We are proud to offer a genuinely child-led and Neuro-affirming approach to therapy with regulation and connection our first priority.

What is child-led therapy?

We will follow your child’s lead to learn about their interests and preferences for communication. This means that we will not place demands on them that they are not ready for. This may be an adjustment for parents who are used to seeing a more compliance based approach and we are always happy to answer questions on this. In our experience, this is vastly more effective than compliance based therapy.

Why does regulation matter?

We work to establish true regulation first, as we believe this is vital to any further progress. When a child is not in a regulated state, they are often experiencing the world in a fight or flight state and are not open to connecting with those around them. We help the child to feel safe in our presence first and prioritise their regulatory state at all times. We coach parents on how to achieve this on a day to day basis. Regulated children feel safer to communicate. Your therapist will explain this further during your first session.

What is Neuro-affirming therapy?

We recognise and celebrate that every child’s brain, communication style and way of experiencing the world is unique. Rather than trying to make a child communicate or behave in a way that looks “typical”, we focus on understanding and supporting their individual strengths, needs and preferences. Therapy is child-led, respectful and designed to help children communicate in ways that feel natural and meaningful to them, whether that’s through speech, gestures, signs, AAC, echolalia, scripts or other forms of communication. Our aim is to support children to communicate confidently, develop meaningful connections and have their communication needs understood, whilst respecting who they are.