Speech Therapist

 

Description:

Job Summary:

 To hold a defined clinical caseload, across schools, nurseries and in the centre. As a qualified professional

that is able to manage the caseload independently.

 To be utilised in our Learning and Therapy Intervention Programme, Able-Me and to help the staff

improve their skills, understand how to model therapeutic interventions and aid the success of the Able-

Me programme in any capacity needed, to improve the quality and standards.

 To assess, manage, advise and implement speech and language therapy interventions with a varied

caseload of children with a range of communication impairments and learning difficulties supported with

regular support and clinical supervision from a senior speech and language therapist and the HOTD.

 To liaise with internal and external multidisciplinary teams.

 To hold responsibility for defined projects within the centre.

 To provide training/teaching as appropriate to school/nursery teachers and assistants.

 To be responsible for CPD to further develop skills and share with the team as appropriate.

 To comply with the Dubai Health Authority Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Responsibilities:

1. Clinical Responsibilities:

 To autonomously plan and deliver a child-centred speech and language therapy service to a

caseload of children and their families/careers in the centre and/or school/nursery settings

incorporating 1:1 and group sessions. This includes assessment, therapy, advice and onward

referrals.

 To demonstrate knowledge, skills and expertise in the management of children who present with

learning difficulties/special educational needs and developmental disorders.

 To autonomously manage a varied clinical caseload and be responsible for assessment, differential

diagnosis, formulation of treatment plans, goal setting, report writing, providing appropriate

intervention and evaluating outcomes; with clinical support.

 To demonstrate familiarity and competence with a wide range of clinical paediatric assessments.

 To identify own gaps in knowledge and seek advice and supervision as appropriate.

 To ensure all clinical interventions are underpinned by current evidence-based practice and

outcome measures.

 To work collaboratively with schools and nurseries to facilitate inclusion and maximise the

communicative environment to enable the child to access the school’s curriculum.

 To work effectively with the therapy assistant to facilitate the planning and preparation of sessions

(e.g. instructing regarding the making of therapy resources, and preparing therapy rooms). Also to

be independent in your preparation as much as possible.

 To provide direct and indirect interventions for individuals and small groups.

 To facilitate clients’ transitions from nursery to school, by providing advice and support within the

professional remit, to professionals and families.

 To demonstrate clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills when reviewing client care, to

determine agreed outcomes across healthcare.

 To be responsible for the review and discharge of individual clients.

 To demonstrate the ability to manage children with challenging behaviours, including the

development and application of appropriate management strategies.

 To demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the key principles of integrated/multi-agency

working.

 To manage and prioritise own workload independently, including planning own time, schedule

and meeting arrangments.

 To deliver and lead group therapy sessions with other therapists or support assistants.

 To be responsible for collecting and submitting timely caseload statistics and records.

 Ensure that services comply with professional and departmental standards of practice.

 When appropriate and feasible, provide cover for any SLT annual/maternity/sick leave and other

absences.

 To recommend onward referrals to other agencies as appropriate, Educational Psychologist for

assessment and behavioural problems, ENT, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, orthodontist,

G.P. etc. for medical advice and ongoing treatments.

 To maintain accurate client records (SOAP format).

 To ensure secure storage of all client records, including audio and visual records and photographic

materials, as per Sensation Station policy.

 To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of clients, families and carers, in

particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of their

difficulties and implications of the same.

 To adapt practice to meet individual client’s circumstances including due regard to cultural and

linguistic differences.

 To be accountable for own professional actions and recognise own professional boundaries,

seeking advice where appropriate.

2. Communication:

 To routinely provide advice, education and support to clients, families and carers regarding the

management and care of clients with speech, language and communication difficulties using

appropriate mediums of communication (face-to-face/telephone/email/Tapestry).

 To effectively communicate complex and sensitive clinical information to clients, carers, families,

multi-disciplinary teams and other agencies to ensure an integrated pattern of delivery.

 To efficiently use formal and informal reporting mechanisms including electronic reporting, to

ensure effective communication in relation to health care referral procedures.

 To maintain comprehensive and contemporaneous clinical records and reports in line with

Sensation Station and Dubai Health Authority policy.

 To develop rapport with clients and families who have a range of communication impairments.

 Use of effective interpersonal skills to encourage children, families/carers and staff to actively

participate in the speech and language therapy process.

 Ability to work effectively with clients and families requiring a language interpreter, ensuring

services are accessible for all service users regardless of their spoken language or communication

status.

 To be able to modify own speech and language to meet the needs of the listener, to speak clearly

and effectively with a wide range of listeners including the hearing impaired and learning

disabled, the language-impaired and the very young.

 To be able to manage any conflicts with colleagues or clients professionally and address issues via the correct channel’s.

 To attend and contribute to meetings as appropriate, including; operational team meetings, annual

reviews, multi-disciplinary team and child safeguarding meetings relating to clinical caseload.

3. Professional Development:

 To remain informed on developments and trends in speech and language therapy practice by

studying the current literature available and to adapt own working practices accordingly.

 To develop clinical skills via continuous professional development (CPD), including maintenance

of an up-to-date CPD portfolio.

 Attend and contribute to regular supervision sessions and participate in performance reviews.

 To be guided by standards set by Dubai Health Authority and the official licensing body of the

Speech and Language Therapist's native country. To ensure these guidelines are reasonably

applied as appropriate to the children and environment presented to you.

4. Training

 To organise and/or contribute to internal and external training of staff both formally and

informally.

 To organise and/or contribute to the induction and/or training of staff, both within and external to

the department.

 To teach specialised techniques to education and health professionals where appropriate to meet

client's needs.

 To feedback to Speech and Language Therapy colleagues on courses attended.

 To assist in the identification of the training needs of the department.

5. Management Responsibilities

 Build and sustain relationships as an independent practitioner and collaboratively as a member of

the team.

 To assist (where applicable) with the prioritisation of referrals and management of waiting lists.

 To collect workload statistics required for departmental purposes and service reviews. To advise

the HOTD of changes in trends related to caseload activity.

 To share responsibility for ordering, issuing, retrieving and maintaining departmental equipment.

 To undertake designated departmental duties to ensure efficient use of equipment, facilities and

materials.

 To act as a representative for speech and language therapy and/or therapy services on service-wide initiatives.

6. Service Development and Delivery

 To provide services which are sensitive to the needs of the culture and diversity of individual

children and their families/ careers.

 To advise and collaborate with the Head of the Therapy Department on the consolidation of

services, to contribute to service reviews, and to hold responsibility for defined projects.

 Contribute to the development of collaborative working practices.

 To contribute to protocols and guidelines regarding service delivery.

 To participate in departmental policymaking, and to aid the Head of Therapy Department in

ensuring these are adhered to.

 To instigate, participate in or investigate research and audit projects as appropriate.

 To demonstrate flexibility in your role in order for the Managing Director of Sensation Station to

utilise your expertise and create opportunities to help Sensation Station thrive.

REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelors or Masters or Degree in Speech-Language Pathology/Therapy

A minimum of 2 years of experience working in Paediatrics, with a stamped reference letter from your previous employer(s)

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) license (or eligibility)

UAE driving license and access to a car

Competent in writing assessment and progress reports

Fluent and proficient in both written and spoken English

Experience in working with approaches and systems such as Makaton, PECS®, PROMPT©, SCERTS®

and TEACCH® (desirable)