By The Bay Speech and Language Therapy IOW

27/07/2026

24/07/2026

The summer holidays are full of opportunities to support your child’s speech, language and communication development, and it doesn’t have to involve expensive days out or hours of preparation.

Everyday activities like a trip to the beach, drawing with pavement chalk, a picnic in the park or helping with food preparation all create natural opportunities to build vocabulary, develop conversation skills, practise following instructions and encourage curiosity.

The best communication often happens when we’re simply spending time together, talking about what we’re doing and following a child’s interests.

Have a wonderful summer with your family!

14/07/2026

Building Early Sentences Therapy (BEST) never ceases to amaze me!

✨ March 2026 - carried out the BEST baseline assessment with a 4 year old with substantial receptive and expressive language difficulties (difficulties with both understanding and use of language), who was communicating using a limited vocabulary of single words, and some short 2-3 word phrases.

✨ Carried out 10x 1:1 sessions of BEST between April and June 2026 ✨

✨ BEST outcome assessment carried out in July 2026 - he is now able to communicate using full, grammatically correct sentences, with a significantly expanded verb vocabulary!

I’m so proud to send him off to school in September with the ability to make his voice heard and communicate so much more effectively with his friends and teachers 🎉

BEST is an evidence-based intervention approach aimed at 3-6 year olds who aren’t yet communicating in full, grammatical sentences. If you think your child might benefit from BEST, send me a message ✉️

03/06/2026

I’ve invested in an updated version of the Preschool CELF-3 language assessment battery!

Some exciting new additions:
✨ A pre literacy rating scale, phonological awareness assessment, and overall early literacy index, which will give an indication of readiness to learn to read for children aged 4-6
✨ An overall academic language readiness index for children aged 3-6, indicating whether a child has the language skills they need to succeed in school
✨ A brand new connected speech sample/narrative assessment, assessing story organisation, story grammar, language structures and recall of facts and details

New assessments are an (eye-watering 😅) investment, but I love the potential they bring to support an even more in-depth analysis of a child’s skills.

Is your child aged 3-6? Do you want to know whether they have the underlying communication and pre-literacy skills needed to support them to thrive at school? Drop me a message to see whether an initial assessment might help 📧

20/05/2026

My top 5 horror movies as a speech therapist 👻

1️⃣ Sensory support isn’t something children should have to earn or be at risk of losing. If a child needs movement, sensory input, or regulation support to access learning, withholding it as punishment is counter-productive. Regulation comes before participation.

2️⃣ Autism doesn’t have one look. Many autistic children learn to force eye contact, mimic peers, or mask their differences to fit in, often at huge emotional cost. Having friends or social motivation doesn’t make a person neurotypical.

3️⃣ If the same intervention hasn’t worked for years, repeating it louder and longer isn’t the answer. Some children need support with language, auditory processing, phonological awareness, memory or broader literacy foundations before phonics can truly stick.

4️⃣ Some children hold themselves together all day at school by masking stress, anxiety, sensory overwhelm and communication difficulties, then completely fall apart at home where they finally feel safe. That isn’t “poor parenting”. It’s a sign the child has been coping beyond capacity all day.

5️⃣ Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder frequently overlap, yet many children only get support for reading difficulties while underlying language needs are missed. If we only treat the reading symptoms without understanding the language foundation underneath, we risk leaving children struggling for much longer than necessary.

20/05/2026

Our nursery will open its doors in September 2026, offering a warm, nurturing environment where children can learn, grow, and thrive. We have strong emphasis on learning through play, encouraging curiosity, creativity, and confidence.

Each child will be supported as an individual, ensuring their emotional wellbeing and development are at the heart of everything we do. From engaging activities to a safe and welcoming setting, this nursery is designed to give children the very best start on their early learning journey.

Please email: [email protected] for more information and to register interest.

We are looking to begin show arounds and visits to the setting at the end of May, keep your eyes peeled for more information and updates as we begin preparing the space for our little bulbs.

17/05/2026

Students at Forest Edge School in Sandown are preparing to launch a half-term fundraising initiative, with handmade products going on sale across the Isle of Wight to raise money for Mountbatten Hospice.

13/05/2026

Three sessions today, three different communication profiles 💬✨

🧩 Inferencing & pragmatic language work with a 12-year-old
🎲 Receptive/expressive language and inferencing support with a 5-year-old
📚 Expressive language therapy with an 8-year-old with a language disorder

Lots of visuals, motivating activities, modelling and interest-led learning along the way 🤍

07/05/2026

Hills I will die on 👇

23/04/2026

MY WORK WEEK IN PICS 📸

Lots of low-prep, high-impact activities this week 💪