Cathy has 20 years’ experience as a speech and language therapist in the UK and Australia.  She has spent the past 17 years working as a paediatric speech and language therapist in the NHS providing assessment and intervention for children with varied communication needs within a range of clinical, educational or community settings. Cathy has linked with the Lejuene clinic since 2006 and her experience of working with young children and babies with Downs Syndrome has focused on collaborative working with parents and practitioners.  She has developed her specialism in early language acquisition and communication development in children under 5 years; and has particular interest in research and intervention programmes that support parents/carers and practitioners to understand communication development and the role of adults to facilitate this as part of a child’s journey to becoming a confident and competent communicator.

Cathy is Hanen-certified to deliver the It Takes Two To Talk and More Than Words Hanen parent programs and has frequently offered this therapy approach along with other parent/adult-child interaction therapy.  She is trained in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and parent-coaching techniques and has devised and delivered training packages to children’s centres and early years settings such as maintained and PVI nurseries.   Cathy is trained to deliver the ELKLAN programs and use the Makaton signing system. She is registered with the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC) and a member of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT).  She has worked as clinical team lead for 11 years and has extensive experience of providing clinical support and supervision. Cathy is passionate about supporting families and education settings to be aspirational and strive for the best outcomes for their children.