her progress. She is now involved in a catch-up group for phonics with Jaimisha and her class teacher to ensure she is always on track. 

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