Let's Talk Small Talk

Libby talks to the lovely Anna Biavati. Anna Is a multilingual speech and language therapist specialising in selective mutism and multilingualism. With years of experience, she has developed a unique and holistic approach that focuses, not just on speech, but on building resilience, self esteem, and fostering independence in all aspects of a child's life. Anna is the creator of the brave muscle method which takes into account the brain function approach, and her method is designed to empower children by starting from what they can already do and gradually building their ability to communicate in a pressure-free way. Her Steps to Brave Talking program provides a structured step by step process to help children with selective mutism find their voice in a supportive and encouraging environment. Believing that family plays a crucial role in a child's Progress, Anna developed the Family Dynamic Approach, ensuring that parents and caregivers are actively involved in their child's journey. She provides practical tools, training and guidance to help families create a nurturing and supportive environment for communication growth. In addition to her work in speech and language therapy, Anna is trained in primitive reflex integration, which she incorporates into her approach to address underlying motor and sensory challenges that may impact a child's ability to communicate confidently. By integrating these reflexes, she helps children develop greater emotional regulation, body awareness and communicational readiness. https://stepstobravetalking.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@annabiavatislt https://www.edinburgh-speech-therapy-wordsteps.co.uk/

Liz is an award winning Occupational Therapist (OT) with 25 years of expertise. As someone who is dyslexic and part of a neurodiverse family, Liz brings a unique perspective to her work. She is passionate about collaborating with children, young people, parents and caregivers, supporting them to discover understanding, connection, neuro-affirming and trauma and sensory responsive tailored solutions and support that fits each family's individual needs. She helps parents and carers to regain clarity and confidence in their parenting experience, creating more meaningful moments with their kids, whilst remembering their own well being matters too. She supports parents and carers in additional needs families with parental burnout, mental health and well being so they can be the parents they want to be.   web site: https://the-untypical-ot.co.uk/  Podcast: https://the-untypical-ot.co.uk/#section-fojBZLwt8

Dawn interviews Libby about her new book 'Doing what it takes' which is about Libby's work with children and young people with selective mutism. Available from Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/6niLwWK

Libby interviews the wonderful Ali Battye, Speech and Language Therapist on Ali's three passions. She has written books about all of them. We love all her books but her latest book is definitely her best work yet.  https://amzn.eu/d/gkW4FqJ

Libby, Donna and Bernadette were on the advisory panel for the NHS England commissioned Autism and parental blame study. In this episode they they discuss their reasons for wanting to be involved, the implications of parental blame and some of the other aspects covered by the report. You can access the report in full https://www.wm-adass.org.uk/improvement/autism-and-parental-blame-research. They all feel very strongly that the messages which are delivered within the report MUST be shared as widely as possible so that we can move forward. Families must get the help they need, not the blame they might receive instead through a damaged system.Donna has organised a conference in Stafford for 28th January. If you are interested contact voiceforchange@btinternet.com

Libby interviews Jodie about autistic burn-out. This is a topic everyone needs to know about as it is certainly on the increase and is very damaging to the child or young person. Jodie is an independent specialist working with autistic children, their families and their schools, who has written two books on the topic. One for children and young people: 'Young, autistic and burnt out' https://amzn.eu/d/a0XMWRvand one coming out later this month for parents and professionals: 'Stop the World I Want to Get Off: A guide to understanding and supporting the recovery of autistic burnout in  children and young people https://amzn.eu/d/bqjX5aUShe is also the author of The Secret Life of Rose https://amzn.eu/d/e4lFBIz which I highly recommend to anyone wanting to know more about autism, including children themselves.

Dawn interviews Rachel Winder about what it really means to be neurodivergent-affirming. Rachel was diagnosed as autistic with dyslexia and ADHD in her forties, has become an 'accidental' neurodivergence influencer. We have known Rachel a number of years now while we have been on our journey to get it right. We realise that it is a work in progress but we are passionate to make it the best it can be. Listen to Rachel's views here.

DLD is the biggest learning difficulty you've never heard of. 2 out of every class have it. At Small Talk most of the SLTs have extra training in order to be confident about diagnosing it and working with children with DLD. We are passionate about making a difference for children who have it. Listen to Libby and Dawn discuss their views.

Libby discusses the new book that she has been working on with Georgina Smith and Laura Graham. Georgina Smith, a specialist  dyslexia  tutor, and Laura Graham, independent occupational therapist and sensory integration practitioner teamed up with Libby on this project to look at why many children are struggling at school with literacy but it's not all due to dyslexia. This team of professionals all practice clinically and bring a wealth of experience along with tried and tested advice and strategies to help parents and teachers alike gain the correct support for the young people in their care. Topics covered include:*Developmental Language Disorder *Dyslexia *Developmental Coordination Disorder *Cerebral Visual Impairment *Autism *Attention Deficient Hyper Activity Disorder *Trauma *Sensory Processing Differences *Anxiety *Executive Functioning *Auditory Processing DisorderGeorgina's website https://www.dyslexia-codebreakers.co.uk/  Laura's website https://lauragrahamot.co.uk/  Join them at the book launch 10th October 2024 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-launch-what-if-its-not-dyslexia-tickets-1023433616497?aff=oddtdtcreator

Libby interviews the lovely Danielle about her experience of PDA and also her new book Black Rainbow about a family's PDA journey through https://amzn.eu/d/9pr6aGQ