Her specialism is working with individuals who have ‘complex needs’. These include adults with neurological impairments (for example, inpatient neurorehabilitation soon after a brain injury, as well as residential-based rehabilitation at Richardson Care) and children in complex needs provisions. Katie is qualified to practise complex dysphagia assessment and management with adults.

Katie describes Richardson Care as one of the larger specialist residential care organisations that she has worked with. She says: “I am impressed with the way that the care team coordinates their care for the service users, including regular MDT (multi-disciplinary team) meetings. I also enjoy that there always seems to be interesting activities for the residents to engage with. For example, these may be baking, craft or music enrichment activities run by the staff,  or facilities that are always available to service users, such as the snooker table and a drumkit.”

“In addition, service users are supported to enhance their functional communication in the community as they take part in a wide range of activities, such as shopping, café visits, day trips, bingo and sailing.”

Qualifications and training:

• MSc Speech and Language Sciences
• BA English Language and Linguistics
• SCERTS Cascade
• Word Aware
• Narrative Intervention
• Lego Therapy
• Cued Articulation
• Elklan AAC for Children and Adults
• RCSLT Dysphagia Competency: Level C, Specialist in Adult Dysphagia
• Dysphagia Rehabilitation – Maggie-Lee Huckabee (NCORE)