Small Talk on air....

BBC Radio Derby invited Libby Hill, Small Talk Speech & Language Therapist to discuss the issues surrounding the new Comunication Tsar's survey. She went on the Aleena Naylor show on Tuesday 5th January. 'Its a great exprience and Im always pleased to be able to discuss these important topics. I set up the Smart Talkers range of groups specifically to help address the problems identified in the report', said Libby. The groups are to be available as a franchise from February so that the good practise they promote can be avaialable nationwide .

BIG IN THE NEWS TODAY: Daily Mail 4/1/2010

Nearly a quarter of boys - and one in seven girls - is struggling to learn to talk because thousands of households keep their TV sets on constantly making it difficult for them to understand the speech of adults around them.

A survey revealed how 22 per cent of boys and 13 per cent of girls have trouble developing speech and understanding others.

Three per cent suffer 'significant' problems, according to a poll published by Jean Gross, the Government's communications adviser.

Middle-class children were just as likely to experience difficulty'. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

'This is a real problem and exactly what the Small Talkers Groups in the Smart Talker Range are designed to address', commented Libby Hill Small Talk Speech & Langugae Therapist and Small Talk Director

Use it or lose it....

Research now has proved that it is vital to talk to and interact with your baby from birth or they will not fully develop the area of the brain which is responsible for speech, language and communication development. Libby Hill, Speech & Langugae Therapist & Smart Talk Director recommends http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/conferencereport2009.pdf or Sue Gerhart's book  'Why love matters', for more information.

NHS SHORTFALL

There is a worrying shortage of NHS Speech & Language Therapists, despite the number of children with speech, language and communication problems being at an all time high.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/yy_20040609.shtml

Peace at a price?

Dummies may hinder a toddler's development reprted in the Mail on- line and the Daily Mail Toddlers who use dummies are three times more likely to suffer from speech impediments as they grow up, research suggests.

Scientists have found preschool children who have used a pacifier for at least three years are more likely to have difficulties talking than
children who don't use them. Youngsters who suck their thumbs are also at greater risk of delayed speech development, the study found.
Although the findings are preliminary, they add to the growing evidence that parents who give their toddlers dummies could be 'buying
themselves' peace and quiet at the expense of their child's development. The American and Chilean researchers looked at the history of thumb and finger sucking, breast feeding and use of dummies in 128 children aged three to five.

They also used a linguistic test to see whether the children's speech was normal for their age - or whether they had an unusually low 'talking age' when it came to pronouncing sounds and words.

The team, led by Dr Clarita Barbosa of the University of Washington, found children who sucked their fingers or thumbs, or who used a dummy
for at least three years, were three times more likely to have a problem with their speech.

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health

Libby Hill from Smalltalk speech & language therapy has been invited onto BBC Radio Derby to comment! She's always been a fervent hater of
dummies!! Let's see what she say!

Cut viewing TV times!

A recent report in the Times 13th OCTOBER 2009 hows very alarmingconclusions......Children should be banned from watching television until they are 2 years old because it can stunt their language development and shorten their attention span, according to new Australian recommendations.

The guidelines warn of the damage done by sitting inactive for hours and advise that reading, drawing or solving puzzles should also be kept to a minimum.

For children aged between 2 and 5, time in front of the TV screen should be limited to an hour a day, according to health experts, in the first official guidelines on children’s viewing habits.

Too much television can affect young children’s ability for social interaction and damage their concentration, they say. The guidelines — drawn up by the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and to be published by the Government next week — are part of a national anti-obesity drive. Belying Australia’s image as a fit, healthy and sports-obsessed nation, a quarter of its children are seriously overweight — a figure that is expected to rise to a third by 2020.

The report, although intended mainly for childcare centres, also advises parents to make a plan for reducing screen time at home.

The Get Up and Grow report says: “Based on recent research it is recommended that children younger than 2 years of age should not spend any time watching television or using other electronic media (DVDs, computer and other electronic games).

“Screen time . . . may reduce the amount of time they have for active play, social contact with others and chances for language development. [It may] affect the development of a full range of eye movement [and] reduce the length of time they can stay focused.”

Research by the hospital indicates that very young children in Australia spend more time watching television than in any other activity. Four-month-old children watch an average of 44 minutes of television daily, while children under 4 years with pay TV at home spend at least three hours a day in front of the screen.

