Are you looking for a new career? 
Erica Craig
Consultant Speech and Language Therapist, Head of Allied Health Professions
I began my career as a qualified Speech and Language Therapist in 1991, having studied in the wonderful city of Edinburgh. Initially working in paediatric services, I gravitated to autism and intellectual disabilities and the passion for serving and advocating for these communities has remained with me ever since. As a Consultant Speech and Language Therapist and parent of neurodivergent children, I feel very privileged to have a career where communication can be championed and a voice given.
My first senior role in Derbyshire allowed me to undertake a postgraduate course in autism studies at the University of Birmingham, a link I maintained, becoming a Visiting Lecturer on the Autism (Adult) programme. I subsequently became the Clinical Lead for Autism in North Derbyshire. As such I was at the very inception of differentiated practice, immersing myself in TEACCH and Sensory Integration and qualifying in both.
An opportunity that was too good to miss arose and I became a co-founder of The Centre for Autism Practice, delivering training on best practice throughout the UK and Ireland and managing the lecture tours of many influential speakers in the field, including Professor Tony Attwood, Carol Gray and John Clements. We also had contracts with national organisations such as Autism Cymru, in order to develop and deliver national training programmes throughout Wales for parents and professionals.
During this period I maintained my role as a working Speech and Language Therapist, in a consultant role to Hesley Group and St Andrew’s Healthcare. Through my work with Hesley Group, I supported the development of an in house Speech and Language Therapy Team which saw a new role of the Head of Speech and Language Therapy come into service. Whilst working with St Andrew’s Healthcare I provided clinical input when a new service in Nottinghamshire was commissioned, supporting individuals with both autism and intellectual disabilities who were detained under the Ministry of Justice.
This sparked a passion for supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society and I trained as a Registered Intermediary with the Better Trials Unit, Ministry of Justice. As a Registered Intermediary, I was able to give a voice to those that would otherwise be marginalised, unheard and treated unjustly, in police or court proceedings. I was extremely proud that every case I was involved in resulted in a guilty plea before trial, showing how powerful the voice of vulnerable witnesses can be. One of my most memorable activities at this time was delivering training on autism and communication for West Mercia Police, specifically for officers supporting individuals in witness protection programmes.
Forming links with national initiatives that promote autistic identity and provide platforms for those voices to be heard is vitally important to me. I am fortunate enough sit on the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism and was invited to sit on the steering committee for a current research project, SPECTROM PDP, Imperial College London.
I finally returned to Hesley Group as Head of Allied Health Professionals and offer clinical leadership and management to the team of Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Therapy Assistants. I successfully gained Consultant Speech and Language Therapist status in 2020 and am supervised by Professor Jill Bradshaw from the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent, having undertaken further postgraduate studies in autism at that institution. I remain passionate about clinical experience and input and maintain an active caseload which remains the highlight of my work.
