I CAN Speech and Language Assessment Services

A fast-track approach to supporting children’s communication needs.

What is an I CAN speech and language assessment?

I CAN’s speech and language assessment services provide families, professionals or local authorities with a joined up picture of a child’s speech, language and communication difficulties, and the type of educational support that will meet their needs so that they can make the very best social and educational progress. The assessment is funded by parents or local authorities and can make a huge and timely difference to a child’s educational experience.

The I CAN speech and language assessment is carried out in a specialist school context by a multi-disciplinary team of experts including a speech and language therapist, educational psychologist (where necessary), occupational therapist and specialist teacher, who review their findings and jointly write a report of the children’s needs.

Why choose an I CAN speech and language assessment service?

“I hear time and time again how parents struggle to understand their children’s communication needs, and what type of support would be best for them. The traditional process of assessment can be lengthy and costly and at the end some parents still won’t have the whole picture of their child’s educational needs. This is frustrating for them and unhelpful for their child.”

Janet Dunn OBE, Head of I CAN Meath Centre.

This passage echoes the sentiments of many parents who have struggled to understand the communication needs of their children. I CAN speech and language assessments take a holistic approach which considers the collaborative evidence of several professional disciplines in reporting on a child’s needs. This report is unbiased and only describes the type of support that a child would require without naming providers. It is also of great assistance in providing highly credible evidence to help parents  access  local authority services. The average time from assessment to report completion is 3 weeks.

Ages and locations?

Speech and language assessment services are available from I CAN to all children between the ages of 4-19. Assessments take place either at Meath School in Surrey or Dawn House in Nottinghamshire. Assessments are carried out over 2 days and accommodation is available for children at both schools where appropriate. 

Parents' testimonials

You can find a parent’s account of the I CAN speech and language assessment process and further involvement with I CAN at this blog site - http://www.sunshinetc.blogspot.com/ . The pages contain a true account of the family’s experience of the I CAN speech and language assessment and parent workshop at Meath School.