Nearly a third of children live in households that have a television switched on all the time, the policy brief says, with television used as a “babysitter” from earliest infancy. “Face-to-face interactions and responsive, engaged relationships provide the foundation for all child development,” the report says. It advises that children aged 2 to 5 should not be inactive — defined as time spent watching TV, reading, drawing or solving puzzles — for more than an hour at a time during waking hours. From the age of 1, children should be active for at least three hours a day.
The guidelines have been welcomed by Australian childcare experts. Lee Burton, a commentator on childcare, was in favour of a complete ban on television for toddlers in childcare centres. “I think this is aimed at helping people to understand the effects of television-watching on very young children and to advise them this is not a good thing,” he said. Barbara Biggins, the chief executive of the Australian Council on Children and the Media, said: “There are ways of entertaining young children that don’t involve plonking them in a passive viewing situation — even if it’s playing in the mud or watching insects crawling.” 

Tiny Talkers
There are several reasons why a child of 2 might not be talking as expected including a general developmental delay, problems understanding, a family history of late talking, they might not see the need, they may be on the autistic continuum or belong to a family who don’t realise that they need to interact with their toddler in order for him or her to learn to talk.

Whatever the reason, the toddler groups Tiny Talkers groups are especially helpful for those who have not managed to pass the Health Visitor checks, as well as for other children.

Case Study 1
J. B. was 2 yrs 5 months and had no spoken words. He got by with a combination of pointing and grunts. His mother, a single parent was concerned that this would affect his relationships with other children. His behaviour was deteriorating due to frustration at not being able to get his message across. His Health Visitor referred him to speech & language therapy but also advised his mother to take him to the Smart talk group. He is an only child.

J.B’s attention was fleeting and he preferred to run around for the first two sessions. He could not wait for his turn and had Smart temper tantrums as a result. No spoken language was observed at this time. However, six sessions on he could sit and attend to the group tasks, join in for his turn and more often than not volunteered to be the helper at snack time which meant he was last to be served! He could produce 25 or more single words and could even produce 2 words together e.g. more pop,  bubbles gone.

J.B. was already a confident little boy but he and his mother needed encouragement to communicate verbally and to observe how the Therapist’s techniques can be used at home in everyday situations. He received his NHS appointment but has been discharged because he is making such encouraging progress.

Case Study 2
N. J. was 2 yrs 6 months when she came to the group. Her parents were concerned because she did not speak at all, she was effectively mute. The Health Visitor had recommended they come along.

For the first 4 sessions she was very quiet but co-operated fully for the tasks. She appeared to enjoy the signing and her understanding was very good. Gradually, she began to join in with the songs and then she named items. Now 7 sessions on, she is talking when it is her turn and will spontaneously ask for drink or biscuit at the snack time. She can use 2-3 word sentences. Her confidence to communicate was the biggest stumbling block and the group acted as a forum in which to develop this. The signing and augmentative communication techniques just alleviated the pressure for her. She is using her new found skills in most situations now.

Smart Talkers
Up to 50% of children do not acquire speech or language as we would expect so Smart Talker groups are designed to help prepare children for school with a variety of activities which the chidren enjoy but which also help a geat deal.

Case Study 1
J.P.  is 3yrs 9months and has been a regular attender at Smart Talk Groups since July. He has Prader-Willi syndrome which affects his muscle tone and tend to be accompanied by a general developmental delay. He is seen by an NHS SLT but has had no regular therapy. His comprehension is around 6 months delayed and at the start of the groups his attention and listening were further hindering this, so that he didn’t always follow instructions or appear to hear what was said to him.

His attention control is much improved and he can now sit to ‘listen’, following the positive active listening training. This means that his everyday understanding is improved.

His expressive skills were hampered by acute shyness so that his confidence was very poor. He found it hard to take his turn and would ‘hide’ in his mother’s arms. Last week he demonstrated clear sentences for his turn in the group and no evidence of anxiety. Functional communication is therefore improved too.

