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CASEE - About our Service

Patient information A-Z

Who is the leaflet for? What is its aim?

This leaflet is designed for clients and families who use our service and seeks to explain how our service works.

What is CASEE?

CASEE is a specialist team which works with your local speech and language therapist (SLT) to carry out specialist assessments for communication systems. The outcome of this assessment may be a high tech (computer) device or may be advice as to different low tech (paper based) systems that you can use. If the outcome of assessment is a low tech system, advice will be given and this will be the responsibility of your local speech and language therapist to implement with you and your family.

A high tech communication aid is a computer which you can use to support your speech, or to use instead of speech.

Example high tech devices that may be provided:

Tobli: Dynavox Indi device
Tobli: Dynavox Indi device
Smartbox: Grid Pad eye 11 device
Smartbox: Grid Pad eye 11 device
Allora device
Techess: Allora device
Liberator: Novachat 8 device
Liberator: Novachat 8 device
Liberator: Accent 800 device
Liberator: Accent 800 device

How do I access the CASEE service?

You can speak to your local SLT to see if they feel you would benefit from a referral to CASEE. Your local SLT will understand the criteria set for access to our service and can discuss this with you.

The CASEE team is made up of these professionals:

Diagram showing team of health professionals. Occupational therapists at the top, then going clockwise is clinical scientists, speech and language therapists, rehabilitation engineer, teacher, clinical technician, CASEE team professionals in the middle
Image of team of health professionals
1. What should I expect on a first visit?

This appointment will take place at your home, residential care setting or your school.

The CASEE team will invite your local therapist to attend the appointment; Please invite anyone else you would like to attend, for example family / carers / teachers.

from left to right is an image of a teacher, family (mum, dad and child) and two friends smiling
Teacher, family and friends

During the initial appointment we will:

  • talk to you, to people who support you and to your therapists about your communication,
  • look at the communication systems you use,
  • ask you to trial different types of communication equipment,
  • together, we can decide if any of the equipment is useful.
Image of stick people talking

What happens next?

If we have recommended you trial some equipment we:

  • will order the chosen equipment, ready for the next appointment,
  • may ask you to fill out some forms to tell us what words to put on your device,
  • will book another appointment to deliver equipment to your home.

If we agree the equipment is not useful for you:

  • we will give you advice,
  • your local SLT will continue to support you with your communication needs.
2. Installation appointment

At this appointment we will:

  • set up the equipment,
  • show your family and any relevant professionals how to use the device,
  • discuss your communication needs and set some goals so we can be sure that the communication aid we have supplied is right for you,
  • provide equipment guidelines detailing how to use the device safely
  • You will borrow the equipment on a short-term loan for about two months.
3. Review appointment

At this appointment we will

  • review if the equipment is useful to support your communication
  • discuss any issues or problems you have had
  • review the goals
  • decide together if you would benefit from keeping the equipment on a long-term loan (a long-term loan means you keep the device for as long as it meets your needs).
Local therapy team responsibilities
  • to visit or contact you to check your communication needs have not changed
  • to contact CASEE if you need a review
  • to support you if technical issues arise and to help contact CASEE if further help is needed.
Image of stick people communicating: one gesturing with hands and another pointing to a square with coloured blocks on
Image of stick people communicating

Please make sure you have your:

  • glasses
  • hearing aids
  • any communication aids you use (for example, communication boards, alphabet chart), any different chairs you sit in.
Image of glasses, ear, book and wheelchairs
Client and family responsibilities
  • to enable you to use the communication equipment in line with the guidelines we have given you
  • to contact your SLT if you don’t want to or are not able to use the device any more
  • to tell your SLT if there are any technical issues.
Image of three stick people within a circle
Image of stick people within a circle
CASEE responsibilities
  • to carry out an annual safety check of any equipment provided
  • to resolve technical issues
  • to carry out repair and maintenance as necessary
  • to carry out further assessment if your needs change when advised by your local speech and language therapist.
Image of spanner and computer
Image of spanner and computer

Contacts / further information

Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Telephone number: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Email address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CASEE: Communication Aid Service East of England: 01223 349401

Email CASEE enquiries

Stick person holding a name tag, mobile phone and envelope with @ on.

We are smoke-free

Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the hospital campus. For advice and support in quitting, contact your GP or the free NHS stop smoking helpline on 0800 169 0 169.

Other formats

Help accessing this information in other formats is available. To find out more about the services we provide, please visit our patient information help page (see link below) or telephone 01223 256998. www.cuh.nhs.uk/contact-us/accessible-information/

Contact us

Cambridge University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
Hills Road, Cambridge
CB2 0QQ

Telephone +44 (0)1223 245151
https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/contact-us/contact-enquiries/