About Me

I am a Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist (SLT), a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Practitioner (CBT), and ADOS-2 practitioner and Trainer. I specialise in working with autistic children/young people and their families and I have considerable experience of assessing and working with young people with a wide range of co-morbid conditions, e.g., anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).

There are several parts to my job:

  1. I am part of a multi-disciplinary team that carries out assessments for autism for children, young people and young adults. I work closely with a range of other professionals, including Consultant Paediatricians, Psychiatrists, Psychologists & Occupational therapists.
  1. I am an ADOS-2 Trainer and work with Marianna Murin to deliver training, including reliability training, to NHS Trusts and professionals outside of the NHS. I provide supervision for ADOS-2 practitioners.
  1. I provide family focussed cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) adapted for autism. CBT is an evidence based approach to helping young people understand themselves, e.g., differences in their thinking style, recognising and regulating emotions, and the way that they process information, and to empower and enable them to manage difficult situations. I bespoke how I adapt CBT to fit each client so that it is tailor made for them and their family. I involve the family for two main reasons:
    • Research shows that it can be difficult for people to understand each other when they are very different and they might misinterpret actions and responses, which can increase conflict
    • To help transfer strategies from one situation to others.
  1. I provide parent consultations and training, parent workshops and training to early years settings, schools and colleges. I have talked for the National Autistic Society several times, I have talked for London University, the University of Greenwich, autism charities and professional special interest groups.

My Training

I have a postgraduate diploma in Speech & Language Therapy (City University) and a MSc in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Children & Young People (specialising in autism), (Anna Freud UCL).

I am trained in a range of different approaches and interventions, including: ACT (Acceptance Commitment Training), SOS Feeding (Sequential-Oral-Sensory Feeding), Social Thinking (Michelle Garcia Winner), Zones of Regulation (Leah Kuypers), Makaton Signing (Levels 1 & 2), Attention Autism (Gina Davis), Pivotal Response Therapy (Level 1) (Drs Lyn & Robert Koegel), Verve Child Interaction (Keena Cummins)

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) (Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust), Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) (Kings College, London)

My Experience

I have worked for the NHS and in private practice I did both for a long time. However, I do not work as a traditional Speech & Language Therapist, and my specialisms and skills do not fit with speech & language therapy jobs in the NHS.

I have always worked closely with families and this is strong interest for me, my work is always family focused and the CBT I offer always involves the family. I have worked in early years settings, primary and secondary schools & CAMHS services.

I have carried out autism assessments as part of multi-disciplinary team with Consultant Paediatricians, Psychiatrists & psychologists with children/young people aged 2;6 to 22 for the NHS and in private practice.

I am particularly interested in assessing girls, young children who do not use any/many words to communicate, children/young people with learning difficulties and complex presentations, e.g., selective mutism, mental health difficulties.

Highlights of my Career

  • Helping families understand their child and seeing the difference it makes to their communication, interaction and play. It is a privilege to be part of their journey.
  • Hearing a child who was not using words to communicate talk to their parents.
  • Meeting the most incredible young people and their families and constantly learning about autism from them.
  • Advocating for autistic children, young people and their families and helping them to get the support they need to reach their potential.
  • Running parent groups and workshops, hearing their experiences and learning from them.
  • Talking to psychology students at London University with my wonderful daughter.
  • Hosting podcasts about autism with some wonderful guest speakers.
  • Helping autistic young people who are traumatised by past events and have significant mental health problems, seeing them start to feel better about themselves and enjoy life.
  • Completing my MSc during lockdown. It was a little bit of light in a very dark time.

5 Facts about Me

  1. I love animals. I have 4 cats and 2 dogs and would have more but my family won’t let me!
  2. I hate cooking and have no idea how to use the oven.
  3. I have worked and lived in Turkey, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
  4. I studied Fashion Design when I was 18 and I still love clothes.
  5. I like running and paddle-boarding but I am not very good at either.