Come Talk with Me communication language and support

These groups are for children aged from two to four years who have difficulties with their communication and language development.

They are run by Elklan trained early years practitioners in family hubs across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Please use your WellComm Toolkit to help you identify if a child would benefit from support. You will also find useful information on the Come Talk with Me flowchart which will help you identify the best referral route for children with communication and language difficulties.

If a child is scoring green on no more than two sections below their chronological age on their WellComm assessment, Come Talk with Me will likely be appropriate for the child. Therefore please:

• discuss with parents the format of the groups and gain parental permission to request support
• call the Early Help Access Point (EHAP) to request support from Come Talk with Me, on the dedicated EHAP professionals' number 01202 126 666 - the team will complete the request for support over the phone.
• email a current WellComm assessment to the relevant person when requested
• if the child meets criteria for Come Talk with Me, the appropriate early help worker will then contact the parent or carer to offer a place on the progamme at one of the Family Hubs.

The Early Help Access Point is available from:

• Monday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm
• Friday from 9am to 4:30pm

Come Talk with Me support is not appropriate for children with pronunciation difficulties, or where a WellComm screening shows that a child is more than a year (three or more WellComm sections) below the section for their age.

In these cases use the Graduated Response Toolkit to inform early intervention strategies and direct parents to attend one of the Speech Therapy Early Advice Drop Ins (Ready S.T.E.A.D.I Chat).

Ready S.T.E.A.D.I Chat

Speech Therapy Early Advice Drop Ins is the easy access pathway to speech and language therapy for early years children. You can visit the Ready STEADI Chat website for more information.