Publication

Communicate with Confidence

A practical resource for developing functional communication in young people and adults, written by our founder, Speech and Language Therapist Francesca Beard.

About the academy

You shouldn’t have to figure it out alone

Communication is about so much more than getting the words right. For young people and adults, being able to communicate effectively can make a huge difference to independence, relationships, education, employment and everyday life.

As Speech and Language Therapists, we spend a lot of time thinking about communication. But for young people and adults, support needs to go beyond the therapy room. It needs to help someone communicate what they want, understand what is happening around them, navigate tricky situations, advocate for themselves, build relationships and feel more confident in everyday life.

The book provides practical resources for developing functional communication skills across a range of areas relevant to everyday life, education, employment and independence. It is designed to be flexible, so activities can be adapted to suit different ages, abilities, communication profiles and settings.

Who is it for?

Created for practitioners and the people around them

It can be used in individual sessions, group work, classroom or college-based activities, and as a starting point for developing personalised communication goals.

Speech and Language Therapists

Teachers and SENCOs

College and post-16 staff

Parents and carers

Speech and Language Therapy Assistants

Teaching Assistants

Support workers

Other professionals supporting communication needs

Why this book

Practical resources for practitioners

Finding appropriate resources for older children, teenagers and young adults can be difficult. Activities can easily feel too childish, too clinical or disconnected from the situations young people are actually experiencing.

The activities in Communicate with Confidence are designed to be practical, flexible and relevant, giving practitioners a programme they can walk through to support young people transitioning into adulthood.

Throughout her work as a Speech and Language Therapist, Francesca has seen how important it is for communication support to feel relevant to the person receiving it. She wanted to create a resource practitioners could pick up and immediately think: “I can actually use this.”