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Speech and Language Therapy: How Tiny Happy People can help if you’re waiting on speech and language referrals

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Tiny Happy People is a resource from the BBC full of content that can help if you’re waiting for an SLT referral or have been set speech and language targets by an SLT.

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We know many parents worry about their baby’s development and want to find out more.

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Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child's language skills. Explore our simple activities and play ideas and find out about babies and toddlers' amazing early development.

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Children’s language development and parenting advice - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A chatty child is a happy child, so Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child’s communication skills through simple interaction and play.

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EiSMART is an evidence based framework to give high risk babies the best start in life. We span all aspects of a child's development: Sensory, Motor, Attention and Regulation, and Relationships. Professionals and parents work Together to support premature and sick infants from birth ( Early I ntervention).

parents

We are here to help. You are the expert on your baby; let us work with you and provide the resources, tools and education that can help fulfil your baby's potential.
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free resources

Our developmental play leaflets suggest activities to support all aspects of a child's development. You can get free access to these resources, plus webinars, posters and more.
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professionals

We are committed to supporting your development. We are working to advance knowledge, skills and practice in early intervention.
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Latest News

Training Courses

Published October 20, 2023

Study Days and Ei SMART Implementation Workshops

The Ei SMART Framework - Foundation Training. This study day provides an in-depth introduction to the Ei SMART framework and is our Foundation level training before progressing to our advanced half days.

Dates for 2024 will be announced soon. Watch this space or subscribe to our newsletter for more information.

Download

Giving Every High Risk Infant The Best Start In Life

EiSMART is a framework for improving developmental outcomes for high risk infants. It is an approach founded in research, which combines multiple disciplines, to address every aspect of development in premature and sick babies. EiSMART is a uniquely collaborative approach, where professionals and parents work T ogether to provide early and more effective interventions for infants and young children with developmental challenges. Click on the balls to learn more.

How We Help

We provide resources to support child development, and deliver training courses to support professional development. We collaborate on research to advance practice in early intervention, and we influence policy on the care of high risk infants.

DISCOVER MORE MEET OUR TEAM

Invaluable For Us & Our Baby

"In the beginning of my NICU journey I cried every day. There is no other outlet for the hurt, the sadness, the fear - especially the fear - of giving birth so early. In NICU, everything about those first weeks is different to how it should be. You emerge from that darkness into an intense, overwhelming, medical world where you feel utterly helpless to do the most natural thing: care for your baby. Stumbling upon EiSMART was like finding fresh air, after a long, dark time under water. It helped me recover purpose; recover focus; recover the ability to care for my baby."
- Parent of baby born at 24 weeks' gestation
DISCOVER MORE OUR APPROACH

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Building A Brighter Future For High Risk Infants: EiSMART is a transdisciplinary approach to early intervention for infants at risk of developmental delays.

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Health for Under 5s | For healthy, happy early years

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Health for Under 5s provides support to parents and carers right through from pregnancy to pre-school, so take a closer look at our site for your early years support.

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Words for Life | National Literacy Trust

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Activities and support for parents, children and young people to improve language, literacy and communication skills from home.

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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We are Speech and Language UK - we want every child to face the future with confidence. For 1.7 million children in the UK, learning to talk and understand words feel like an impossible hurdle.

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Supports children with speech, language and communication difficulties. Children with communication difficulties might find it hard to express themselves, understand words, speak in sentences and understand simple instructions. I CAN’s mission is to ensure that no child who struggles to communicate is left out or left behind.

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90% of your child's brain growth happens before the age of 5. Right from the start, all those little moments you spend together with your child are building their brain.

Every smile, cuddle, chat and game makes a huge difference, helping them learn to communicate, develop confidence and make friends.

Find lots of ideas, easy tips and activities you can do together with your child.

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Early learning and development - Start for Life - NHS

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Every smile, chat and cuddle is a great opportunity to help your baby's communication and language skills. Find fun activities and games for your everyday routine.

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This information is about introducing your premature baby to more solid foods, and the steps you can follow as your baby moves from milk to eventually only eating solids. This is called weaning.

