NHS Ayrshire & Arran Children's Speech and Language Therapy

17/08/2026

Starting school is a big change and there are lots of new words children might hear that they haven’t heard before. For children who find language tricky, this can be quite overwhelming.

You could try talking about some of the new words they might hear at school. We’ve thought of a few of these but there will be more!

13/08/2026

It’s nearly time to go back to school!

Here is Marie showing us some helpful Makaton signs to learn before you go back to school.

10/08/2026

As we get closer to going back to school, it’s important to consider daily routines. Having consistent routines ensures predictability each day and helps children to understand what is expected of them.

Sometimes, children can find it hard to follow routines from language alone. Some routines have a lot of steps! It can be helpful to have a visual supporting this, like a now-next board or a visual schedule.

06/08/2026

Take a look at the key messages from NELC (National Early Language and Communication Project). These are all about supporting early language and communication in toddlers.

Have a go at:
- Getting down to their level
- Watching and waiting
- Copying their sounds or words and adding more
- Talking about what you’re doing

05/08/2026

03/08/2026

Our top tip for August is…wait!

Give your child plenty of time to acknowledge what you say and respond. Try not to jump in and respond too soon. A good rule is to count to 10 before you respond.

31/07/2026

You can find East Ayrshire’s communication boards at the following parks:

The communication boards have been installed in 12 East Ayrshire play parks:
• Piersland, Kilmarnock
• Annanhill, Kilmarnock
• New Farm
• Hutchison Drive, Darvel
• Richardson Park, Hurlford
• Morton Park, Kilmaurs
• Woodroad Park, Cumnock
• Logan
• Dalrymple
• KGV Park, Dalmellington
• Merlin Park, Auchinleck
• Riverside Park, Catrine

29/07/2026

Number 4 in our mini-series of what to expect at SLT 🌈Every child’s plan is different. Children develop at their own pace 👧 A plan will be discussed that is tailored to your child’s communication needs. ✨

27/07/2026

Number 3 in our mini-series of what to expect at SLT 🌈Improvement takes time. Consistency is key and providing lots of practice and repetition is needed for new speech and language skills to develop. 🌟

22/07/2026

Here is Emma showing us an object of reference sound bag. 🌈
The objects symbolise songs for example a spider for insy winsy spider. 🕷
You show the child the object before during and after the song giving the child a chance to touch it and hear the word.
Once the song is finished you put the object back in the bag.

This helps to:
Offer choices ✅
Set a song activity routine 🗣️
Build understanding 👍