Training

Would you like some training?

Alex and Naomi run regular training courses around the UK and abroad on social communication skills and the TASS and many of our courses are written specifically for you and your audience. They can range from short workshops or online sessions to extensive training programmes delivered over a year. Whatever the kind of training we provide, we pride ourselves on getting consistently excellent feedback. Alex works in collaboration with Naomi and her company, Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd, who are based in Hampshire, UK, and we are happy to travel to you, however far away you are from us!

What can we offer?

We can offer training in all aspects of social and emotional communication. Our work as therapists, researchers and authors, and therefore our training courses, are underpinned by 3 essential elements:

What does the research say?… ensuring our practice is always evidence-based
What does the person say?… ensuring we listen to the person’s voice, what they want, and how to make sure intervention is person-centred
Why are we here?… ensuring intervention is aimed at improving quality of life and empowering self-advocacy

Our training courses mostly aim to answer 3 questions:

Where do we start?… How can we assess social and emotional communication in the most appropriate way, taking into consideration the wider context of quality of life and the person’s motivations and needs?
How do we develop social & emotional communication?… Which approach will work best for the individual and in your setting? What needs to be done within the person’s environment to support them?
How do we measure progress?… How can we set targets & measure progress in a meaningful way?

We will develop a training session to suit your needs, from a 1-hour’s workshop to a 4-day course. All our courses are bespoke, highly practical & well evaluated. We will discuss your needs prior to the training to ensure it is designed for your individual setting. We will also decide with you which trainers are best suited and how many are required. This section summarises the typical options for training courses:

1 day course on social communication… an introduction to the above. This is a popular option for an inset day for schools but can work well in other settings
2 day course on social communication… as above but this course also includes sections on measuring progress and additional intervention strategies
3 day course on social communication… as above but this course includes practical exercises on assessment and intervention using additional activities and case studies
1 day course on self-esteem and friendships… an introduction to the fascinating topic of self-esteem and how this impacts on social communication and friendships
1 day course on friendships and intimate relationships… an introduction to friendships and relationships and how we can support people to develop these skills
1 day refresher course… for people who have attended a 2 or 3 day course and want to refresh their knowledge and take it further

Centre of excellence… our approach to supporting a school to become a centre of excellence to developing social and emotional communication over an academic year

We also offer courses that are specifically focused on using the TASS. This includes:

1 day course… a practical course to learn how to use the TASS to provide a baseline and measure progress
Online training… an introduction to using the TASS

New courses for 2024!

Introduction to TASS (1 hour online)

9th September, 15th November, 20th January, 3.30pm to 4.30pm

Venue: Online

Cost: £10 + VAT

An overview of the course:

This is a practical introduction to using the TASS assessment. Dr Naomi Pearson (one of the authors) will walk you through the assessment and will explain how to use the different sections in the most effective way. This one-hour training is an essential start to using this exciting new tool in your setting. This is aimed at anyone who would like to use the TASS as an assessment tool of social communication.

The course is aimed at anyone who has started to use the TASS as a social communication assessment tool, or is planning to and wants to find out more about it.

Introduction to TASS (1 day in person):

20th September, 26th November, 6th February, 9.30am to 3.00pm

Venue: Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd

Cost: £75 + VAT (50% discount for people who have attended a Talkabout training session from Alex or Naomi in the last 2 years; £10 discount for people who have attended the online training)

An overview of the course

This is a practical introduction to using the TASS assessment and is aimed at people who are not planning to attend the 3-day training courses in 2024/25 (see above). You may have already attended a Talkabout training session (or not) but this course will introduce you to how to assess and reassess using this exciting new tool. Alex and Naomi (the authors) will walk you through the assessment and will explain how to use the different sections in the most effective way. We will use case studies and practical exercises to ensure you feel confident in using this tool in the most effective way in your setting.

The course is aimed at anyone who is using the TASS as a social communication assessment tool, or is planning to start using it and wants to feel confident in doing so.

A bit about the trainers…

Alex and Naomi regularly train alongside two other Talkabout trainers who both work for Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd. Please see here for more information about Alex and Naomi. (LINK TO ‘WHO ARE WE?’)

Amy Green is a speech and language therapist (SLT) with 14 years’ experience. She has worked with Alex & Naomi since she qualified & is a specialist SLT in social skills for Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd. She has helped Alex to write several of the Talkabout books and co-authored Talkabout for Adults.

Rhian Bond is a SLT with over 13 years’ experience. She worked in London, specialising in social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) within the Youth Justice System, but moved to Hampshire to work with Alex & Naomi 4 years ago. She is now the therapy manager for Speaking Space.

Would you like to know more?

For more information, please visit Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd website and see our information sheet on the different training courses available.

Training Flyer

Please contact us to discuss any of this further or for more information.

E: office@speakingspace.co.uk or alex@alexkelly.biz

T: 02380987134