A digital platform which is helping to make speech and language therapy more accessible is expanding to help reach more children in need of communication support.
Noala works with a team of Speech and Language Professionals (SLPs) who deliver clinical-backed digital coaching programmes to support families to improve their children’s communication skills.
Through the adoption of remote therapy, families can access support, advice and personalised exercises within days, helping to alleviate the significant delays which exist in the provision of speech and language therapy.
Such delays and lack of access to therapy, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, have put significant strain on the mental health and ongoing progress of people with communication needs across the country.
Now, to help it keep pace with demand, Noala has raised $4million from a funding round led by LocalGlobe with participation from Cocoa Ventures, and angels from BlaBlaCar, Kry, Mirakl and Peak.
Statistics show that around 20 per cent of people will experience communication difficulties at some point in their lives, and in the UK, two students in every class of 30 have a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
Children who experience issues with speaking and understanding are more than four times less likely to pass Maths and English GCSEs, while vocabulary difficulties at age five are significantly associated with poor literacy, mental health and employment outcomes at age 34.
By adulthood, 88 per cent of long-term unemployed young men have been found to have Speech and Learning Communication Needs (SLCN).
Those living with language disorders as a result of neurological conditions including stroke, Parkinson’s and MND are also badly in need of speech and language therapy support.
Noala’s founder, Emilie Spire, saw first-hand the impact that such communication disorders can have on a person’s quality of life after her niece Ambre had a stroke just before she was born.
Having spent her career in investing and product building at brands including Partech, Felix Capital and BlaBlaCar, Emilie was inspired by her niece’s journey to build a platform that meaningfully supports the needs of millions of people to help minimise this impact and give people back their voice.
Emelie Spire
“Speech and language professionals do an amazing and vital job helping both children and adults improve their communication skills, unlock new opportunities and find their voice so that they can thrive,” says Emilie.
“Yet they’re attempting to do so in the face of increasing demand, cuts and poor resources. A lack of resources that are additionally letting down patients, their families, schools, and workforces across the country and beyond.
“At Noala, we’re building the go-to platform to improve one’s communication skills, empowering a decentralised fleet of Speech and Language Professionals to deliver clinically-backed digital coaching programs.”
Noala’s platform combines the power of digital tools with the real-world expertise of its clinical team to help both sides – families and SLPs – achieve the best quality outcome for themselves as individuals, but also the wider community.
For patients and their families, Noala is a coaching platform that brings benefits as a standalone treatment option, or it can be used while patients are on waiting lists, and alongside existing NHS or school-led treatment plans.
Each six-week program is curated and managed by Noala’s in-house clinical team. Users are assigned dedicated Noala SLPs throughout their time on the platform and these SLPs review each patient’s progress to offer clinical feedback and tailor the program to individual needs and development.
For SLPs, the Noala platform can be used by any professional practicing across the UK and US to onboard and manage their existing caseload.
By helping SLPs work more efficiently, with fewer admin burdens, they are less likely to experience burnout or become disillusioned.
Julia Hawkins, general partner at LocalGlobe, said: “Emelie and her team at Noala are on a mission to make speech and language therapy mainstream.
“Leveraging their digital platform, they aim to reduce the friction usually associated with accessing speech and language therapy treatment.
“As we’ve seen in other pillars of the health sector in the wake of COVID, teletherapy presents a significant opportunity to improve access but only when it’s built with inclusion in mind, and only when it’s backed with clinical authority. Noala has encapsulated this with its platform-led approach and Emilie’s inspiring motivation.”