Case Study 2
J. K.  is 3 yrs 11m and has an identified general developmental delay which means that he was around 12months behind his peers on most things including speech and language. Confidence was poor because he was aware of his difficulties. He has had contact with NHS SLT but no regular therapy. This had frustrated his mother so that she had fallen out with the early year’s team too! He has been a regular attender at the Smart Talk Group and is now one of the more able in the group!! His mother is delighted.
For more information ring Libby on 07970 202561 or 01889 560888 www.Smalltalk-ltd.co.uk

Mumprenuer 2009
Smart Talk Speech & language therapist Libby Hill has been nominated for an award in two categories for the Annual Mumprenuer Awards to be held in Birmingham on Saturday 3rd October. Mrs Harris, Parent of one of Smart Talk's clients feels that she is an inspiration to other Mums who want to do things for themselves. 'She kept on trying even when things were hard because she had an idea she believed in,' says Mrs Harris, 'its hard working for yourself, setting up a business and being a single parent too.'

Libby is nominated as the most inspirational business mum and for the best new buisness. Libby feels its great to be nominated but knows that there is stiff competition in both categories, 'Being put forwards is great and I'm looking forwards to the day out but I'm not expecting to win anything'.

Linda Mawle
Smart Talk are going to be working with an independent phsiotherapist who specialises in children. Her name is Linda Mawle

Tel: 07957 644764
E.mail: info@activedreams.co.uk
Website: www.activedreams.co.uk

Why chatter matters
by the charity, I CAN

Problems with speech and language are the most common developmental difficulty that children encounter. Studies indicate that as many as one in ten children in the UK have speech and language difficulties and these are particularly prevalent in the early years. Language is central to learning and a study by the Basic Skills Agency (2002) reported that, in the opinion of teachers, 50% of children start school lacking skills that are vital for an effective start to education.

You are now more and more likely to come across a child with difficulty in one or more of the following areas:

Understanding spoken language

Children may have difficulty with understanding the meaning of words and concepts. They may have problems following instructions, understanding games and tasks and making sense of what is being said to them. Often children with these difficulties may appear to understand, as they may be getting clues from following other children or guessing from the context. However, they may also come across as 'difficult' simply because they are not fully understanding what is being said.

Spoken language

Children may have problems with using language. They may have difficulty with words or sentence structure. They may struggle to express themselves in play and activities, or to tell people how they feel.

Speech sound production

Children may have problems with the intelligibility of their speech, they may have a reduced number of sounds available to them and difficulty making particular sounds in simple or longer words. They may not be easy to understand when they speak or reluctant to speak for fear of not being understood.

Attention and listening

Many children who have speech and language difficulties have problems with listening to spoken language (often when their hearing is OK). They have difficulty concentrating on a task and listening to adult instructions.

Social skills

Children's development of social skills, their sense of self and others and their ability to form relationships and learn can all be affected by speech and language problems.

Difficulties in one or more of these areas can have a profound impact on a child's experience of their early education. How each child is affected will depend on the degree of their difficulty and personal factors.

Children may have difficulty following stories and remembering information
Owing to these problems, children with speech and language difficulties may struggle to follow and learn daily routines. For example, if they find it hard to understand spoken language children may struggle to follow instructions, especially negatives such as the difference between "do" something and "don't" do something.

They may also find sentences with more than one element difficult. For example, "get some paper and pencils and go and sit in the drawing corner". The child may be able to follow the individual elements of the sentence but when they are combined into one, they can't process everything at once. Keeping sentences short and supporting information with gesture will help.

Children who find it hard to make themselves understood by adults or other children will find their ability to join in activities and tell people things, ask questions, relate stories, and form friendships is inhibited. They may be unable to join in songs or nursery rhymes and have difficulty following stories and remembering information. In this situation, offering a choice with words to go with that choice may help e.g. "do you want to play with the cars or paint?"

Difficulties in attention and listening can make it hard for children to get the most out of free-play sessions, their ability to take turns may be affected and they may find it hard to listen to and retain instructions. Poor awareness of time and the sequence of routine events can lead to children becoming insecure, especially if the routine they have learned is changed for a special event, such as the photographer's visit or the Christmas party. Sticking to a set routine and having pictures that relate to that routine in order upon on the wall may help.

Children may either vent their frustration and anger or become very quiet and withdrawn
The feelings of frustration and confusion that can arise from speech and language difficulties can result in behaviour problems. Children may either vent their frustration and anger in very obvious ways or become very quiet and withdrawn when they feel the act of communication is too difficult to keep on trying.

