About Me

I have many years’ experience of working in NHS and Independent sectors. During that time, I have held lead roles in coordinating and managing services working with multidisciplinary teams including physiotherapists, nurses and rehab assistants.

I undertook a PhD into the design and validation of a swallow screening tool for acute stroke patients in 2006 and have won a number of national awards for innovative care and research. I have also represented my profession at a UK level for the development of evidence based National Guidelines including the 2013 NICE Stroke Rehabilitation Guidelines and was previously a National adviser for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Training

I have worked collaboratively with the voluntary sector to develop competencies for rehabilitation support workers and volunteers. I have also spent many years training nurses, allied health professionals and clients in various aspects of communication and dysphagia (impaired swallowing) across a range of venues. I can provide training on all forms of communication, voice feminisation, therapy techniques, environmental enrichment to promote language recovery as well as awareness training in dysphagia.

Medico-Legal

I have many years experience of working with case workers and Law firms to assess clients needs, provide professional reports, offer expert opinion and provide therapy. I can provide medico-legal reports on many areas of speech, language, communication and swallowing for adults.

I am a registered member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and Health and Care Professions Council.

What I do

Each client is assessed to help identify individual needs, set therapy goals and create bespoke treatment programmes. Treatment may include:

• Strategies to enhance word finding and functional communication
• Exercises to strengthen muscles and improve coordination
• Volume and breath control exercises to improve voice
• Training family members, carers and allied health professionals to support swallowing and/or communication difficulties

How I do it

Sessions can be offered across a range of settings including video chat online (e.g. Skype or Zoom).
Following an initial consultation to gather background information and carry out an assessment, therapy goals are set with the client and a therapy plan is developed.
Appointments are usually offered at your convenience within days of the initial contact.
Fees are charged according to ASLTIP guidelines.
Please Contact me for further details and advice.

What people say

I'm very proud of the work I do and love knowing I make a difference to people's lives. It's important to me to get feedback from people I've worked with.

  Kathryn was outstanding! Having suffered multiple strokes recently I needed to regain my speech to be able to return to a demanding job which requires clear speech in multiple languages. Kathryn put in place an intense programme tailored to my needs, dramatically improving the quality of speech but also putting in place coping strategies for the occasions when inevitably fatigue would cause my speech to fail. Kathryn went to the root cause of my speech problems and had me on a regime of exercises to improve the strength and stamina of my facial muscles. This was combined with a wide variety exercises to improve the quality of my speech. Understanding my needs was central to helping me formulate a return to work plan. I cannot overstate how much difference Kathryn has made helping me to rehabilitate and build confidence.  
~ Graeme ~