We are looking for a dedicated and passionate speech and language therapist who can commit to working with our 4-year-old son Sacha for one hour every morning, Monday to Friday, for the next year at our home in Hanover, Brighton.

Sacha has a rare chromosome condition—2q37 deletion syndrome—which affects him in many ways. While he has made great gross motor progress with intensive therapeutic interventions, Sacha’s speech and communication and fine motor skills are still significantly delayed. Since he has generalised hypotonia and hypermobility, oro-motor difficulties may be part of the problem. Sacha’s profile is complex and uneven: at age 1 he used a few words and makaton signs after some successes with intensive therapy, and later even uttered occasional sentences, but this plateaued and then largely vanished during lockdown when most of his therapies came to a halt. He is currently nonverbal and only rarely using signs, and is increasingly frustrated and sad about his inability to communicate.

Our experience of Sacha’s development so far indicates that intensive approaches to therapy are far more effective for him than the conventional pattern of occasional SLT backed with a home programme. We are thus hoping to find a therapist with relevant experience in dealing with complex speech and communication profiles who is able to work intensively with Sacha, in the hope that this will give him the boost he needs to get communicating again before he starts school in September 2022.

You will benefit from steady freelance rates and a fixed place of work over the course of a year, with resulting income approaching a part time salary for only a few hours per week. The role may thus suit someone studying or with family responsibilities; alternatively, it would form a stable base for broader freelance work. It will be of particular interest to therapists interested in gaining experience in intensive models of therapy.

Sacha is an affectionate, loving and warm child who you are certain to have fun working with!

To apply, please send a CV and brief personal statement to the following address: chilezee@yahoo.co.uk

For further details, please contact Rob on the following number: 07929 005745