In addition to these more general difficulties, children with speech and language problems can encounter specific difficulties in accessing the early years curriculum. Many, if not all of the Early Learning Goals rely directly or indirectly on a child being a competent listener and communicator and children with difficulties in any of the areas discussed here will need support to get the most out of their early years' experience.

Difficulties in one or more of these areas can have a profound impact on a child's experience of their early education. How each child is affected will depend on the degree of their difficulty and personal factors.

Children may have difficulty following stories and remembering information
Owing to these problems, children with speech and language difficulties may struggle to follow and learn daily routines. For example, if they find it hard to understand spoken language children may struggle to follow instructions, especially negatives such as the difference between "do" something and "don't" do something. They may also find sentences with more than one element difficult. For example, "get some paper and pencils and go and sit in the drawing corner". The child may be able to follow the individual elements of the sentence but when they are combined into one, they can't process everything at once. Keeping sentences short and supporting information with gesture will help.

Children who find it hard to make themselves understood by adults or other children will find their ability to join in activities and tell people things, ask questions, relate stories, and form friendships is inhibited. They may be unable to join in songs or nursery rhymes and have difficulty following stories and remembering information. In this situation, offering a choice with words to go with that choice may help e.g. "do you want to play with the cars or paint?"

Difficulties in attention and listening can make it hard for children to get the most out of free-play sessions, their ability to take turns may be affected and they may find it hard to listen to and retain instructions. Poor awareness of time and the sequence of routine events can lead to children becoming insecure, especially if the routine they have learned is changed for a special event, such as the photographer's visit or the Christmas party. Sticking to a set routine and having pictures that relate to that routine in order upon on the wall may help.


Children may either vent their frustration and anger or become very quiet and withdrawn
The feelings of frustration and confusion that can arise from speech and language difficulties can result in behaviour problems. Children may either vent their frustration and anger in very obvious ways or become very quiet and withdrawn when they feel the act of communication is too difficult to keep on trying.

In addition to these more general difficulties, children with speech and language problems can encounter specific difficulties in accessing the early years curriculum. Many, if not all of the Early Learning Goals rely directly or indirectly on a child being a competent listener and communicator and children with difficulties in any of the areas discussed here will need support to get the most out of their early years' experience.

Difficulties in one or more of these areas can have a profound impact on a child's experience of their early education. How each child is affected will depend on the degree of their difficulty and personal factors.

Children may have difficulty following stories and remembering information
Owing to these problems, children with speech and language difficulties may struggle to follow and learn daily routines. For example, if they find it hard to understand spoken language children may struggle to follow instructions, especially negatives such as the difference between "do" something and "don't" do something. They may also find sentences with more than one element difficult. For example, "get some paper and pencils and go and sit in the drawing corner". The child may be able to follow the individual elements of the sentence but when they are combined into one, they can't process everything at once. Keeping sentences short and supporting information with gesture will help.

Children who find it hard to make themselves understood by adults or other children will find their ability to join in activities and tell people things, ask questions, relate stories, and form friendships is inhibited. They may be unable to join in songs or nursery rhymes and have difficulty following stories and remembering information. In this situation, offering a choice with words to go with that choice may help e.g. "do you want to play with the cars or paint?"

Difficulties in attention and listening can make it hard for children to get the most out of free-play sessions, their ability to take turns may be affected and they may find it hard to listen to and retain instructions. Poor awareness of time and the sequence of routine events can lead to children becoming insecure, especially if the routine they have learned is changed for a special event, such as the photographer's visit or the Christmas party. Sticking to a set routine and having pictures that relate to that routine in order upon on the wall may help.

Children may either vent their frustration and anger or become very quiet and withdrawn
The feelings of frustration and confusion that can arise from speech and language difficulties can result in behaviour problems. Children may either vent their frustration and anger in very obvious ways or become very quiet and withdrawn when they feel the act of communication is too difficult to keep on trying.

In addition to these more general difficulties, children with speech and language problems can encounter specific difficulties in accessing the early years curriculum. Many, if not all of the Early Learning Goals rely directly or indirectly on a child being a competent listener and communicator and children with difficulties in any of the areas discussed here will need support to get the most out of their early years' experience.

