Online Autism & Social Communication Support

Online therapy sessions

Online therapy sessions are usually 45 minutes long and can be booked individually or as a block of six sessions.

Therapy may work on areas such as:

• understanding and using language
• organising and expressing ideas
• social communication
• conversation skills
• understanding other people’s perspectives and intentions
• functional communication
• self-advocacy
• friendship and relationship skills
• communication for education, employment and greater independence

Targets are selected according to your child’s individual profile rather than assuming that every autistic child needs the same type of support.

A clear therapy plan for home and school

When your child begins a therapy block, you receive a structured therapy plan explaining the areas being worked on, along with practical advice and strategies that can be used outside the therapy session.

This is important because progress is not simply about completing an activity successfully with a therapist. Children and young people also need opportunities to use developing communication skills in everyday life.

You can share the therapy plan with your child’s SENCO or other relevant school staff if you wish, helping the adults around your child work towards consistent goals.

Parents remain involved

Online therapy does not mean parents are excluded from the process.

The final few minutes of a session can be used to update you on what has been worked on, discuss carryover activities and give you an opportunity to raise relevant concerns.

For some children, parent involvement may be more substantial. This will depend on your child’s age, communication profile and therapy goals.

Having regular contact with parents means strategies can be adapted to what is realistically happening within family life rather than remaining limited to the therapy session.

Supporting carryover into everyday life

Generalisation – being able to use a skill beyond the situation in which it was first learned – can be an important part of Speech and Language Therapy.

Working from home creates opportunities to connect therapy directly with your child’s real environment, routines, interests and communication partners.

Parents can play an important role in helping a child recognise where a strategy learned during therapy might be useful in everyday life. This might mean practising how to explain something that happened at school, preparing for a difficult conversation, organising an answer for an interview, or working out how to manage a real social situation.

The aim is not simply to become good at a therapy activity. It is for communication strategies to become useful in the child’s actual life.

Why online therapy can work particularly well for older children and teenagers

Online therapy can be especially practical for secondary-school-aged children and teenagers.

There is:

• no travelling to and from a clinic
• no waiting room
• less disruption to the school day
• less preparation around attending an appointment
• the ability to return to homework, revision, dinner or evening routines as soon as the session finishes
• access to therapy from a familiar environment

Appointments may also be available after school, depending on availability.

For older students who already have demanding school schedules, homework or examination preparation, this can make regular therapy considerably easier to fit into everyday life.

It can also provide dedicated 1:1 time to work on communication needs that may be difficult for a busy secondary school to address intensively.

Support that grows with your child

Speech and Language Therapy is not only about helping a child complete today’s communication task.

Where appropriate, I can develop longer-term goals and break these down into manageable stages.

For an older child or teenager, this might include working towards:

• greater confidence expressing ideas
• developing and maintaining friendships
• understanding increasingly complex social situations
• communicating needs and boundaries
• preparing for interviews or employment
• communicating effectively in further education
• developing functional communication skills for greater independence
• navigating adult relationships and responsibilities
• developing self-advocacy skills

The direction of therapy should reflect both your child’s needs and what they want their communication to help them achieve.

Holistic, individualised support

I take a holistic approach to therapy.

Your child’s interests and motivations can be incorporated into sessions so that therapy is meaningful rather than feeling disconnected from their life.

Family priorities are also important. You may notice difficulties at home, school or in the community that are not immediately apparent during an assessment.

Where appropriate, therapy goals can therefore take account of:

your child’s priorities + family feedback + assessment findings + education needs + longer-term ambitions.

This allows us to build a structured plan while still treating your child as an individual.

EHCP annual review support

For children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), I can provide relevant Speech and Language Therapy input to support the annual review process where appropriate.

This can include:

• Speech and Language Therapy annual review reports
• reviewing current communication needs and progress
• recommendations relating to SLT provision and strategies
• online attendance at annual review meetings

Reports provide a clear clinical account of your child’s Speech and Language Therapy needs, progress and recommendations.

For parents of younger autistic children

For younger children, direct 1:1 online therapy is not always the most useful starting point.

I am Hanen Certified in More Than Words®, a structured parent programme for parents of young autistic children and children with social communication needs.

Rather than asking a young child to sit through traditional therapy sessions, More Than Words® teaches parents practical strategies that can be used during everyday routines, play and interaction.

The programme includes parent group sessions alongside individual video-feedback sessions, allowing strategies to be adapted to your own child and family.

Explore More Than Words®

Not sure whether online therapy is suitable?

Every child is different, and online therapy will not be the right approach for every child or every communication need.

You can book a free 15-minute telephone consultation to tell me a little about your child’s communication and discuss whether an online assessment or another form of support may be appropriate.