Lara Meredith

Job: Senior Lecturer in Linguistics for Speech & Language Therapy

Faculty: Health and Life Sciences

School/department: School of Allied Health Sciences

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH

T: 0116 207 8895

E: lara.meredith@dmu.ac.uk

 

Personal profile

I am a qualified Speech & Language Therapist (SLT).  I have worked wit h a wide range of clients, from parents, early years practitioners and young children to adults with a range of communication and swallowing needs. I retrained as an SLT at DMU following earlier careers as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and as a Disability Project Officer and staff Trainer. My first SLT role was working at Nottinghamshire Children's Centres with pre-school children from families who did not opt-in to the mainstream SLT service. This role involved collaborative working with families, Health Visitors, Nurseries, Social Workers, Peadiatricians, Audiologists and Family Support Workers. I provided universal level Speech, Language and Communication training for parents and Early Years Practitioners as well as providing more Specialist support for children with identified speech, language and communication needs. 

When council funding no longer supported my Early Years role I moved to work with adult clients, initially on a Stroke Ward, then in the community, working with clients with a range of communicaton and swallowing needs. 

Areas of teaching

I teach Applied Linguistics across the speech and language therapy programme, starting with an introduction to Linguistics at level 4, Clinical Linguistics at level 5 and Language, Interaction and society at level 6. I also provide input into SLT intervention modules, Clinical supervision and dissertation supervision.

Qualifications

  • BA Politics & History
  • MA Applied Linguistics 
  • BSc Human Communication (Speech & Language Thearapy)

Membership of professional associations and societies

RCSLT, HCPC

Professional licences and certificates

Hanen Trainer, ELKLAN trainer.