Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy in Dubai
Paediatric speech and language therapy in Dubai
At ABLE UK, our Speech-Language Therapists provide the evaluations assessments and
treatments for children and adolescents within the framework of OPT and Prompt.
We help clients learn to communicate with greater ease and proficiency. We always
emphasize the most current and adaptive strategies, employed by a diverse team of caring, certified speech pathologists. We serve culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and make both bilingual and monolingual Arabic and English, interventions available.
We provide assessment and treatment for children and adolescents with;
- Neurodevelopmental disorders, including Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum
Disorder - Specific language impairment
- Language/literacy difficulties
- Speech and sound disorders
- Feeding and swallowing
- Cleft lip and palate
- Stuttering and cluttering
- Gestalt Language Processing
- Cerebral Palsy
- Genetic, chromosomal, and metabolic disorders/syndrome
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech
- Complex Communication Needs/AAC
- Pragmatic Language Disorder
- Developmental Delay
- Fluency Disorders
- Receptive/Expressive Language Impairment
We work collaboratively as a team with parents and caregivers, and we’re available
for consultations with other professionals who work with your child. We have a
proven success rate in facilitating effective communication in kids.
It is our belief that many late talkers maybe experiencing underlying orofacial myofunctional disorders which result in difficulty with sequencing and coordination of the mouth muscles and are misdiagnosed as expressive language delay or disorder.
Each child receives a treatment plan, a 3-month progress summary, and a treatment
summary at the end of the year or upon graduation from therapy.
Our Speech Therapists are experienced and skilled in the following programs;
- Oral-Motor therapy to Improve Oral Phrase of Feeding
- Elimination of Sucking Habits:
- Pacifier, thumb, fingers, nail biting.
- Complex Articulation/Phonological Processing Impairment.
- Remediation of Tough and Lingering Speech Sounds:
R, S, L, SH, CH - Phonological/ Phonemic Processing.
- Sensory Processing Disorders.
- Prompt approach.
- Hanen it talks 2 to talk program.
- Beckmans Approach.
- Social Thinking.
- AAC and other methods.
- Talk Tools Level 1,2,and 3.
- Talk Tools Kaleidoscope Model of feeding.
- Feed the Paeds.
- DIR Floortime.
Beckmans Oral Motor Protocol And Intervention
Beckman Oral Motor Protocol is an intervention that utilizes assisted movement and stretch reflexes to activate muscle contraction, build strength and improve Range of Motion in the lips, jaw, tongue and soft palate. It is highly beneficial for children that cannot follow verbal commands due to motor planning and or cognitive deficits. This intervention can be used with infants as well.
At ABLE UK our Speech Language therapists provide the Beckman Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention. Throughout their work with the children, our therapists use the hands-on techniques for tonic bite, slow oral transit, tongue thrust, and gag. The therapists use specific intervention strategies for improving facial muscle function for eating and speech. These techniques are highly effective and help our therapists better serve children with speech and feeding goals.
Prompt THERAPY
What is PROMPT speech therapy? You may have heard this term before but were unsure how it applies to your child’s needs. Prompt stands for Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets. It is a highly successful therapy option for children with motor speed disorders. This includes children who have childhood apraxia or dysarthria. It may also help some adults who struggle with these needs as well. It is unique and effective as a robust type of speech therapy.
Many children may benefit from the use of PROMPT. This includes individuals who are typically at least six months or older. They may have a diagnosis of a condition such as:
- Apraxia
- Dyspraxia
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy
Treatment for other speech disorders and impairments may also be effective using this method. It is best to use it on those with partial or completely non-verbal children. It may also be an alternative treatment for those with mild articulation delays who have not responded to other types of treatment. It is also suitable for those who have motor speech disorders as well as language disorders.
There are various ways that PROMPT is different from other types of speech therapy. It is a much more hands-on experience designed to improve speech. To work well, our therapists has to use touch cues to help to guide the child. As the child learns and expands their skills, the touch cues are removed, one after the other, allowing the further building of those skills. Unlike other methods that rely on repetition, this method is far more hands-on in its functionality. Our therapists are all PROMPT level 3 trained and we offer the highest quality of therapy to suit the childs needs
Signs your child may need speech therapy
Parents are usually the first to notice something is off. Trust that instinct. Early support produces better outcomes, and waiting rarely solves the problem on its own.
