Happy Talk Speech and Language Therapy Ltd

04/11/2025

09/10/2025

The theme of this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week is
“Raising the Volume”.
It aims to highlight the stories of young people who have Dyslexia.
You can read about their experiences here:
https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/stories

Access resources for Schools here:
https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/support-us/awareness-events/ sign-up-for-daw-updates-4

The National Literacy Trust
(https://literacytrust.org.uk/)
provides lots of advice and activities for Parents/Caregivers to develop their child’s speaking, listening, reading and writing skills at home - organised across a wide range of ages.

These resources can be accessed through “Words for Life” (https://wordsforlife.org.uk/).

Activities and support for parents, children and young people to improve language, literacy and communication skills from home.

07/10/2025

🧠✨ It’s !
Today’s sign is “MORE” 👋➕

Whether you’re asking for more snacks, more fun, or more cuddles — this is a super useful sign to learn!
Swipe to see how it’s done, and give it a try! 🫶

06/10/2025

This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week (Monday 6 October to Sunday 12 October 2025) https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/news/ dyslexia-awareness-week-2025
What is Dyslexia?
“Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However, it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other areas such as organisational skills” (British Dyslexia Association).
Having good oral language skills is important for literacy development. Since learning to read builds on good speech and language skills, research shows that children with poor speech and language development are at a greater risk of developing reading difficulties.
This short video explains Dyslexia: https://youtu.be/11r7CFlK2sc
You can find a Factsheet on Dyslexia here:

https://cdn.bdadyslexia.org.uk/uploads/documents/Downloadable-Resources/British-Dyslexia-Association-Dyslexia-Factsheet.pdf?v=1741472691

Find out about other people's experiences living with dyslexia and co-occurring differences

23/09/2025

🧠✨ Top 10 Tips for Building Phonological Awareness ✨🧠
Phonological awareness is a vital foundation for reading and spelling success. Here are 10 easy ways to boost those skills every day:
1. Play with rhymes – “Cat, hat, bat!” 🐱🎩
2. Clap out syllables – “Di-no-saur” gets 3 claps! 🦕👏
3. Sing nursery rhymes – Rhythm helps tune into sounds 🎶
4. Spot the first sound – “What sound does ‘sun’ start with?” ☀️
5. Blend sounds together – “C-A-T… What’s the word?” 🐾
6. Play ‘I spy’ with sounds – “I spy something beginning with /b/!” 🔍
7. Segment words – “Let’s break ‘dog’ into D-O-G” 🐶
8. Make silly rhymes – “Pig, wig, big… zig-zag-zig!” 🤪
9. Use sound boxes – One sound per box helps isolate phonemes 📦
10. Keep it fun and playful – That’s how kids learn best! 🎉

💬 Phonological awareness can be practiced anywhere, anytime – no fancy tools needed, just your voice and a little creativity! 🌟

19/09/2025

We’d be lost without our little furry friends here at Happy Talk! 🐾💛
They brighten our days and help us navigate the busiest weeks with calm and comfort.
Pets aren’t just cute—they’re amazing for reducing stress and anxiety.

11/09/2025

🍁Autumn is a great time for “Sensory Walks” and developing language. “Splash in the muddy puddles!” “Crunch the orange leaves!” “Find the shiny conkers!” “Smell the smoky bonfire!” “Listen to the noisy wind!”

11/09/2025

09/09/2025

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. 🧙‍♀️🧹
This is a core vocabulary board designed to highlight key words while reading the story or watching the film.
https://happy-talk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Room-on-the-Broom-core-words-.pdf

03/09/2025

We hope you’re all having a great week back at school, but we know that for some of our children and young people, going back to school is really hard.  If your child is struggling with returning to school or suffers from Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), you can find lots of useful information and advice on the Young minds website.

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/school-anxiety-and-refusal/

02/09/2025

As the new school year begins, it’s been wonderful to return to our schools and reconnect with pupils and staff. Wishing everyone a fantastic start to the year and the very best of luck to those starting at a new school!

29/08/2025

“Did you know that Julia Donaldson’s stories are available as animated films on
BBC I-player? BBC - Julia Donaldson Collection
Each week we will link one of the stories to a core vocabulary board.
This week it is “The Gruffalo”
https://happy-talk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Gruffalo-core-words-tv-and-books.pdf

Try pausing the video to model key words!
Keep printed copies of each of the boards as a reminder to use the boards during screen time or story time. Pairing words with visuals is an excellent way to support language development or give your minimally/non-speaking child an alternative means of communicating.