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What is weaning?

Introducing your baby to solid foods, also referred to as weaning or complementary feeding, starts when your baby is around 6 months old.

Your baby should be introduced to a varied diet, alongside their usual breast milk or first infant formula.

It can be confusing knowing when and how to start introducing solid foods. We're here to guide you through the weaning journey and explain what it all means.

We've got expert NHS advice, helpful videos, tips from other parents, and lots of simple, healthy weaning recipe and meal ideas.

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Weaning means introducing your baby to solid foods alongside their usual breast milk or infant formula. We're here to guide you through the journey.

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UNICEF’s parenting app Bebbo helps you answer questions about raising children, kids nutrition, early learning, health and wellbeing. Find out more and download it here.

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Home - Welcome to Action for Stammering Children

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Welcome to Action for Stammering Children. Read more about the Charity, what we do, and how we can help. You will find information about stammering...

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© 2018 - 2023 STAMMA, British Stammering Association trading as STAMMA, reg. charity no. 1089967/SC038866, reg. company no. 04297778 (England & Wales)

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What is weaning?

Introducing your baby to solid foods, also referred to as weaning or complementary feeding, starts when your baby is around 6 months old.

Your baby should be introduced to a varied diet, alongside their usual breast milk or first infant formula.

It can be confusing knowing when and how to start introducing solid foods. We're here to guide you through the weaning journey and explain what it all means.

We've got expert NHS advice, helpful videos, tips from other parents, and lots of simple, healthy weaning recipe and meal ideas.

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Weaning means introducing your baby to solid foods alongside their usual breast milk or infant formula. We're here to guide you through the journey.

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Award-winning tools and support for

Our aim

To guide you towards happy mealtimes and healthy children.

Watch our video

How we can help

We have created this resource to share evidence-based information, tips and tools with parents and professionals to help establish healthy eating in children.
See how it works

Who we are

We are a group of academic psychologists who specialise in children's eating behaviour and parenting at mealtimes. Importantly, we are also mums.
Meet the team

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Award-winning tools and support to make mealtimes with children easier | Child Feeding Guide

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Effective strategies and information to tackle fussy eating and create happy mealtimes

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Is committed to a world where every child has the healthiest start in life.

Is working towards a future where poor early eating habits aren't given the chance to develop, reducing the harm they can bring later in life.

OUR FOCUS

We are a not-for-profit dedicated to early-life nutrition - from pregnancy to pre-school - working independently with parents, professionals and providers. We focus on early life as the critical window because we know that healthy-eating habits established at this stage are more likely to last for life¹.

We support parents, parents-to-be, professionals and providers with simple and practical evidence-based resources to instil the confidence and skills necessary to help children develop positive healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.

1 SACN. The influence of maternal, fetal and child nutrition on the development of chronic disease in later life [Internet]. 2011. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/339325/SACN_Early_Life_Nutrition_Report.pdf (Accessed October 2014)

Featured For Parents For Health and Childcare Professionals

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Toddler and Infant Nutrition Advice - Infant & Toddler Forum

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1 SACN. The influence of maternal, fetal and child nutrition on the development of chronic disease in later life [Internet]. 2011. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/339325/SACN_Early_Life_Nutrition_Report.pdf (Accessed October 2014) Featured For Parents For Health and Childcare Professionals

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A world in which children with pediatric feeding disorder will thrive

Furthering advances in pediatric feeding disorder by accelerating identification, igniting research, and promoting collaborative care for children and families

Learn more about our new Corporate Partner Program!

Making A Better World for Children with PFD

Feeding Matters is the first organization in the world uniting families, healthcare professionals, and the broader community to improve the system of care for children with pediatric feeding disorder through advocacy, education, support, and research.

Is Mealtime A Struggle?

This questionnaire might help target areas of concern for families and physicians.

Share the Questionnaire

Download the ICFQ Rack Card to print and share with the families you serve!

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Feeding Matters - Serving Kids with Pediatric Feeding Disorder

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Feeding Matters is the first organization in the world serving kids with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD). We strive to unite families, healthcare professionals, and the broader community to improve the system of care for children with pediatric feeding disorder.

