Teaching Critical Thinking Skills (PDF)

Jill Spring is a retired speech and language therapist who specialised in child speech and language disorder and autistic spectrum disorder. After qualifying in 1972 she worked in a variety of paediatric settings, including community clinics, assessment centres, opportunity playgroups and mainstream schools. From 1996 to 2014 she worked in specialist language units attached to mainstream schools, spending two years managing one of these units. Before retiring in January 2016, she was responsible for coordinating the Education Commissioned Communication Plan support service for children with complex speech, language and communication difficulties. She also worked as part of the multi- disciplinary team responsible for assessment and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders in West Dorset.

Catherine Delamain is a retired speech and language therapist. Her varied career included work in an audiology unit, and with the children of armed forces overseas. She spent a year visiting speech and language therapy departments in American universities and hospitals. Her last post involved management of children with a wide range of needs in a large speech and language therapy service, where she also formed part of a pioneering team assessing autistic spectrum disorders. After retirement, she worked in association with a senior educational psychologist lecturing teachers on how to support children with communication difficulties in mainstream and special schools.