Consider booking an assessment if your child shows any of these patterns:
- By 12 months: little babbling, no gestures (waving, pointing), limited eye contact during play
- By 18 months: fewer than 10 words, struggles to imitate sounds, does not respond to their name
- By 2 years: under 50 words, no two-word combinations, speech that is hard to understand even for family
- By 3 years: still difficult for strangers to understand, frequent frustration when communicating, limited ability to follow simple instructions
- At any age: stuttering that has lasted more than three to six months, sudden loss of words, reluctance to speak in social settings, persistent difficulty with R, S, L, SH, CH or TH sounds, drooling beyond toddlerhood, or feeding and swallowing concerns
A delay does not always mean a disorder, and a thorough assessment is the only way to tell the difference. Our therapists will tell you straight whether therapy is needed or whether watchful monitoring is the right call.
Conditions we treat
Our speech-language pathologists have clinical experience across the full paediatric communication spectrum.
- Speech sound and motor speech disorders. Articulation and phonological difficulties (trouble pronouncing specific sounds, replacing one sound for another, simplifying words). Childhood Apraxia of Speech, a motor planning disorder where the brain struggles to coordinate the movements needed for speech. Dysarthria. Persistent struggles with R, S, L, SH, CH and TH sounds beyond expected ages.
- Language disorders. Expressive language impairment (difficulty putting thoughts into words, limited vocabulary, simple sentence structures). Receptive language impairment (difficulty understanding spoken language, following directions, processing what is said). Specific Language Impairment. Late talking and Gestalt Language Processing.
- Fluency, voice and social communication. Stuttering and cluttering. Pragmatic language disorder, including challenges with conversation, turn-taking, reading social cues and using language flexibly across contexts. Voice quality concerns.
- Feeding, swallowing and oral-motor concerns. Paediatric feeding difficulties. Sensory-based food aversions. Tongue thrust. Sucking habits including thumb sucking and prolonged pacifier use. Oral-motor weakness affecting both speech clarity and feeding.
- Complex communication needs and developmental conditions. Autism Spectrum Disorder. Down Syndrome. Cerebral palsy. Cleft lip and palate. Genetic, chromosomal and metabolic syndromes. Children who benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), both low-tech and high-tech.
If you are unsure whether your child’s profile fits, contact us. We will tell you whether speech therapy is appropriate before you book an assessment.
Our evidence-based approaches
Our therapists are trained in the most established and clinically validated speech therapy frameworks in the field. We do not commit to a single method. We match the approach to the child.
PROMPT Level 3. Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets is a tactile-kinetic technique that uses precise touch cues on the face and jaw to help children produce sounds they cannot yet make on their own. Highly effective for Childhood Apraxia of Speech, dysarthria and motor speech disorders. Our therapists are trained to PROMPT Level 3, the most advanced certification level.
Beckman Oral Motor Protocol. A hands-on intervention using assisted movement and stretch reflexes to strengthen the lips, jaw, tongue and soft palate. Particularly useful for infants and children who cannot follow verbal instructions, and for tonic bite, tongue thrust, gag, and slow oral transit.
Talk Tools (Levels 1, 2 and 3). Including the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol and the Kaleidoscope feeding model. Structured oral-motor and feeding hierarchies with measurable progression.
Hanen It Takes Two to Talk and More Than Words. Parent-led programmes that train caregivers to embed language-building strategies into daily routines, multiplying therapy gains between sessions.
DIR Floortime. Play-based, relationship-driven approach particularly effective for children with autism and developmental delays.
Gestalt Language Processing, AAC, social thinking strategies, and sensory processing support are integrated into therapy plans as needed.
Bilingual and Arabic Speech Therapy
Dubai is a multilingual city. Most of the children we see grow up with two or more languages at home, in school, and in the wider community. Bilingualism is a strength, not a delay risk, when supported correctly.
Our team includes Arabic-speaking and bilingual speech-language pathologists. We deliver therapy in three formats:
- Monolingual English
- Monolingual Arabic, for Emirati and Arabic-speaking families who want therapy fully in the home language
- Bilingual Arabic and English, with the language of focus matched to the child’s strongest communication context
Assessments are conducted in both languages where appropriate, ensuring we measure true ability rather than penalising a child for being assessed in their weaker language. This matters. A bilingual child assessed only in English may look delayed when they are not. We assess properly so the diagnosis is accurate.
The orofacial myofunctional connection
Many late talkers and children with persistent unclear speech are not language-delayed. They have an underlying orofacial myofunctional disorder: the muscles of the mouth, lips, tongue and jaw are not coordinating properly, which makes speech sounds physically difficult to produce.
