Tel: 0118 988 7074 Email: admin@every-mind.co.uk
Tel: 0118 988 7074 Email: admin@every-mind.co.uk
My name is Katy Rimmington, and I am a Speech and Language Therapist, with a specialist interest in working with children and young people (and their families) with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). I am part of the diagnostic team at Every Mind.
My interest in ASD began when I studied Psychology and worked at the University of Oxford on a collaborative molecular genetics study of Autism. This role enabled me to work with families throughout the UK, as did my work within numerous local charities.
I have always enjoyed supporting young people with ASD to access social/educational opportunities within the community, as well as providing support to their families during and beyond the diagnostic process. I achieved a Masters Degree in Speech and Language Therapist in 2009 and have worked for the NHS ever since. I am a Health and Care Professions Council registered Speech and Language Therapist, and am a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. I have supported children, young people and their families with a range of speech, language and communication impairments, both within mainstream settings and those with more significant and complex needs, requiring more specialist provisions. I have particularly enjoyed the benefits to myself, as well as to those I support, of working within an integrated therapy team (including: Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy). This has developed my ability to work more holistically with individuals and their families to address their communication needs.
ASD remains my specialist area of interest, in particular working within the assessment/diagnostic process, which I have done for many years. I have worked particularly hard to devise and deliver support to families in the post-diagnostic period, and to deliver early therapeutic interventions. I always strive to tailor these to the individual and diverse needs of those with ASD, and their families. My primary goal for individuals is to develop a functional communication system which will enable them to access educational and social opportunities and achieve their true potential, as well as function as independently as possible.
I enjoy working creatively to support development of communication from the early pre-verbal stages (through sensory play and intensive interaction techniques) to difficulties with the more subtle demands of social communication/interaction. I value a Total Communication approach including the use of a variety of forms of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) including Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), signing and/or speech. I am also trained in the Attention Autism Program.
We have launched a new programme of workshops for parents of autistic children. Workshops include Supporting Self Esteem, Managing Anxiety, and the Transition to Adolescence. Please contact us for more information