Smart Talk welcome 2 new members of staff

Jessica Charles (adv.Dip. Hyp Psch.Cert couns) is a trained counsellor who enjoys working with children and young adults with all types of difficulties including mental health issues and learning disability. She will also see adult voice clients and help to run parent support groups. Many children with autistic spectrum disorder have associated phobias or anxiety issues which Jess can also help with.

Nicky Wilson

Nicky has lots of experience of working with children especially nursery age and runs the Smart Talk Group at Charnwood Childrens Centre as well as working with individual children in nurseries and schools. She enjoys working with all types of spoken language difficulty but especially speech problems.

Twin Language - Talking the Same Talk from Twins Uk August 2009

'Idioglossia. cryptophasia or more commonly known as "twin language" or "twin talk" has been the focus of many research studies and has interested the public for years. It was once believed that twins could develop their own language unrecognisable by others.

Today. research indicates that twin language is actually one twin modeling the immature or disordered speech pattern of their co-twin. which results in the incorrect use of speech sounds and grammar by both twins. If you've ever heard two children talking with delayed speech and language. you too may think they're talking in a foreign language'.

Why do twins have trouble developing sounds and words? Well. research has suggested that twins are at greater risk for speech and language delays because of higher incidence of prematurity. low birth weight or limited individual communication with their parents.
Smart Talk have a number of twins on their books and are happy to give advice & support to aanyone with  concern.

As featured on Radio Derby....

Libby Hill was invited onto BBC Radio Derby's Aleena Naylor Morning Show on Wednesday 29th July to talk about Chris Eubank's dental work. 'The idea was was a bit daunting at first but I thought it was a great opportunity to promote Smart Talk' says Libby. Referrals for lisps are few and far between at Smart Talk, however, therapy would be a much better alternative to expensive dental work. Its reported that he spent £30,000 in an effort to cure his speech impediment.

The studios are state of the art in Derby City centre and everyone was very welcoming. Libby reprts to actually enjoying the experience and has been asked to appear regularly for relevant topics.

Too much TV?

Television reduces verbal interaction between parents and infants, which could delay children's language development, says a U.S. study that challenges claims that certain infant-targeted DVDs actually benefit youngsters.
The researchers studied 329 children, aged 2 months to 48 months, and found that for each additional hour of television exposure, there was a decrease of 770 words (7 percent) heard from an adult by the children. The study also found that the more hours spent watching television, the fewer vocalizations infants made when adults talked to them.

"Some of these reductions are likely due to children being left alone in front of the television screen, but others likely reflect situations in which adults, though present, are distracted by the screen and not interacting with their infant in a discernable manner," wrote Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, of Seattle Children's Hospital, and colleagues.

"At first blush, these findings may seem entirely intuitive. However, these findings must be interpreted in light of the fact that purveyors of infant DVDs claim that their products are designed to give parents and children a chance to interact with one another, an assertion that lacks empirical evidence," they noted.

The researchers added that their results may help explain previous findings of a link between television viewing and delayed language development.

"Given the critical role that adult caregivers play in children's linguistic development, whether they talk to their child while the screen is on may be critical and explain the effects that are attributed to content or even amount of television watched," the team wrote. "That is, whether parents talk less (or not at all) during some types of programs or at some times of the day may be as important in this age group as what is being watched."
The study appears in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

SOURCE: JAMA/Archives journals, news release, June 1, 2009

Languageland Training

Smart Talk have just finished the Languageland training in Hixon Pre-school. The staff have responded very well to the ideas and will incorporate in future planning, while the children enjoyed the circle time sessioons. Libby Hill is also helping them in their quest to become recognised as a speech, language and communication friendly establishment. More training is planned including sign language. Libby pointed out that the pre-school is no worse than anywhere else. “In fact all nurseries will have at least 2 or 3 children with speech difficulties, some with delayed expressive language, while at least 1 is likely to have problems with social interaction or social use of language.

The Languageland training is currently being carried out at Millwich Nursery and Midway Acadamy.

Six-year-old TV addicts prefer blank screen to a human face

By OLIVER COLEMAN Daily mail

Children are now so addicted to television that they would prefer to look at a blank screen than a smiling human face, a new study has found.
The results, described by scientists as deeply worrying, appear to show that youngsters are distancing themselves from interaction with real people because of their constant diet of television.