This is frequently misdiagnosed as expressive language delay, which means therapy targets the wrong system and progress stalls.
ABLE UK is one of the few clinics in Dubai that integrates speech-language pathology, oral placement therapy, paediatric feeding therapy and myofunctional therapy under one roof. Our therapists screen for oral-motor and myofunctional issues during the initial assessment. If we find them, treatment addresses the muscular foundation alongside the speech and language goals.
This integrated approach is why families with children who have plateaued elsewhere often see fresh progress after switching to ABLE.
Our assessment and treatment process
Our Speech Therapy Assessment Process
A structured four-step pathway designed to identify your child's needs accurately and start therapy with clarity from day one.
1
Parent Consultation
A 30-minute conversation with one of our speech-language pathologists to understand your concerns and your child's profile.
- Developmental and medical history review
- Discussion of home language environment
- Guidance on whether assessment is needed
2
Standardised Assessment
Formal testing using internationally recognised tools, conducted in the appropriate language(s) for accurate measurement.
- Speech sound and motor speech evaluation
- Expressive and receptive language testing
- Oral-motor and feeding screening
3
Diagnostic Evaluation
A clear parent-facing report explaining the diagnosis, severity and our recommended therapy frequency.
- Written report shared with parents
- Optional sharing with paediatrician or school
- Detailed therapy recommendations
4
Goal Setting & Treatment
Measurable, time-bound goals agreed with you, with structured progress reviews to keep therapy honest.
- Personalised treatment plan
- Three-month progress reviews
- Year-end or graduation summary
Why families choose ABLE UK
Eleven years in Dubai. UK clinical heritage with twenty-five-plus years of original UK practice behind the brand. DHA-licensed and DHCC-credentialed. Two clinic locations covering both halves of the city: Building 33, Dubai Healthcare City (serving Bur Dubai, Oud Metha, Downtown and DIFC) and Fortune Executive Tower, Cluster T, JLT (serving Marina, JBR, Tecom and Al Barsha).
Our speech-language pathologists hold certifications in PROMPT Level 3, Beckman Oral Motor Protocol, Hanen, Talk Tools, and DIR Floortime. We are one of the few clinics in the region that integrates speech, oral placement, feeding and myofunctional therapy in the same building, with the same team.
Over 115 verified Google reviews. Excellent rating. Real families who started exactly where you are now.
To book a parent consultation, call 04 552 0351, WhatsApp +971 52 774 5062, or visit our contact page.
Watch our expert therapist guide a child through a TalkTools session, using specialized tools and techniques to enhance oral-motor skills, speech clarity, and feeding abilities. This hands-on approach combines play and therapy to support the child’s unique needs, promoting measurable progress in a fun and engaging environment. Discover the impact of TalkTools in action and how it transforms lives, one step at a time.
Horn #3 in the TalkTools Horn Hierarchy is a foundational tool used in oral-motor therapy to develop lip closure, improve breath control, and strengthen oral musculature. Designed to build the skills necessary for speech clarity and feeding, this horn targets controlled exhalation and encourages the coordination of lips and airflow. By practicing with Horn #3, clients progress toward better muscle tone and the oral-motor stability needed for more advanced speech sounds. It’s an integral step in the sequential approach of the Horn Hierarchy, offering structured and measurable outcomes in therapy.
Food desensitization in Speech and Language Pathology is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals with sensory aversions or oral-motor challenges gradually tolerate and interact with various textures, tastes, and consistencies of food. This process involves introducing non-threatening exposure to foods through playful activities, sensory exploration, and structured steps tailored to the individual’s comfort level. By addressing sensitivities and reducing anxiety around eating, food desensitization aims to improve feeding skills, promote positive mealtime experiences, and support overall oral-motor development. It is particularly beneficial for individuals with feeding disorders, sensory processing issues, or developmental delays.
The Sensi from TalkTools is a versatile tool used in Speech and Language Therapy to support oral-motor development, sensory integration, and muscle strengthening. Equipped with adjustable vibration settings and interchangeable tips, the Sensi provides targeted tactile input to the oral structures, helping improve awareness, coordination, and tone in the lips, tongue, and cheeks. Ideal for clients with sensory processing challenges, feeding difficulties, or speech delays, the Sensi is used to reduce oral aversions, enhance sensory acceptance, and build the foundational skills necessary for clear speech and effective feeding. It’s a dynamic addition to therapy sessions, offering measurable progress in a fun and engaging way.