Testimonials
Ages 0-9
“Jude has been amazingly supportive and already within a matter of days of the assessment we are seeing real improvements in the outcomes for our daughter. My only regret is not getting Jude in sooner. We will gladly continue to seek Jude’s input, she is such a knowledgeable, experienced and caring professional, we definitely value everything she has to offer.
Thank you so much Jude, you’ve given our daughter opportunities we were worried she might never have. We are eternally grateful.”
Parents of 2-Year-old girl
“As a family we had been struggling for a long time and were not able to get any support or validation for our concerns. A friend told us about Grow Communication and we arranged for a pre assessment with Katy. We cannot begin to express how much this has helped our family. Katy listened to all we had to say with compassion and it was such a relief to know someone with professional expertise was acknowledging us. More importantly, she totally understood where we were coming from and advised us accordingly. The pre-assessment has quite literally offered our family a lifeline that we so urgently needed and we are so grateful to Katy for all she has done for us.”
Family of a 5-Year-old attending for pre-assessment
“Since Katy began working with our family we have not looked back. We learned new ways to communicate with our son so that he never felt under pressure and she has supported us for his first ever trip abroad on an airplane! Katy has given everyone in the family tips and tools that help and has given us an understanding of why he is feeling how he is. Our family home has become much happier in the time she has been around.”
Parent of 6 year old
“My son Ethan has been diagnosed with Autism and Global Delayed Development. Jude does not operate a one size fits all limited therapy. She focused on Ethan’s particular needs and encouraged us with lots of “learning through play” suggestions for us to use as a family everyday.
I found Jude to be optimistic and positive regarding Ethan’s progress. Ethan enjoyed learning with Jude and she provided us with therapy above and beyond our expectations.”
Family of 5 yr old attending for pre-assessment
“Jude was very easy to work with. She made a huge effort to help our child with his language development and also helped us parents to better understand our child’s difficulties and how to support him.
Right from the start Jude provided us with several strategies which helped immensely to improve our child’s communication and social skills. Also, Jude went far and beyond to address our questions and worries.
We are very pleased that we have been able to work with Jude and would definitely recommend her as a highly professional speech therapist.”
Parents of 4 year-old
“We first approached Jude as parents wanting answers. We needed someone to acknowledge us and what we were thinking. It’s always been clear to us that our son has set ways, he has some sensory issues, he struggles to understand emotions, he has issues with lashing out (for what seems like nothing at all). He’s the most loving little boy and we wanted to help him through all this.
Jude recognised the issues on her first visit and supported us from then on. She built strategies for us to use with our son and her understanding and passion in helping us was amazing and very much appreciated. She helped us not just as a family of three but our whole family, both sides.”
Mum of 4 year-old
“Jude has a lovely calm manner, and quickly made our daughters and us feel very comfortable. She clearly has a great deal of knowledge and experience in her field, and has had many suggestions of strategies for us to adopt at home and school. She has been a great source of support in terms of identifying and communicating the relevant issues for school. Thank you Jude!”
Parents of 8 year-old
“Before we met Jude, working with Speech Therapy had often felt like a box ticking exercise …… We had seen very little progress in nearly 2 years. We have been involved with many professionals on our journey, but it has always felt that Jude sees the potential in our son and works hard to help him unlock it.
Jude introduced his first communication system when others felt he wasn’t ready, and slowly but surely his “voice” (albeit in pictures) is emerging. Jude has always spent time during our appointments explaining her approach and helping us to understand how we can support our son at home (as well as strategies for nursery), and that has been truly invaluable.”
Parents of 4 year-old with Autism
“Jude went above and beyond with help and support not only for our son but for the whole family. Our son loved his assessment sessions. We now have some added support from nursery since they have read Jude’s very detailed and in-depth report – had we not had this we could quite possibly have been waiting a while! Would highly recommend Jude for support, advice and guidance with any Speech and Language worries”.
Mum of 3 1/2 year old
“Jude’s interaction with my son is brilliant. He has come on a lot since Jude started working with him over 10 months ago. Jude has an individual approach, gives great advice and always has a positive attitude”
Parent of 8 year-old with Autism
“I was really impressed with how well Sarah got to know my daughter. The zoom sessions worked really well, and Sarah was excellent at identifying my daughter's barriers, breaking these down in to meaningful steps, and offering strategies to help overcome these challenges. Sarah put so much effort in to her work with my daughter. She provided detailed feedback and next steps after each session, and would always check in between sessions. More than this, I could tell that Sarah really cared about my daughter as an individual. Her knowledge, passion and dedication to her work is clear to see and my daughter made so much progress over the time she worked with Sarah. She really goes above and beyond.
