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Hi, my name is Karen Royle. I work in Northamptonshire and Leicestershire with parents and Early Years Practitioners to support the speech, language and communication skills of pre-school age children. I had a 19 year career in the NHS in Northamptonshire and now work independently.
I love my job and it is a privilege to be part of the lives of the young children I work with. I am passionate about helping those who know the child best to gain knowledge, skills and confidence to help their children during every day activities and through play.
I have additional specialist qualifications for supporting children who are late talkers, using strategies from Hanen, Elklan and VERVE.
I offer a specialist intervention for children who are autistic or are on the pathway to a diagnosis. I am inspired by the young children I work with and support my children and families in a neuro-diversity affirming way. I look for moments of connection to build interaction. I use toys and resources which support a child’s sensory and play preferences and their special interests.
I will be hosting two webinars to look at why there has been an increase in children with speech, language and communication needs, particularly since the pandemic. I will be discussing the rise in children with social communication differences and ways to support children in Early Years settings. There will also be blogs and case studies to read before the webinars. I hope you can join me.
This webinar explores how to make connections with young children who are autistic or have social communication differences. We will look at how child led play is the key to developing relationships with neuro-divergent children. The role of echolalia will be explained with practical examples of how this can be implemented into Early Years Settings. An introduction to AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) will be discussed and the reasons why this is useful for autistic children will be explored.