Eleftheria Vardalaki
Pre-Reg SALT
Hello! My name is Eleftheria.
I obtained my undergraduate degree at the School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina in Greece in 2012. I am currently a postgraduate student at City, University of London where I’m studying ‘Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience’. I first worked as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant in a private clinic for children with SEN, where I completed my internship and where, over the years, I was promoted to a Senior Speech and Language Therapist. In this setting I worked with children, age 2-7 years, that were diagnosed with a variety of disorders, including verbal dyspraxia, autism spectrum disorders, picky eating and developmental language delay. While working, I developed a keen interest in autism, and I specialised in this disorder to provide well rounded treatments for the children. I also organised some social skills programs for older children diagnosed with autism in different social settings. Here, I had the opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team consisting of Occupational Therapists, Special Education Teachers and Psychologists and worked collaboratively using a more holistic approach. I educated families by providing therapeutic services and consultation at their homes, working hand in hand with them aiming the generalisation of children’s goals.
During my 10 years’ experience, I also worked in both a mainstream and SEN schools and provided 1:1 support to students with autism and delivered group activities to support their social communication and language needs. I am interested in working with children at a young age and providing early intervention programs.
I moved to London in August 2021 and worked as a SEN Teaching Assistant in a SEN school for a year. I started my journey with the Words First family as a Pre-registered Speech and Language Therapist in August 2022 to develop my clinical practise skills even further. The company’s approach, training and resources, along with the great collaboration with other colleagues and continuous support and guidance has allowed me to further evolve as a therapist!
When I am not working, I love exploring new places, or travelling. In my spare time, I love cooking for my friends and family and playing board games or attending yoga and Pilates. You can also find me exploring a new restaurant or watching a show at the theatre.
If you had to call my best friend and ask her to describe me, she would say creative, caring and compassionate.
