About Me

I am a Highly Specialist (Band 7) Speech and Language Therapist working with children from Preschool to Key Stage 5 (3-19 years) with speech, language and communication impairments.

I specialise in autism and complex communication needs, and have a special interest in speech impairments.

I am based in Reigate and can offer assessment and therapy in the child's home, school or nursery in the East Surrey area.

I will travel anywhere in England to provide assessment for SEND Tribunals.

I offer a friendly, dynamic and sensitive therapy service using a range of evidence-based therapy techniques that can be tailored to suit the needs of you and your child.

I believe in working in partnership with parents to maximise progress and ensure the best outcome for your child, and it is a priority of mine to increase the confidence and motivation of your child so they get the most out of therapy: therapy should be a fun and rewarding experience.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MY CONTACT PAGE IS CURRENTLY NOT WORKING. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT melissa@chatterboxes.biz OR ON 07866 438228. APOLOGIES TO ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN UNABLE TO CONTACT ME.

Services to Schools

Therapy – I offer SLT packages to schools to provide regular or occasional input for SEN students including assessment, therapy, social skills groups, reports, attendance at Annual Reviews, joint IEP setting and classroom support.

Training - I provide informal training packages to schools such as ‘Supporting Children with Speech, Language and Social Communication Difficulties’, ‘Social Skills Training’, ‘ASD’, 'Makaton', 'PECS' and 'Intensive Interaction'. Training can be arranged to support the specific training needs of your staff.

Medico-legal Work

I provide assessment and written reports as evidence towards Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunals. I may also be able to attend the tribunal to support you if the Panel will allow this (they do restrict the number of attendees).

I am a member of the Expert Witness Institute (EWI) and the Medico-Legal Special Interest Group for Speech and Language Therapists.

It may be useful to see the child in different settings for assessment, e.g. home and school, especially if social skills, interaction or behaviour are a key factor, or if you are appealing against Part 4 of the Statement.

A minimum of 2 hours will be required for assessment, and up to 4 hours may be required for a full and detailed assessment of your child's needs, especially if they have complex needs.

Testimonials

“A Tribunal Panel described Melissa’s report as ‘full and detailed’ and adopted all of her recommendations for therapy input”

– Maxwell Gillott Solicitors

“When Melissa assessed my 15 year old son she was very professional and helpful”

- Miriam

"My staff attended a speech and language course in 2011 and we were very impressed by how much knowledge Melissa had. We found the course very informative and there were plenty of opportunities to put the theory into practice. The question and answer section was very detailed and we would definitely recommend you use Chatterboxes services"

- Sunshine Nursery, Sunbury

"We were enormously impressed with Melissa Richardson when she assessed our seven year old daughter, recently diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (further to an earlier diagnosis of ASD).

We were struck by Melissa's friendly, professional manner, but, perhaps even more impressed at her ability to be flexible in her approach to carrying out the assessment; this is particularly pertinent to our daughter's condition...

...Melissa's instincts that involving my daughter in calculating the scores of the various tests and negotiating with her to take part, resulted in a far more accurate assessment than has previously been managed, due to non-compliance in the past.

Her evidence was invaluable as part of our successful tribunal appeal for our daughter to attend the appropriate school for her needs, where she is now flourishing."

- Owain and Katharine

"Melissa provided excellent therapy for our four year old son. He warmed very quickly to Melissa's kind, patient & fun approach with good results achieved in a short time."

- Emma & Kev

"Thank you so much for your support, your assessment made a big difference and allowed us to get support for K."

- Sue