Therapy and Health Services
Most healthcare services can help children and young people with a disability, but we understand that sometimes extra support is needed. To receive this support, parents or carers can ask for additional or complex support from the services listed on this page.
Additional support is often referred to as a 'targeted health service'. Targeted health services are in place to support those with more complex needs. The support offered is sometimes on a short-term basis, and is provided through an assessment or referral via your General Practitioner (GP), dentist, child's school or setting, health visitor, school nurse or social worker.
Speech and Language Therapy (SLT)
SLT services support children with speech, language and communication, and/or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.
They work with children in their education settings (schools, nurseries, pre-schools, etc), in their own homes, in other community settings and in hospital. They work closely with other children's workforce professionals, including health visitors, paediatricians, school staff, educational psychologists, specialist teachers and social care staff. The needs in the following list may be associated with wider needs or a diagnosis (such as autism, hearing impairment, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, cleft lip and palate etc) or may exist on their own.
They work with children who have difficulties with:
- speech sounds (learning or pronouncing sounds)
- language (understanding or using words, sentences or paragraphs)
- social communication (understanding the unspoken 'rules' of interaction and conversation such as turn-taking, sticking to topic, etc.)
- stammering or dysfluency
- voice disorders
- eating, drinking or swallowing (physical difficulties with earing, drinking or swallowing)
To learn more, or make contact with your local NHS speech and language therapy service:
South Derbyshire and Derby City
Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust – Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service
North Derbyshire
Please note: From 1 April 2025, the Children's Speech and Language Therapy services will be transitioning from Chesterfield Royal Hospital to Derbyshire Community Health. The following link to the Children's Speech and Language Therapy Services will be updated to direct to Derbyshire Community Health in due course.
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Speech and Language Therapy
Glossop
Tameside and Glossop - NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Speech and Language (ISCAN)
Physiotherapy (PT)
Physiotherapy aims to help and treat children and young people with physical problems as well as providing support to their families and carers.
Physiotherapists support children and young people who have difficulty with movement and treat short and long-term conditions that impact on physical development, activity and their ability to participate in play, learning and socialising.
Following an assessment, physiotherapy programmes are devised in collaboration with both the child/young person and their family/carer. Treatment is incorporated into simple everyday activities. Advice and training are provided so that the family can help and encourage the child to practice their physiotherapy programmes.
We work with the child/young person, their family, and health and education colleagues to encourage each child to get the most out of their lives and fully develop their potential, from birth to the time they transition to adult services.
To learn more, or make contact with your local NHS physiotherapy service:
South Derbyshire and Derby City
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Physiotherapy
University Hospital Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Physiotherapy
North Derbyshire
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Physiotherapy
Glossop
Tameside and Glossop NHS Foundation Trust - Paediatric Physiotherapy
Occupational Therapy (OT)
The NHS Children's Occupational Therapy services in north and south Derbyshire will assess and provide intervention, support and/or advice to children, young people (aged 0-19) and their families, where they have a disability or impairment which impacts on their performance and participation in activities of everyday life to help them to reach their full potential. The South Derbyshire team also has a young adult service to support independence and self-management in adulthood.
Examples of what the service can help with are:
- Self-care: washing, dressing, using cutlery, using the toilet
- Productivity: learning, handwriting, activities in the classroom or home
- Leisure: play, sports, hobbies
Children may be seen in clinic, in the community at home, school or nursery, or by video appointment as appropriate.
To support children with sensory processing needs enabling them to carry out everyday tasks the team in the north run interactive virtual workshops based on practical strategies. This information is provided by the team in the south as a video presentation with useful documents which are recommended for viewing prior to participation in the interactive workshop.
For children with poor co-ordination, support can be accessed in the south through the “Active Hands are Achieving Hands programme” in school. Support can be accessed in the north via workshops for teachers on addressing writing difficulties is available.
To learn more, or make contact with your local NHS occupational therapy service:
South Derbyshire and Derby City
Derbyshire NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Occupational Therapy
North Derbyshire
Derbyshire NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Occupational Therapy
Glossop
Tameside and Glossop NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Occupational Therapy