Researchers found that they reacted as enthusiastically to the image of a television as alcoholics do to pictures of drink.
Previous studies indicated that from birth, people will choose to look at human faces in favour of an object.
But the latest year-long project by academics found that when children were confronted with images of a friendly face and a blank TV set, they were more drawn to the screen.

The first experiment involved 34 five-year-olds, 25 eight-year-olds and 34 adults, who were shown a series of picture cards.
Scientists paired images of smiling human faces with those of a toy boat, a toy train, a doll's house, a tap, a teapot and a wall clock. Without exception, the subjects all responded best to the face.
But in a second test where 22 adults and 145 children aged between five and eight were shown cards pairing a face and a television set, the youngsters looked at the TV first.

Dr Markus Bindemann, of Glasgow University, which carried out the research with Stirling University, said: "It is perhaps not surprising that it is televisions which compete with faces for children's attention. But this is a worrying trend.

"We learn social interaction - how to deal with people and how to read them - from looking at their faces.
"If you just stare at a box, you don't get any genuine interactions. In the long-run that's got to have pretty dire consequences."
Dr Martin Doherty, a psychology lecturer at Stirling University, added: "In all previous research children showed a preference for faces so we tried to come with other stimulus that people would find as interesting.

"For instance, if you were an obsessive trainspotter, you might look to a picture of a locomotive more than the face.
"Or if you were an alcoholic you might look first at a picture of beer.

"This study shows in very simple terms that for children of a certain age there is more interest in television than in people."
Other recent studies have linked a growth in autism with the number of hours children spend watching the box.

And the notion that children learn by watching TV was recently dispelled by research that showed learning skills, such as language, were best accomplished by interaction with adults.

Dr Bindemann said: "Certainly some disorders are caused by impaired social interactions.
"And looking at TV rather than faces is a type of social impairment because you are becoming less interested in what should be more important to you.

"Being able to interact with people is a prerequisite for success at a personal and professional level."

Treatment from Smalltalk Consultant SLT
helps woman eat again

Sumathi with Glenys

Glenys Watkins was faced with never tasting food again after a fall at home in Dyserth, near Rhyl, left her unable to swallow.
But now the 64-year-old is tucking into her favourite chips after becoming one of the first in the UK to undergo an innovative treatment.
'Vital Stim' therapy using tiny electrical currents helped stimulate her swallow muscles.

But help intervened in the form of speech and language therapist Sumathi Sinnappan.

She is one of the few people in the UK approved to provide the therapy which has been used in the United States successfully for the last decade to treat swallowing problems, or dysphagia, which it is the medical term for the condition.

The treatment uses Smart electrical pulses, transmitted through pads placed on the skin, to stimulate the swallowing muscles so that they relearn how to swallow.
After just two weeks of intensive treatment Ms Watkins was able to eat her favourite foods again including spaghetti Bolognese, chocolate cake and the odd chocolate biscuit after spending 11-and-a-half months being fed through a tube in her nose.

"Glenys, like lots of people with dysphagia, had a very poor quality of life, she was poorly motivated and depression can set in," said Ms Sinnappan.
"But now she's really perky and cracking jokes."

Glenys says her only worry now is that she is eating too much

Currently, the therapy is only available privately, but the speech therapist and Ms Watkins's consultant believe it should now be considered as an NHS treatment.
"It could provide a vast cost saving in health care for patients with dysphagia, which could be many millions of pounds a year," argued Ms Sinnappan.

"It will cut the operating cost of fitting a feeding tube to their stomach, of providing the texture modified food for them and many are in nursing home care because of their lack of independence."

Evaluation

Consultant Robert Rafal, who is also Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Neuropsychology at Bangor University, added: "As a consultant I would want Vital Stim therapy to be a treatment for patients with problems in swallowing due to a neurological difficulty where other treatments had failed.

"Further studies should be done to evaluate Vital Stim therapy's usefulness and if they bear out its effectiveness over time and in medical practice it should be available on the NHS."

A Health Commission Wales spokesperson said: "We cannot comment on individual cases. This is clearly an experimental treatment at this stage, and we will look at further research with interest."

In the meantime, Ms Watkins is just delighted to be able to taste her food once more: "I eat all sorts of food, I love chips, I must have them three times a week, but I need to lose a stone, even though we have the low fat ones, I was dead thin before."

For more information on VitalStim please e-mail enquiries@Smalltalk-ltd.co.uk