Parents of 2-year old
Ages 10-17
“Jude’s natural ability to empathise and individualise, coupled with her training and experience and vast toolkit, create a gentle, focused therapy. She has helped us find a framework and language to deal with change, for our son with ASD. Her ideas led to a dramatic change in his anxiety about a major building project – from “you cannot knock that wall down!” to rating his feeling as “Big Excited” related to the change and how to celebrate it”.
Mum of 10 year-old
“We have worked with Grow Communication for around two years, with the initial objective of assessment and diagnosis for our then 6-year-old child. The assessment and diagnosis processes were undertaken with sensitivity, respect and thorough professionalism. Since then, Jude has provided regular therapy sessions, arranged via our child’s school, and these have been extremely beneficial in enhancing our child’s self-awareness and confidence. Our child is learning skills to manage anxieties and has a safe space to talk openly about how they feel – this has been possible only through the trust gained in Jude.”
Parents of 10 year old
“Katy did not promise us a diagnosis of any kind but what was more important for us was her commitment to listen to us, support us & help us identify & manage whatever could be potentially causing our son’s issues.”
Parent and P7 child attending for Pre-assessment
“My son’s Pre-Diagnostic Assessment was an incredible experience not only for my 11 year old son, but also for me as a parent. The room at Grow is a beautiful place to spend time in, my son expressed that he felt very safe & happy there”
Parent
“Excellent work with our daughter, it’s given her another level of confidence to help achieve her goals in and out of primary class. Many, many thanks, you’ve made a happy girl a very happy, more confident girl which has helped prepare her for her future.”
Parents of 10 year-old
“I felt more heard, validated & seen that I had in all the 8 years I had been sharing my son’s story with health professionals. I knew right away I had found an experienced specialist who would at last hold a safe space for us & truly listen to our story, without judgement”
Parent
“‘It felt different talking to Katy. Although she explained that she had to write down what I was saying, I knew she was still listening as I could tell she was asking me what she was feeling & not working her way through a list of questions, that helped & I liked that”
Child aged 11
“Asking Jude at Grow Communication to lead the assessment of our 9-year old daughter for autism (ASD) and ADHD was one of the most positive decisions we, as a family, have ever made. Having spent over a year on an NHS waiting list with no signs of progress, we were becoming increasingly frustrated and overwhelmed by the “not knowing”, with our daughter’s increasing feelings of being different and desire to better understand herself only adding to this.
Our daughter took to the Grow team instantly and thoroughly enjoyed her interactions with them, whether at our home, her school or in their beautiful office in Polmont. My husband and I were equally impressed by our dealings with Jude the team and were amazed how quickly they got an accurate picture of our daughter, her strengths and her challenges.
Throughout the whole process, we felt truly supported. We are so grateful and look forward to working with you, if the need arises, in the future.”
Parent of 12 year old
“Jude was very reassuring… and just knew what we needed. Jude has made it very easy for us to understand our daughter’s condition and we are very happy. Jude is fantastic, very understanding, very kind. Our daughter thinks she is great.”
Parents of 11 year-old
“In the short time since meeting my son you’ve done an excellent job of recommending next steps. Many thanks for all of your ideas. I would definitely recommend Jude Philp.”
Mum of 15 year-old with complex ASD
“From the initial consultation, the information and advice which has been offered has been very useful and insightful. The assessments were thorough and the strategies, especially the vocabulary building, showed positive impact almost immediately. The flexible nature of the sessions in school allowed staff to work alongside you and transfer teaching approaches back into the classroom which was most beneficial to both staff and the pupil. We can’t thank you enough for all of your help and support over the session, we have learned a great deal from working with you.”
Feedback from ASN Teacher of 10 year old with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and Literacy difficulties
“I am so thankful to have found your service; it is proving to be the turning point in what has been a long, exhausting and depleting parental journey. We are finding the report informative and helpful as a very comprehensive breakdown of our daughter’s difficulties. It is providing a backdrop of evidence that is helping us to fight for the right targeted support from health and education. Without it, we would not have the cooperation of the team to put in the right strategies for support. At last, we understand why our daughter has so many daily struggles and finally we have recognition of her difficulties from school (because of the report).
We also really appreciate the after-care – that you are still helping us to understand and develop strategies to help her. For the first time ever, we don’t have to justify our concerns, persuade that there’s a problem or defend our parenting style. Thank-you!”
Parents of 12 year old (Diagnostic Autism Assessment)
“Jude, we can’t thank you enough for how you have helped our family. Your friendly, enthusiastic and professional approach has made a huge difference to our daughter’s life. You have been an enormous support and we wouldn’t hesitate in recommending you to any parents needing your services”
Parents of 10 year old girl with Autism and Selective Mutism
“Jude has been a positive influence on Matthew and has struck up a wonderful relationship with him. Matthew’s speech and social development have been noticeable over the last few months thanks to Jude’s tuition and thanks to her relationship with Matthew, he has been working very hard independently to improve. Jude has also helped us understand Matthew more and helped us to help him.”
Parents of 11 year old
Ages 18+
“Jude has been working with my 20 year old son with Speech and Language Therapy. He has Autism and Selective Mutism. Today he said a very quiet yes to one of his carers after months of teaching him to cook. He hasn’t spoken to anyone outside the family for a very long time”.
Mum of 20 year old
“I have found the course of therapy sessions very helpful and will continue to practice the exercises in the future. Jude has given me very useful advice to help with my communication skills and has helped to show me how to evaluate my abilities to communicate and how to improve my communication in order to achieve my goals.”
David, Age 23
“I approached Grow Communication for a PDA profiling assessment for my son (Grow) being the first independent team to be listed by the PDA Society in Scotland. I have been overwhelmed by the thoughtful caring attitude of both Jude and Suzy to both myself and my son. I was blown away by their diagnostic skills and most importantly how they turned around years of negativity through education into so many real positives. The child they saw had been courageous and resilient throughout, not “lazy and winging it” as many had thought.
Jude even brought her dog Paddy in from home when I mentioned my son loved dogs. The report is not a copy and paste response but a bespoke detailed informative report individual to my son’s needs for education and to further his life skills. We were given suggestions which type of assessment to use. Our opinions were respected. Their research evidence went back as far as grandparents in great depth. Having Clinicians who understand the PDA profile was a lifeline.
The report has given us hope for the future with a clear pathway to follow. It answers so many questions from the past and respects that my parenting skills were not to blame. I can’t recommend Grow enough. Outstanding inspirational staff with a definite WOW factor.”
Parent of 23 year old
I contacted Grow after years of frustration and long waiting lists while looking for answers about why I felt the way I did. Right from my initial enquiry Katy was helpful and understanding, communicating by email until I was comfortable with a phone call. I was very anxious about the assessment but both Katy and Suzy and the space itself were welcoming and helped me feel at ease, I felt like I was really being heard and it didn't feel like an "assessment". I can't thank them enough for the positive experience I have had at Grow, I feel like now I have an answer that fits me at last.
“Jude came to visit us and she immediately took on board what my daughter needed.
We live in England and had hunted everywhere for an understanding SALT, one who would listen to me, see Ellie’s potential, and be prepared to help us get Ellie’s voice out there in whichever way possible. Amazingly I met Jude on a selective mutism forum, even more amazingly she agreed she would travel to England to meet us for a day!
Jude was that understanding speech therapist I had been looking for, and more, she was so friendly and understanding. Her calm nature put us all at ease and she had Ellie interacting with her early on in the session. Jude had a podd book with her which Ellie showed an interest in, Jude modelled through the day on the podd book and Ellie watched intently all the time. Jude completely understood Ellie’s potential and even managed to get a talking mats session in with Ellie too.
Jude wrote a fantastically detailed report, staff at Ellie’s school were really thankful to have such an insight into Ellie’s needs. Jude also listened to me, as Ellie’s mum, she empathised with all my concerns and strived to help in the best way possible. Thanks to her I now have the confidence and ability to help my daughter have a voice. I only wish we lived nearer so we could get more input from Jude.”
Parent of 18-year old
On the day of my assessment I felt so nervous I almost wanted to turn back and go home, however, Katy and Suzie made me feel relaxed and at ease within minutes. They explained every step of the process clearly and made the whole assessment a positive experience, recognising some strengths as well as areas of difficulty. Feedback was delivered very promptly after the assessment and both Katy and Suzie ensured any questions I had were answered fully. I was given some recommendations of materials to access to allow me to start to understand my diagnoses of ASD and ADHD in my report which was delivered shortly after. As an adult who has faced struggles all my life I feel relieved at receiving a diagnosis that allows me to understand why I am the way I am. The entire experience from the first enquiry email to the assessment, feedback session and final report has been very positive. I can’t recommend Grow Communication Ltd highly enough.
More Feedback We Love
“Following Katy’s feedback we now at long last have a possible answer to all our worries & concerns but more importantly we have now have hope that alongside the expertise, skill & dedication of Katy & GROW we can as parents help our son manage his social, emotional & communication challenges & enable him to grow, flourish & be happy.”
Parent
“Inspiring… Innovative… Great presentation… Brilliant strategies… Really good, relevant information… A holistic view of communication skills.”
Feedback from Jude’s session at Conference for Preschool teachers – May 2016
