Meet The Team
All of our team are registered with the HCPC (Health Care Professional Council) and (RCSLT) Royal College of Speech and Language Therspists or (RCOT) Royal College of Occupational Therapists. All of our team also have Enhanced DBS checks. See below for information about our therapists and how they may suit your needs.
Anne - Senior Speech & Language Therapy Assistant
Anne has 24 years of experience working with children aged 2 to 12. She combines her work for Hegarty Therapy with her role as a Senior Speech and Language Therapy Assistant in the NHS working in partnership with parents, carers, schools, and nurseries to support each child’s communication development.
She can offer face to face sessions in your home, school or nursery as well as telehealth sessions via video link. Anne works on targets identified by therapists and can also provide resources to meet your child’s individual needs.
Her areas of expertise include; early interaction and play skills, attention and listening difficulties, developmental language delay, understanding and expressive language difficulties, word finding, vocabulary and speech/sound production.
Beverley - Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist
Beverley qualified in 2006 and has over 15 years’ experience working as a Specialist Children’s Occupational Therapist for the NHS providing input to children and young people across clinic, mainstream and special schools.
Her specialist areas include working with children and young people with autism, ADHD and co-ordination disorders (DCD/dyspraxia) to help them thrive in activities that are important to them at home and school. She has post-graduate training in sensory integration and use sensory-based approaches to support self-regulation and occupational performance alongside participation-focussed interventions such as CO-OP and Occupational Performance Coaching.
Beverley has specialist skills in treating children and young people with complex symptomology including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME), functional neurological disorders and chronic pain and she is particularly interested in working with children and young people whose sensory processing manifests as anxiety, presenting barriers to learning and participation.
Char - Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Char has worked as a Speech and Language therapist since completing her qualification in 2014.
She currently works as a specialist speech and language therapist for the NHS with a complex needs caseload working with children with severe neurodisabilities and dysphagia. Within her current role she supports young people with oral motor difficulties which can affect their eating and drinking and speech production. Char currently works with children and young adults ranging from 3-19 in age.
Char also has experience working with alternative augmentative communication systems ranging from Makaton, touch cues, objects of reference, low and high tech communication systems. She recently qualified as a Makaton tutor which compliments her work.
Debbie (Eastbourne Area) - Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Debbie has worked as a Speech and Language therapist since 1999 and has many years of experience working with preschool, school aged and college students.
In addition to her work for Hegarty Therapy she also works as a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist for the NHS with a complex needs caseload. She also works with children with severe neurodisabilities and severe communication difficulties.
Debbie has experience working with alternative augmentative communication systems ranging from paper-based, battery and dynamic screen. She has worked with, and for many education settings including Special Schools, Trauma Informed Specialist Provision for students with SEMH and ASC and within mainstream. She enjoys using intensive interaction and structured play to develop play, language and early communication skills.
Hannah (Eastbourne Area) - Director & Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Hannah has been practising Speech and Language Therapy since 2004, and she have worked both in the UK and overseas. Hannah has worked with a wide range of children, families, education, and health providers and she is committed to using a joined up approach to achieve the best possible outcomes for each child.
She is experienced with working with children of all ages with a range of communication difficulties, including developmental language disorder, speech sound difficulties, stammering, hearing impairment, selective mutism, and autism spectrum condition (ASC). Hannah has a particular interest in working with preschool aged children, and children with hearing impairment and she is also passionate about training, and is experienced in running a range of training courses for parents and professionals.
Helen - Clinical Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Helen combines her work for Hegarty Therapy with her role as a Clinical Specialist Speech & Language Therapist in the NHS where she predominantly works with children and young people with Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
She qualified in 2002 and since this time has worked with children and young people from 6 months to 18 years in both mainstream and specialist settings. Helen particularly enjoys working with older children and young people at secondary school and college. She strives to support them to develop their confidence to use their communication strengths to be able to fully participate within the community as they transition into adulthood.
Jayne - Director & Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
After graduating in 2008, Jayne spent 10 years working for the NHS as a Speech and Language Therapist before setting up Hegarty Therapy. She is passionate about supporting children and young people to meet their full potential by breaking down communication barriers. Working independently now, she can offer flexible and intensive therapy packages individualised for each client. Jayne is committed to working closely with parents and schools and she enjoys seeing the difference that therapy makes to a child’s educational experience, well-being and happiness.
The majority of her current work is in Sussex and the London area. Jayne is also a member of the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP).
