Qualifications and Research:

 

Becky is a speech and language therapist registered with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice and the Health and Care Professions Council.  

 

After working for 7 years with children and families in their homes, pre-schools and schools she was accepted by University College London to study to become a speech and language therapist.

 

Following qulaification as a speech and language therapist with a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Sciences, Becky worked at Down Syndrome Education International (formerly known as Downsed) for 4 years. During this time she achieved a Masters degree in Language and Communication Impairments in Children through Sheffield University.  

 

Becky continues to work as a consultant for Down Syndrome Education International providing international training and consulting on the development of resources including the See and Learn teaching programmes.  For more information on the training she has provided please visit the “training” page.

 

In 2011 Becky started the independent practice LETS Go! providing a comprehensive range of services developed to support children, families and professionals covering a  variety of speech, language and developmental needs.  LETS Go! now focusses on providing specialist training, education and services for children with Down syndrome, their families and professionals who support this population.

 

Becky guest lectures at University College London .  She presents on a number of topics including speech and language development and the emergence of early number skills in children with Down syndrome.

 

In 2013 Becky co-wrote a book chapter with Dr Kelly Burgoyne and Professor Sue Buckley.  This chapter is entitled Developing the reading skills of children with Down syndrome which features in the book Educating Learners with Down Syndrome: Research, theory, and practice with children and adolescents.  

 

Becky is currently completing a PhD at University College London. Becky is particularly interested in the grammatical difficulties associated with Down syndrome and her research is conducting a randomised control trial, evaluating an expressive language intervention for children with Down syndrome. Becky has presented at a number of research events both on her current research and research undertaken with DSEI.

 

Experience:

 

Becky started her career working in a nusery for several years, during which time a child with Down syndrome transitioned onto her caseload. This sparked Becky’s interest in working with children with Down syndrome and she later became a Teaching Assistant in a mainstream school supporting a child with Down syndrome. Becky received outreach support from Down Syndrome Education International and these experiences provided Becky with the early training, practical knowledge and enthusiasm for inclusion and speech and language difficulties.

 

Becky then went on to train as a Speech and Language therapist which involved working with children across a broad range of difficulties in a number of different settings including mainstream pre-schools and schools, a Specific Language Impairment Unit in a mainstream school and Great Ormond Street Hospital where her roles included the management of caseloads, the use of a variety of assessments and intervention techniques and writing reports for external professionals.

 

In 2006 she completed a research project looking at early language development in children with Down syndrome as part of her final year of training. This project was conducted at DSEI and this allowed Becky to extend her knowledge and interest into the speech and language needs of children with Down syndrome. When she completed her SLT qualification she joined the team at DSEI where her roles included delivering specialist early development groups for children with Down syndrome from birth to school age; managing an outreach support service to children with Down syndrome in local mainstream schools, providing specialist assessment and consultancy services with families and in schools as well as delivering training conferences and workshops around the world. Becky worked with a range of multidisciplinary experts in Down syndrome and widened her understanding of the leaning and social strengths and difficulties associated with Down syndrome.

 

During her time at DSEI, Becky completed a distance learning Masters Degree through Sheffield University, This programme included an in depth focus on a diverse range of specific areas and client groups including; cognition, memory, literacy, written difficulties, numeracy, teaching, social communication, autism and autistic spectrum disorders, emotional and behavioural difficulties, moderate and severe learning difficulties, verbal dyspraxia, hearing impairment and supporting communication through the use of alternative and augmentative communication.

 

Becky is the managing director of LETS Go! and supports a small team of specialists providing a range of training and services. Evidence based practice, research and professional development are a priority at LETS Go! and Becky ensures supervision and continual professional development to maintain the quality of the services and the expert knowledge of the team.

 

 

Qualifications: 

 

 

Additional Training and Professional Development:

 

 

 

Membership:

 

• Sept 2014 – present - University College London - PhD developing and evaluating a language intervention for children with Down syndrome

• 2010 - University of Sheffield - MSc Language and Communication Impairments in Children

• 2007 - University College London - BSc (Hons) Speech Sciences

• 2007- present - Annual attendance at the Down Syndrome Research Forum – this 2 day annual event is organised by Down Syndrome Education International and provides researchers and practitioners an opportunity to meet to discuss current research, recent findings and implications for practice. Regular presenter.

• 2020 - WJEC qualification training (A.Powell)

• 2020 - Advanced and Functional Mathematics For Pupils with Down syndrome (Happy Minds)

• 2020 - Early Number Skills in Pupils with Down syndrome (Happy Minds)

• 2019 - DSEI online training: Effective education for children with Down syndrome in school

• 2019 – Clicker training

• 2019 – attendance and oral presentation at the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD 2019) World Congress.

• 2019 – Oral presentation as part of the Symposium: Language and Literacy Interventions for Students with Down Syndrome: Current Empirical Evaluation and Next Steps for Future Research. 52nd Annual Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Translational Research on Down Syndrome.

• 2019 – Keynote speaker, workshop presenter and attendance at the Ireland Down Syndrome Reasearch Forum

• 2019 – Keynote speaker and workshop presentation at the Emirates Speech Language Pathology Society Conference

• 2019 - DSEI online training: Effective education for children with Down syndrome in school

• 2018 – attendance at the CVI Society Convention 2019: working together

• 2018 – attendance and poster presentation at the World Down Syndrome Congress

• 2016 –oral presentation and attendance at the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) 15th World Congress. This included the Special Interest Day for Speech and Language Therapists held the day before the congress.

• 2013 - Reading and Language Intervention – training for trainers. Qualification to train others on the programme ‘A Reading and Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome.

• 2012 - Shape Coding. One day training course.

• 2011 – attendance and oral presentation at the Third Conference of the International Society on Early Intervention (ISEI).

• 2009 – oral presentation and attendance at the 10th World Down Syndrome Congress

• 2009 - Cued Articulation. One day training course.

• 2007 – attendance at the Down Syndrome Research Direction Symposium. This 4 day symposium brought a multi-disciplinary group of 80 leading scientists and practitioners from across the world together to: review our understanding of Down syndrome; identify and prioritise future research directions and; identify best practice in development, education and health care.

• 2002 - British Sign Language Stage 2

• 2000 - Makaton Training

• 2000 - Portage Training

• 1999 -British Sign Language Stage 1

• Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

• Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice

• Heath and Care Professions Council

• Down Syndrome Research Forum

• Down Syndrome Clinical Excellence Network

• International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD)