Meet the site developers and contributors:
Keena Cummins (you can also see more about me at keenacummins.co.uk)
When I qualified as a speech and language therapist 25 years ago I had the privilege of working with and learning from people of all ages who presented with communication difficulties. In the beginning I was using traditional practices to support adults who had suffered strokes, head injury, dementia, were stammering, had mental health challenges or had had their larynx removed. I was also working with children from 2 – 16 who had been identified as having language delay, disordered language and speech development, dysfluency, general learning delay and autistic spectrum disorder. Three years in I specialised in working with children and was introduced to video as part of an approach known as Parent child interaction. It was revolutionary. Finally I could work through the skills of parents and people that know the individual child best. The video has provided me with a mirror in which to reflect on my own practice and having spent thousands of hours looking at the tiny details of children’s communication over time, within their individual families, with other adults, students and therapists I feel that we are now able to define the key ingredients which underpin communication development. This has led to the development of VERVE child interaction where all of us are committed to using video as a primary source in learning from one another, reflecting on what we do, observing the impact that we have and adapting and organising our skills in order to support each child in developing theirs. My particular passion has been seeing just how significant face watching is, how to support it's development, the process over time that is involved in it's development and the impact it has on each child's confidence in communication and learning. The thrilling thing about recent neuroscientific research is that there is now clear evidence to explain just why this is so significant .
We are chomping at the bit to share it all.
When I qualified as a speech and language therapist 25 years ago I had the privilege of working with and learning from people of all ages who presented with communication difficulties. In the beginning I was using traditional practices to support adults who had suffered strokes, head injury, dementia, were stammering, had mental health challenges or had had their larynx removed. I was also working with children from 2 – 16 who had been identified as having language delay, disordered language and speech development, dysfluency, general learning delay and autistic spectrum disorder. Three years in I specialised in working with children and was introduced to video as part of an approach known as Parent child interaction. It was revolutionary. Finally I could work through the skills of parents and people that know the individual child best. The video has provided me with a mirror in which to reflect on my own practice and having spent thousands of hours looking at the tiny details of children’s communication over time, within their individual families, with other adults, students and therapists I feel that we are now able to define the key ingredients which underpin communication development. This has led to the development of VERVE child interaction where all of us are committed to using video as a primary source in learning from one another, reflecting on what we do, observing the impact that we have and adapting and organising our skills in order to support each child in developing theirs. My particular passion has been seeing just how significant face watching is, how to support it's development, the process over time that is involved in it's development and the impact it has on each child's confidence in communication and learning. The thrilling thing about recent neuroscientific research is that there is now clear evidence to explain just why this is so significant .
We are chomping at the bit to share it all.
Johanna Barclay
I work as a speech and language therapist in London, both independently and in the NHS. Prior to training as a SLT I worked in a residential school for children with autism in Dorset. I trained in VERVE in 2014 and have been excited about sharing the principles with people ever since. In fact, I tend to talk about it whenever I get the opportunity, so friends and family may be relieved to hear I now have a new outlet for my enthusiasm through this blog!
Jane Oswell
I've been working as a Speech and Language Therapist since 2005. I've been lucky enough to work in a range of settings (e.g., community clinics, schools and hospitals) and to work with children and adults who have a range of communication and swallowing / feeding difficulties. I'm currently working with young children who have communication and feeding difficulties arising from complex medical or developmental needs. Using VERVE has enabled me to develop a shared understanding of a child's difficulties with the people who are most important in their lives. Looking carefully at videos of interactions of parents or teaching staff and children allows us to acknowledge what's working well, what's really challenging and to celebrate progress together. I dabbled with video work in 2006 and again in 2011 but it wasn't until I met Keena that I really started to understand the power of focussing on the supportive techniques that adults are already using naturally with children. Keena also opened my eyes to the fundamental importance of adult silence and child face watching - both of which have led to many happy hours in clinic for me as well as the families I work with. I feel so privileged to be part of this very exciting, dynamic, challenging, creative vlog-blog journey. I'm really looking forward to sharing our ideas with an ever-expanding network of parents and professionals in months and years to come.
I've been working as a Speech and Language Therapist since 2005. I've been lucky enough to work in a range of settings (e.g., community clinics, schools and hospitals) and to work with children and adults who have a range of communication and swallowing / feeding difficulties. I'm currently working with young children who have communication and feeding difficulties arising from complex medical or developmental needs. Using VERVE has enabled me to develop a shared understanding of a child's difficulties with the people who are most important in their lives. Looking carefully at videos of interactions of parents or teaching staff and children allows us to acknowledge what's working well, what's really challenging and to celebrate progress together. I dabbled with video work in 2006 and again in 2011 but it wasn't until I met Keena that I really started to understand the power of focussing on the supportive techniques that adults are already using naturally with children. Keena also opened my eyes to the fundamental importance of adult silence and child face watching - both of which have led to many happy hours in clinic for me as well as the families I work with. I feel so privileged to be part of this very exciting, dynamic, challenging, creative vlog-blog journey. I'm really looking forward to sharing our ideas with an ever-expanding network of parents and professionals in months and years to come.