3 day course: Developing social communication
6th to 8th November 2024 (SOLD OUT)
12th to 14th May 2025, 9.30am to 4.00pm
Venue: Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd
Cost: £420 + VAT
An overview of the course
We are pleased to be running this course in conjunction with Alex Kelly.
This highly practical course answers the questions you need to ask when developing social communication… Where do you start? How do you teach it & which approach will work best? How can you help someone to generalise the skills? How can you set targets & measure progress?
Our trainers use a mixture of lecturing, practical exercises, & videos, & where possible will use real-life demonstrations. Here is a breakdown of the 3 days:
Day 1
The first day introduces you to social communication and how to assess. It covers:
• An introduction to social communication
• The theory and research behind the Talkabout hierarchy
• Assessing self-awareness, self-esteem & social communication
• Planning where to start & setting targets
Day 2
The second day starts to address how to develop social communication. It includes:
• Teaching social communication & the wider context: behaviour, environment, & motivation
• Group approaches including setting up & running groups
• Creative arts approaches including modelling & role play
• Technology approaches such as media & computer programmes
• Practical exercises on planning intervention around a Talkabout activity
Day 3
The third day continues with teaching social communication, and how to measure outcomes:
• 1:1 therapeutic approaches such as problem-solving
• Practical exercise on planning intervention
• Experience running a group with some of our day service members
• Setting targets and measuring effectiveness using Talkabout data (a laptop is useful)
Who is the course aimed at?
The course is aimed at anyone supporting children and adults with social and emotional learning in a range of settings.
A bit about the trainers….
Alex Kelly is the author of the Talkabout publications. She has 35 years’ experience working as a speech & language therapist (SLT) with people around social communication. She spent 23 years working in the NHS but now divides her time between her Talkabout training work & personal commitments.
Naomi Pearson is a SLT & has worked with Alex for 24 years. She is the co-author of the Talkabout Assessment of Social Skills (pub 2024) & has completed a PhD in social communication research in 2024. She is the Managing Director at Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd, a SLT company set up by Alex in 2009.
Amy Green is a SLT with 13 years’ experience. She has worked with Alex & Naomi since she qualified & is a specialist SLT in social communication for Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd. She has helped Alex to write several of the Talkabout books and co-authored Talkabout for Adults.
Rhian Bond is a SLT with over 12 years’ experience. She worked in London, specialising in SEMH within the Youth Justice System, then moved to Hampshire to work with Alex & Naomi 4 years ago. She is now the therapy manager for Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd.
What others say
‘The best training course I’ve ever been on! A great mix of presenters, real-life experiences, group work, and videos. The resources were brilliant!’ R Murphy (Teacher) 2023
‘Thoroughly enjoyed the training, very easy to follow Alex, Naomi and Rhian. Wonderful demonstrations of facilitation techniques and good amount of practical aspects to get involved in. My skills have definitely developed as a result of this course.’ L Haworth (SALTA) 2023
How do I book?
Click here to book
If you have any questions or would like further details please contact our office manager at office@speakingspace.co.uk
For more information about our training courses watch our video
