The Newcastle Community Team for Learning Disabilities is based at Benton House in Newcastle.

The Adult team provides specialist assessment and treatment to people aged 18 years and over with a learning disability and additional health needs, where the person’s needs are complex and require an integrated approach to care and treatment that cannot be met through mainstream services.

Outreach clinic to provide people with a learning disability who have offended or show offending type behaviour(s), and those involved in caring for them the opportunity to seek advice and support on managing day to day forensic issues.

Areas covered: Cumbria, Sunderland and Newcastle

How to get referred:

Referrals must be made through local community nursing teams for each locality.

The children's speech and language therapy service provides expert guidance and support around children’s speech, language and communication.

Our commitment is to help children communicate to the best of their ability.

We aim to minimise any negative impact of speech, language or communication difficulties for the child and their family, as well as on their education and social lives.

Our geographical boundary is Newcastle and we also treat children through regional services.

 We can provide specialist support for:

We offer direct and indirect speech and language therapy input for young people in further education, who have speech and language therapy agreed in their educational health care plan (EHCP).

This may include students who have autism, learning difficulties or hearing impairment as well as a wide range of speech, language and communication difficulties.

Easy Health has over 390 health guides with pictures and simple words. These guides help people who find reading hard to understand health information better.  It can help people with learning disabilities. 

GriffinOT helps children to achieve their full potential by equipping the adults around them with the tools they need to help.  This includes supporting educators, parents, and other professionals.

Newcastle and Gateshead Step Up Hub service is for men and women over the age of 18 years who need some specialist support to live in the community.

Disabled Children’s Register

By law we are required to keep a Disabled Children’s Register. We use it to help us improve services now and in the future.

By being on the register you will be kept informed of what services are available and how you can get involved if you want to.  Joining the register is voluntary but if you register your child we will:

What is Makaton?

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.

It supports the development of essential communication skills such as:

• Attention and Listening
• Comprehension
• Memory
• Recall and Organisation of Language
• Expression.

It is designed to support spoken language and the signs and symbols are used with speech, in spoken word order.

I CAN is the children’s communication charity. We are experts in helping children develop the speech, language and communication skills they need to thrive in a 21st century world.

Our vision is a world where all children have the communication skills they need to fulfil their potential.

Our mission is that no child should be left out or left behind because of a difficulty speaking or understanding.

We are Speech and Language UK, and we want every child to face the future with confidence.

For at least 1.7 million children in the UK, learning to talk and understand words feels like an impossible hurdle.  So we give children and young people the skills they need so they aren't left behind, waiting to be understood.  

Our vision

Every child who is facing challenges with talking and understanding words can look to the future with confidence.

MOVErs & Explorers is a free pre-school support group at Percy Hedley School providing a range of fun, nurturing, sensory based programmes. It is for families with young children who have neurological or motor disorders (such as cerebral palsy).  They may also have associated speech, language and communication difficulties.  Children are welcome to attend from the age of 3 months to preschool.

Sessions aim to work with parents develop their child’s physical, cognitive, social and communication skills via explorative play.