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Find the best Standards Resources now. The most recent Resources posted by near you.

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The Food Chain - Why can’t my child swallow? - BBC Sounds

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Dysphagia: parents share their experiences of feeding a child with swallowing problems

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NHS Tayside CYP Occupational Therapy Service

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Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child's language skills. Explore our simple activities and play ideas and find out about babies and toddlers' amazing early development.

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Children’s language development and parenting advice - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A chatty child is a happy child, so Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child’s communication skills through simple interaction and play.

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This padlet is a collection of online resources to support the following areas of early development:

Speech

Language

Communication and Interaction

Feeding

Eating, drinking and swallowing

Fluency

Scroll across for different topics

Scroll down to access various website links and documents

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Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

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East Sussex Children’s Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service

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Contact us Therapy One Point (TOP) is our single contact point for speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy (including

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We are the UKs leading charity for autistic people and their families. Since 1962, we have been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.

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The Baby Club encourages parents, carers and their babies to explore everyday objects.

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Welcome to the Toddler Club, where parents, carers and their toddlers can play, sing and listen to stories together. Get involved and join in the fun!

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Skip to main content

16 Actions with Objects by 16 Months

Lookbook now Available

16 Gestures by 16 Months

Lookbook now Available

Good communication development starts in the first year of life and goes far beyond learning how to talk. Communication development has its roots in social interaction with parents and other caregivers during everyday activities. Your child's growth in social communication is important because it helps your child connect with you, learn language and play concepts, and sets the stage for learning to read and future success in school. Good communication skills are the best tool to prevent behavior problems and make it easier to handle moments of frustration that all infants and toddlers face.

Key social communication milestones develop between 9 and 16 months and they provide the foundation needed to launch language and learning:

use eye gaze and facial expression to share emotion-both enjoyment/interest and frustration/distress

use eye gaze and communication to share attention, interests, and ideas

communicate at an increasing rate with gestures, sounds, and a few words sprinkled here and there

use a variety of actions with objects in play and other everyday activities

understand the meaning of spoken words

If these early social communication milestones are not solidly in place, it is likely that a child will be delayed in learning to talk. It is important to keep in mind that delays in these social communication milestones may indicate risk for developmental delays, including autism. By detecting small gaps in early social communication skills, you can get extra help to support your child's development before significant delays are evident.

About the 16 by 16™ Series

The 16 by 16™ series is designed to help families and others learn the critical social communication skills that children should reach by 16 months in order to launch language learning, literacy, and much more by 24 months. To present the 16 by 16 series, we are developing a collection of online lookbooks to illustrate with photographs each of the critical skills. Our first two lookbooks, 16 Gestures by 16 Months and 16 Actions with Objects by 16 Months are now available. We plan to release three additional lookbooks in the near future.

16 Gestures by 16 Months (Language PDFs)
Select a 16 by 16™ language below:

We hope this series will provide a roadmap for you to support your child's early development and celebrate these important small steps your child is making. This information can also help you notice small delays early in order to prevent bigger delays later. Some children who are late in communicating outgrow delays, but others need extra help to reach their potential. This can give all children an edge before preschool to better prepare for success in Kindergarten.

LOOKBOOK NOW AVAILABLE

If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video is worth.

Our Social Communication Growth Charts let you explore extensive video footage of children within the 5 developmental domains - language, play, social competence, emotional regulation, and self-directed learning - so you can appreciate the many skills your child is learning. These Growth Charts allow you to keep track of your child's social communication milestones over time. You will see where your child is at the present moment and what's next in development.

Explore all the milestones in 5 domains from 9 to 24 months of age.

Watch video examples of the milestones and learn how to support development of each milestone.

Chart your child's development from 9 to 24 months.

LEARN ABOUT THE GROWTH CHARTS

Catching communication and language problems early can prevent potential problems later with behavior, learning, reading, and social interaction. Research on brain development reminds us that "earlier is better" when teaching young children. The most critical period for learning is during the first three years of a child's life. Pathways in the brain develop as infants and young children learn from exploring and interacting with people and objects in their environment. The brain's architecture is developing the most rapidly during this critical period and is the most sensitive to experiential learning. By age 3, most of the major brain circuits are mature, and later it becomes more difficult to make significant changes in a child's growth trajectory.