Autism Diagnostic Assessment Professional
Jayne is one of our highly trained Autism Diagnostic Assessment professionals. Jayne will support you and your child through every step of your Autism Assessment journey. From discussing your initial concerns, arranging appointments to suit you, gathering all the information needed from nursery and school, to co-ordinating a therapy plan after a diagnosis is made.
Katie - Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Katie is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist who splits her time between her role in the NHS as the Autism and Social Communication Team Clinical Lead and her private practice. She has over 10 years of experience working within the specialism of Autism, from birth to adolescence. She has also worked in clinical areas such as complex medical needs, Down yndrome, cerebral palsy, eating and drinking delays/disorders, sensory feeding needs and speech delays/disorders. Her methods draw upon a range of experiences and professional training, including Hanen More Than Words, Hanen It Takes Two to Talk, Intensive Interaction, Attention Autism, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), the SOS Approach to Feeding, narrative therapy, social stories, comic strip conversations, and Talking Mats. She is passionate about infant, child, and adolescent mental health and has attended conference days on topics such as anxiety in Autism, attachment theory, and emotional regulation strategies. Katie is passionate about neurodiversity and loves learning, growing, and understanding how to meaningfully and compassionately support this population.
Autism Diagnostic Assessment Professional
Katie is one of our highly trained Autism Diagnostic Assessment professionals. Katie supports parents through the ADI-R part of the Autism assessment. Katie oversees whether a diagnosis is appropriate by analysing all individual parts of the assessment process, bringing them together to create a holistic profile of your child. Katie co-ordinates the completion of your final comprehensive written report. This includes details of your child's strengths and needs, recommendations to be implemented and a plan for any therapy needed.
Rebecca (Eastbourne & Hailsham area) - Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Rebecca is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist with 22 years of experience. In that time she has worked in a variety of settings with a wide range of children, families, and education and health partners. She is passionate about providing a child and family centred therapy approach and supporting others to ensure children have the best communication outcomes whatever the barrier to communication may be.
Rebecca has a particular interest in hearing loss and has worked with clients ranging in age from 3 months to teenagers. She has a further qualification in hearing loss which has its roots in parent coaching and working with parents and families to best support their children. She also has expertise in working with children with language disorders and speech sound disorders. She finds her job incredibly rewarding and embraces the variety and challenges that each day brings.
Roxy - Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Roxy has been working as a speech therapist since 2012. She is experienced with working with children and young people from 2- 25 with a broad range of difficulties including Speech Sound difficulties, Learning Difficulties, Autism, Developmental Language Disorder, Stammering, Selective Mutism, and Hearing Impairment. She has extensive experience working within schools and values working closely with staff and families to ensure that goals are achieved. Roxy has run a number of training packages to schools, professionals, and families and she enjoys this aspect of work; empowering and building confidence in all communication partners and is passionate about creating positive and supportive relationships with clients, their families and their supporting staff.
Autism Diagnostic Assessment Professional
Roxy is one of our highly trained Autism Diagnostic Assessment professionals. Roxy is part of the team who carries out the ADOS section of the autism assessment. This is the play and observation of your child. Roxy is exceptionally skilled at putting your child at ease and getting the best out of them.
Sandra - Director & Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Sandra combines her work for Hegarty Therapy with a role as a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in the NHS and enjoys the wide breadth of experience this allows her to continue to develop. She also has a Masters Degree in Speech and Language Therapy.
She has a particular interest in dysfluency (stammering) and has worked with clients ranging in age from 3 years to teenagers and has experience of providing both individuals and group therapy for people who stammer. Sandra has a positive attitude to dysfluency and believes that it is vital to help children focus on all areas of their communication to identify their unique strengths and abilities.
Having worked in a Language Unit for children with severe speech and language difficulties, Sandra has in-depth knowledge of how to support children with a wide range of speech and language needs and recognise the value of working closely with parents and education partners to achieve the best possible outcome for each child. She also has expertise in supporting children who have Selective Mutism.
Sasha - Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Sasha qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2000, graduating from Sheffield University with a Masters degree. After working in the NHS as a Speech and Language Therapist for a number of years she took some time out from the profession to spend time with her family. During that time, she trained as a literacy tutor and taught literacy to children at a primary school in Hove. She has since returned to work as a Speech and Language Therapist and currently combines her work with Hegarty Therapy with her role as a Speech and Language Therapist in the NHS. Sasha particularly enjoys working on speech sounds and on language targets, for both pre-school and school-age children. She is a firm believer in making sessions fun and enjoyable, and was nick-named by one child as “The Toy Doctor”! She is passionate about ensuring that children with speech, language and communication needs get the support they need, so that the impact of these difficulties on their confidence and self-esteem is minimised.