ABOUT ME

Welcome to my website! I am Amy Stephens. I am a Speech and Language Therapist working in the UK, and I'm also a fully qualified Ayres Sensory Integration Therapist.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with and support adults and children with a wide range of different speech, language and communication challenges, as well as the families, educators and clinical professionals who support them.

I think learning, adapting and incorporating approaches from other fields gives Speech Therapists new ways of approaching old difficulties.

In sharing my ideas and practice with you, either directly through my professional coaching and mentoring work, or indirectly through my blog and collection of resources and downloads, I hope that we will uncover new insights into effective and positive strategies for the people whom we support.

I continue to learn every day. I look forward to sharing my journey with you.

Working with Deaf people with autism led me in a roundabout way to Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI), and I am now an Advanced Practitioner and Lecturer in ASI. I choose to use, broadly, an ASI frame of reference in my Speech and Language Therapy. I have come to recognise the crucial role that efficient sensory processing plays in engagement, participation and communication.

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People say lovely things!

Thank you again for such an inspiring and interesting training morning yesterday. It has been great hearing everyone around school talking about students in their classes with a new level of understanding, and so many people are now looking at behaviours and thinking about their possible sensory underpinning and things they are now going to try with their pupils!

Ashlie H.

Hampshire school

I would just like to thank you for all your help and advice, and of course for seeing B and for listening to me, I appreciated it so much and still do. You gave me the confidence and knowledge to ask questions and not to take the first diagnosis given to me. I can't thank you enough.

Debbie C.

Parent

You taught me how to understand my son and why he does some of the things he does. I will say his sessions with you once a week did really help him. We are slowly incorporating some things at home for him. The SI Facebook page is a great place for ideas

I still have a lot to learn with regards to SI new things come across me daily and it's something I enjoy learning about not just for my own son but for the students in school.

Thank you for all you've done.

Liz W.

Parent

You are always a very inspiring speaker to listen to. You not only know your stuff but you also explain it very well. You have given [the school staff] lots to think about. My theory, from an SLT point of view, is that even a small amount of SI knowledge will really help their interactions with their children, because the staff will look at children's behaviour in a different light, not just with more interest and understanding but also with more respect. You gave them lots of things that they can do. So I think it was the perfect talk for meeting their needs.

Sarah P.

SLT

Thank you so much for your highly informative and rather entertaining presentation regarding Sensory Integration last Thursday. Your facts and observations make so much sense to me in the context of ASC children... and others.

As you can see I work in an ASC diagnosis team. In my clinic sessions this week, I have been looking at the children we see for assessment with an SI eye, very revealing, excuse the pun! I have been able to improve my advice to parents and teenagers. Much appreciated.

A huge thank you for your presentation, certainly the best training session I have attended in a very long time.

Jo A.

SLT

I found it inspiring again to hear you talk with such passion and conviction. I have also had some fabulous comments from other members of staff, ranging from 'You need to come and see 'John' because I think their maybe a sensory element going on' to 'Thank goodness! The first staff meeting that I have actually enjoyed!'.

I really feel that the staff have taken it on board and are willing to try new strategies and look at their 'tricky' children through sensory eyes.

Verity C.

Sussex school

We thoroughly enjoyed the training and it has stimulated such interesting discussion since then.

Staff are looking at children’s learning in a very different way, and I think it has had a very positive impact on our playroom practice. We are always looking to build on the skill set of our playroom staff and improve on what we do.

Linda T.

Wiltshire Opportunity Group

What a delight, as ever!

Thank you, everyone was buzzing after your presentation.

Lyndsey Allen

Education Programme Co-ordinator

The Ear Foundation

I recently attended the CMV information day at Cosham. Thank you for your training session – it was a highly informative and enjoyable part of the day.

Helen P.

Sussex school

Many thanks for coming to speak to the CEN yesterday, it will certainly be very valuable for my own practice in a variety of ways.

All the best for your future Marmite adventures (perhaps another book name for you!)

James R.

SLT

I am a postgraduate Occupational Therapy student at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh and recently had the pleasure of attending a study day regarding sensory integration where Amy Stephens presented... Her input was extremely informative and engaging and inspired me to learn more on the subject of sensory integration.

Yvonne A.

Student OT

Thank you very much – we all found the training most useful and relevant.

Michael H.

Wiltshire school

Thank you so much. The feedback has been superb

Craig B.

Birmingham school