SmileTharapy

Karin Schamroth is a Specialist Speech & Language Therapist in Deafness, and creator of smiLE Therapy. She worked in the National Health Service in the UK for 30 years. For 20 years, with deaf babies, pre-schoolers, primary and secondary aged students for Whittington Health NHS (North London). She graduated with a BSc from Manchester University in 1984, and taught English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) for 4 years. She qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1990 from City University. She has worked with Deaf children & young people, in a range of setting – units in mainstream schools (both Total Communication and Oral) and Deaf Schools (Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children, and Blanche Nevile School for Deaf Pupils). Her background in TEFL teaching, with its structured test-teach-test communicative approach, was invaluable in the development of smiLE. In addition, she was trained by Jenny Mosley in Quality Circle Time. This has had a significant influence on the group respect principles used in delivering smiLE Therapy. She was advisor for three MSc projects at City University on the effectiveness of the smiLE approach – Alton (2008), Lawlor (2009), Curtin (2018) and supported G. Medone with her MEd project at Birmingham University, School of Education, on Assessing smiLE Therapy’s relevance to young people with autism, unpublished (2015). She is currently clinical supervisor for a Clinical Doctorate Research Fellow (NIHR). Karin now works Independently, developing smiLE Therapy modules with adolescents and young adults and runs the company that trains professionals in smiLE Therapy. Karin has trained Speech and Language Therapists, Teachers of the Deaf, Special Needs Teachers, Mainstream Teachers, SENCOs, Occupational Therapists, Communication Support Workers and Special Needs Assistants, to use smiLE Therapy since 2008. Karin, together with Emma Lawlor, wrote the first smiLE Therapy book, published in October 2015 by Routledge Publishing