My name is Alex, I have been working as a speech therapist since 1985 – mainly with children and adults who have social skills difficulties.
I have always loved my work and would probably sum up my passion for social skills with the fact that I believe that we all want the same thing for our children when they leave school:
- We want them to feel happy with who they are.
- We want them to have a few good friends or know how to make friends.
- We want them to be able to go out and succeed at something or get a job.
These 3 things will have an impact on that child’s happiness and quality of life and so I believe that all children should be helped to develop a healthy self-esteem and good social skills.
I worked initially in the NHS – spending 10 years working in London and then 13 years in Hampshire, in the south of England, where I became the Trust Lead for adults with mental health difficulties and learning disabilities. I left the NHS in 2009 to set up my own business and I have been working independently ever since.
I set up Alex Kelly Ltd first and then set up Speaking Space Ltd in 2011 to provide a day service for adults with autism and/or learning disabilities and also a speech and language therapy service to local schools. You can find more about this at www.speakingspace.co.uk
I now have returned to focusing on Alex Kelly Ltd and provide training and consultancy work on developing social skills, self-esteem and relationship skills.