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Referral to your local NHS Trust

Many local NHS trusts have a service for children who stammer, some of which are not listed here. We recommend that you contact your local Speech and Language Therapy department to discuss any concerns you have about your child and their stammering and to find out how to refer your child for an initial assessment. The local service will be able to tell you about the referral process and what happens during an assessment. You can find their contact details by using a search engine, or by talking to your GP, or school or nursery.



Referral to the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering

It is possible to refer your child to the Michael Palin Centre (MPC) who accept referrals from parents, GPs, local SLTs and schools. However, we suggest that you approach your local NHS service first and then the MPC will try to involve your local therapist in the assessment process.

If you decide to refer to the MPC, please include details of your local NHS service, or the contact details for your independent SLT, so that the MPC team can talk to them and to you about the next steps. Assessments are fully funded by Action for Stammering Children for children who stammer who have an NHS GP. Any subsequent therapy is NHS funded or self-funded.

Families outside the UK can access MPC services via a private pathway. Families in the UK may also decide that they wish to refer themselves to the MPC directly, via the private pathway, with a view to paying for the assessment and/or therapy, so please make this clear on your referral form.