For more information, see "The Science of Early Childhood Development" at the Center on the Developing Child | Harvard University .

How you can help.
You can help support the FIRST WORDS Project.

LEARN MORE

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Skip to main content Lookbook now Available Lookbook now Available Good communication development starts in the first year of life and goes far beyond learning how to talk. Communication development has its roots in social interaction with parents and other caregivers during everyday activities.

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16 Gestures by 16 Months – Baby Navigator

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Sounds and Gestures: Building Blocks for your Child’s First Words

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Conversations pave the way for first words

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You Are the Key to Your Child’s First Words

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What Role Do Parents Play in Early Language Intervention?

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Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

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Some children may need further sessions focused to support the development of their speech, language and communication. This will be determined by a number of factors such as; area of need; service criteria; child's motivation.

Your child will be discharged when they no longer need our service / meet the service criteria. The main reasons (but not all) include;

- The child / young person has achieved the therapy aims and no longer requires intervention

- They no longer meet the service criteria

- Their speech, language and communication needs can be met via universal (everyday) and targeted approaches within the setting

- The family or setting are unable to carry out the activities at that period of time

- The child / young person is not ready or motivated for therapy

- Family have moved out of area or have not attended appointments

Children can be re referred at a later stage if there is evidence of speech and language needing to be involved.

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Children's TherapiesThe Pod Speech and language therapy Speech and language therapy provides treatment, support and care for children and young people who have difficulties with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing. Our aim is to work in partnership with key people (parents, carers, teachers, pre-schools, occupational therapist, physiotherapists, nurses and doctors) in your child's [...]

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What we do

Our children's speech and language therapy service assess and support children with conditions that affect speech and communication skills.

We see children aged 0-19 in a community setting. This could be at our clinic, in your home or your child's school.

We help children with:

language and communication needs

speech sound difficulties or verbal Dyspraxia

Developmental Language Disorder

dysfluency (stammer/stutter)

selective communicators/reluctant talkers

voice disorders

feeding difficulties

complex needs, such as Downs Syndrome, Fragile X, global developmental delay

cleft lip and/or palate

hearing impairments

We also offer a walk-in speech and language service (Talking Walk-ins) for pre-school children.

We work closely with other services, such as physiotherapy and the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service, to achieve the best outcomes for your child.

Where to find us

Our service is mainly provided within community settings such as:

For speech and language therapy in schools, the link therapist will attend the school and work with the Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCo).

Please note children and young people with a Canterbury, Faversham or Thanet GP need to refer to Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.

How to use this service

You do not need to use the referral portal for children with Speech and Language Communication Needs.

Pre-school children can attend the walk-in speech and language service (Talking Walk-ins).

Support for school age children is accessed via school link therapy meetings and your SENCo. We use the Balanced Systems © approach, and every school has a link Speech and Language Therapist. If you have concerns about your child's speech, language and/or communication skills, please speak to your school SENCo as a first step. They can then speak to their link Speech and Language Therapist.

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Children’s Speech and Language Therapy | East Kent Hospitals

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Contact the team, locations and appointment information.

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The specialist Speech and Language Therapy service provides assessment, therapy and advice for children who have not yet started school and have persistent and significant speech, language, fluency and social communication and interaction difficulties.
Our Specialist Dysphagia Speech and Language Therapy team support children aged 0 to 5 years with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.
Children aged 0 to 18 years with a communication difficulty relating to a stammer, recently acquired brain injury, voice and acute deteriorating illness should be referred directly to the Speech and Language Therapy service.
Children can be referred by their parent, health visitor, GP, therapist, early years’ service, paediatricians based in hospitals, audiology service, Mindworks Surrey or other agencies.
Referrals are made through the Referral Service.

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We are the RCSLT - the professional body for SLTs in the UK, creating better lives for people with communication and swallowing needs.