The Autism Assessment Service is looking to recruit an experienced and enthusiastic Speech & Language Therapist to work across Northallerton and Harrogate Child Development Centres with children and young people aged up to 19 years old.

Our service is passionate about transitioning from a deficit/medical model of autism and embraces the neurodiversity paradigm: we strive to engage children, young people and families to understand their own strengths and needs and to work together to promote wellbeing. We are excited to have secured funding for this post to support us to develop a self-referral model, recognising that the best people to tell us about what they need are young people and their families.

The successful candidate will receive monthly supervision from an Advanced Speech and Language Therapist to allow you to reflect on and develop your practice. As a member of our MDT, they will work closely with all team members and have access to support from Clinical Psychologists and Occupational Therapist as needed. As part of this role, they will have the opportunity to be certified to administer the Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2), and have access to ongoing CPD including online training with Beacon House resources.

The Autism Assessment Team is a supportive MDT service comprising Admin, Assistant Practitioners, Assistant and Clinical Psychologists, Speech & Language and Occupational Therapists.

Main duties of the job

• To support a high-quality specialist autism diagnostic service as part of a multi-disciplinary team to children and young people (0-19 years) and their families and carers living in the Hambleton and Richmond area, and the Harrogate area.
• To work autonomously within professional guidelines ensuring that systematic governance of Speech and Language therapy practice is maintained.
• To support Speech and Language practices within the team and advise colleagues of the speech and language needs of children/young people coming through for assessment.
• To participate in regular team meetings and contribute to the development of the service.
• To carry out activity-based assessments and speech and language assessments where required and highlight needs as part of MDT reporting.
• Liaise with education, local authority and other partner agencies to gather information as part of an autism assessment.
• To be involved in the supervision of student/junior clinicians within the speciality.

About us

This post offers an exciting opportunity to work within a multi-disciplinary team including Clinical Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Assistant Psychologists, Assistant Practitioners and Administrators.

At Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, we aim to reflect our values in everything we do - Kindness, Integrity, Teamwork and Equality. So if you're looking for an interesting and rewarding career in the NHS, where you can make a real difference to patients' lives, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is the place for you

At Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust we provide outstanding care to both our patients and our staff. We support staff through benefits, health and wellbeing initiatives and opportunities for personal and professional development.

• An inclusive and supportive culture our Trust encourages staff to bring their whole selves to work and active Staff Networks identify areas for improvement.
• Staff Recognition - as well as regular appraisals, we recognise staff with our Making a Difference, Team of the Month Awards & Colleague Recognition Awards.
• Employee Support and wellbeing - we have a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme, counselling service and fast track physiotherapy service for employees.
• Staff Benefits - We have a range of staff benefits and schemes to support staff health, engagement, wellbeing and inclusion

Job description

Job responsibilities

To have extensive knowledge of all types of speech, language and communication disorders across a wide age range.

To have knowledge of neurodevelopmental differences and learning disabilities and the impact of these on childrens development.

To carry out activity-based/ formalised language assessments and observational assessments (e.g. of social communication skills, speech and language) as appropriate and support the team to make differential diagnosis.

To liaise with other partner agencies in order to gather information to inform the autism assessment.

To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of children with neurodevelopmental differences/ communication difficulties (e.g. with carers and teachers)

To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures

To produce reports / recommendations regarding patients needs

To adapt practice to meet individuals circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic differences.

To manage own workload within the demands of a busy multi professional assessment team

To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner both orally and in writing, information concerning the assessment

To promote and participate in multi-disciplinary team working, development and liaison.

For further information on this position please see the job description and person specification attached.

For further information please contact Dr Beth Billington on elizabeth.billington@nhs.net or Laura Edwards on laura.edwards47@nhs.net

Person Specification

Essential and Desirable

Essential

• Speech and Language Therapy Degree (or equivalent)
• HCPC registration
• Experience of working within a Multi-disciplinary team
• Substantial experience of working with autistic/ neurodivergent children and young people
• Experience of assessment of autistic children and young people
• Knowledge of Autism and diagnostic criteria
• Understanding of the neurodiversity paradigm
• Understanding of standardised assessment tools used in speech and language assessments

Desirable

• Trained in assessment tools relevant to this post (e.g. ADOS)
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist
• Experience of working with education staff
• Experience of conducting neurodevelopmental assessments
• Knowledge of related conditions/ neurodiversity and trauma e.g. Pathological Demand Avoidance, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Understanding of standardised assessment tools used in speech and language assessments

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Child Development Centres Northallerton and Harrogate

Child Development Centre, Brompton Road

Northallerton

DL6 1EA

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

421-CCS-0216R-A