About Caroline

I joined the SEN Professionals Team in March 2023 and offer autism assessments to children and young adults. My goal is to work with you to understand their areas of interest, their skills and aspirations and to make the assessment process as comfortable for you all. I aim to see things from the child or young person’s point of view and consider it a privilege to be allowed insight into the thinking preferences of each and every person I have the honour of meeting.

After qualifying from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1992 with a BSC in Speech and Language Pathology and Therapy, I returned to my home area of East Kent supporting children with speech, language and communication needs and have remained in the area ever since.

I have supported children, families and educational settings in the East Kent area for over 30 years. Working within mainstream and specialist provisions, I soon developed a passion for supporting autistic children across all abilities. I have continued to do so for the duration of my career within local NHS services and as an Independent Practitioner, attending regular training to ensure that my skills and knowledge remains current.

I have extensive experience of working within Community Child Health and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services as part of their autism diagnostic teams, working across the age range from pre-schoolers into adulthood. I am trained and experienced in the gold standard autism diagnostic tools such as ADOS-2 and 3Di and offer supervision to others working in the field, as well as attending supervision to maintain my own clinical practice.

Professional  Development

Extensive experience of working within a multi-disciplinary assessment team with specialist knowledge in diagnosing autism and providing advice and support for children and young people with autism.

Experienced ADOS trained clinician who has contributed to and co-delivered ADOS training programmes nationally

Experienced 3Di trained clinician

A trained Early Bird Plus Programme Leader

Supported the development of core and more specialist training for KCC staff in understanding and supporting autistic children and have supported the setting up of Specialist Provisions to meet the needs of children with SLCN and/or autism.

Experienced trainer, presenting to families and professionals – this includes supporting undergraduate, post graduate and Masters level training programmes for Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Staff and Medical Practitioners.

Makaton Trainer

Trained in multiple approaches for supporting children and young people with a wide range of SLCN including, Developmental Language Disorder, Speech Apraxia, Alternative and Augmentative Communication Systems, Gestalt Language Processors.

Qualifications

BSc, Reg MRCSLT, HCPC Registered