Talkabout Training
We can offer training in all aspects of social and emotional communication. Our work as therapists, researchers and authors, and therefore our training courses, are underpinned by 3 essential elements:
- What does the research say? Ensuring our practice is always evidence-based.
- What does the person say? Ensuring we listen to the person’s voice, what they want, and how to make sure intervention is person-centred.
- Why are we here? Ensuring intervention is aimed at improving quality of life and empowering self-advocacy.
Our training courses mostly aim to answer 3 questions about the Talkabout programme:
- Where do we start? How can we assess social and emotional communication in the most appropriate way, taking into consideration the wider context of quality of life and the person’s motivations and needs?
- How do we develop social and emotional communication? Which approach will work best for the individual and in your setting? What needs to be done within the person’s environment to support them?
- How do we measure progress? How can we set targets and measure progress in a meaningful way?
Talkabout courses
We will develop a training session to suit your needs, from a 1-hour’s workshop to a 3-day course. All our courses are bespoke, highly practical and well evaluated. We will discuss your needs prior to the training to ensure it is designed for your individual setting. We will also decide with you which trainers are best suited and how many are required. The following summarises the typical options for training courses:
✔️ 1 day course on social communication – an introduction to social communication. This is a popular option for an inset day for schools but also works well in other settings.
✔️ 2 day course on social communication – as above but this course also includes sections on measuring progress and additional intervention strategies.
✔️ 3 day course on social communication – as above but this course includes practical exercises on assessment and intervention using additional activities and case studies.
✔️ 0.5 day online course on social communication – an introduction to social communication. This is a condensed version of the 1 day course delivered online.
✔️ TASS course – this online course is an introduction to the TASS for those planning to use this assessment to evaluate progress.
Find out about our courses
We develop our Talkabout training in conjunction with Alex Kelly. We are pleased to deliver our 3 day course at Fleming House in Romsey every year alongside Alex. Our highly practical courses answer the questions you need to ask when developing social communication. Our trainers use a mixture of lecturing, practical exercises, and videos, and where possible will use real-life demonstrations.
Where are the Talkabout courses?
We deliver courses in a range of settings across the UK and internationally, both face to face and online. We also deliver some specific courses at our Speaking Space office in Romsey, Hampshire.
When are the next Talkabout courses?
3 day Talkabout courses at Fleming House
9th to 11th March 2027
14th to 16th March 2028
2 hour online introduction to Talkabout
We don’t have a course in our diary at the moment but do use the ‘contact us’ form at the bottom of this page to let us know if you would like to be added to our waiting list.
3 hour online TASS course
We don’t have a course in our diary at the moment but do use the ‘contact us’ form at the bottom of this page to let us know if you would like to be added to our waiting list.
1 day online Talkabout course *FULLY BOOKED*
Wednesday 11th November 2026
9.30am to 3.30pm
What is the cost?
3 day face to face course £430
2 hour online course £45
3 hour online course £60
1 day online course £120
Who do I contact with questions?
If you have any questions or would like further details please contact our office manager at office@speakingspace.co.uk
Can you bring Talkabout to us?
The answer is yes. We regularly train around the UK in a variety of settings and we’ve also taught overseas including Australia and Malaysia. Contact our office manager at office@speakingspace.co.uk to discuss.
Is Talkabout neurodiversity affirming?
Talkabout is a social communication programme which was written with a heterogenous group in mind. It has not been written specifically for the autistic population. However we are aware that it is used with autistic individuals, and therefore it is important to consider how it can be used in a neurodiversity affirming way. This includes 3 main areas:
- Educating those that we train who plan to use the Talkabout programme how to use it in a neurodiversity affirming way. This includes highlighting current thinking in autism regarding the double empathy problem (Milton, 2012) and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT, 2023) guidance regarding best practice if autistic people want to engage in social communication work
- Updating the current Talkabout resources to ensure they contain neurodiversity affirming language
- Adding to the Talkabout resources with our upcoming publication “Talkabout Social Differences” designed to support both autistic and non autistic young people to understand social differences.
- Ongoing research regarding the Talkabout approach to ensure it remains current. Please see our research page for more information
We acknowledge that some would not advocate an approach such as this to be used with autistic individuals. There are concerns raised regarding social communication work with the autistic population and the associated negative impact this may have on individuals in relation to increased masking.
We are also in contact with both autistic and non-autistic individuals asking for help with their social communication because it is impacting their quality of life in some way. We therefore feel we have a duty to ensure that we strive to investigate this approach in a robust way to add to the evidence base and ensure we continue to promote an evidence-based approach to social communication work which is person centred. We are also aware that ongoing education is needed in society to move to a place which is more accepting of differences and we are committed to supporting the move towards this through ongoing research in a clinical context.
What is in our one day course?
This training is aimed at anyone supporting people with social and emotional skills in a variety of settings. It is a highly practical course which answers the questions you need to ask when developing social communication skills… Where do I start? How do I teach it & which approach will work best? A typical day includes:
- An introduction to social communication
- The theory behind the hierarchy of skills
- Assessing social communication skills & planning where to start
- Setting targets & measuring outcomes
- Understanding the wider context: why, where, & motivation
- Group approaches including setting up & running groups
- Practical exercises on planning intervention around a Talkabout activity
What is in our two day course?
The course is aimed at anyone supporting children and/or adults with social and emotional learning in a range of settings. It is a highly practical course which answers the questions you need to ask when developing social communication… Where do I start? How do I teach it & which approach will work best?
The first day introduces you to social communication and assessment. It covers:
- An introduction to social communication
- The theory and research behind the Talkabout hierarchy
- Assessing social communication
- Planning where to start & setting targets
- Using targets to measure effectiveness of intervention
The second day covers social communication intervention strategies. It includes:
- Understanding the wider context: why, where, & motivation
- Group approaches including setting up & running groups
- Other intervention strategies, including modelling & role play, media, & 1;1 approaches such as problem solving
- Practical exercises on planning intervention around a Talkabout activity
What is in our three day course?
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? We can also include some practical exercises around understanding self-esteem if appropriate.
The first day introduces you to social communication and assessment. 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
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 social communication groups
- Creative arts approaches including modelling & role play
- Technology approaches such as media & computer programmes
- Practical exercises on planning intervention around a Talkabout activity
The third day continues with developing social communication, and how to measure outcomes:
- 1:1 therapeutic approaches such as problem-solving and comic strips
- Practical exercise on planning intervention
- Setting targets and measuring effectiveness using Talkabout data (a laptop is useful)
- Practical exercise on planning for your place of work
Who are the Talkabout courses aimed at?
The courses are aimed at anyone supporting children and adults with social and emotional learning in a range of settings.
How do I book?
We offer a range of courses both face to face and online ranging from a 1 hour workshop to 3 days. For information about any of our Talkabout courses please complete the enquiry form at the bottom of this page.
Or complete the simple booking form below for our planned courses this year:
About the trainers
Alex Kelly
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 and personal commitments.
Dr Naomi Pearson
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
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
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.
Testimonials
Find out about our training courses available
Our comprehensive training programme is designed to equip parents, professionals, and organisations with the skills and strategies to support communication and social development in individuals of all ages.
Contact us about Training
All courses are run at Fleming House in Romsey and can be adapted as workshops or inset days at your location. Group bookings and customisation options are available.
FIll out the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.