Speech & language therapist, clinical tutor, business woman, chair of the Association for Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice, visionary and genuinely good person.

Soundswell directors Jo and Diana reflect on the loss of a consummate professional.

We were profoundly shocked to learn of Sarah’s brief illness and her sudden death on September 17th 2024.

We were due to travel to London early in November to finally meet with Sarah in person – all our previous encounters had taken place remotely.

Our relationship started out as purely professional: both in her role as Chair of the Association of Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP) and as the founder of a successful independent practice (Sarah Buckley Therapies), Sarah made an important contribution to our book (Building an Independent Speech and Language Therapy Practice) which came out in April 2024.

Over time, our communications broadened and several conversations ensued which addressed current issues involving the interface between the public and private sectors in the speech and language therapy world.  Sarah had the safety of service users front and centre of every action and was very cognisant of the fact that this is only achievable by ensuring that the service providers were appropriately supported and fit for purpose.

Latterly we had begun to consider some embryonic collaborative initiatives, beginning with Soundswell delivering some training to the team at Sarah Buckley Therapies.

We are sure that the planned meeting in November would have seen our relationship blossom into friendship and are so sorry that this never had a chance to happen.

Sarah will be remembered for the myriad of things she did which positively affected many different people, students, fellow therapists both locally and nationally, her involvement in RCSLT (speech and language therapists’ professional body) and of course the children and young people who benefitted from her skills and expertise.  She will leave very big boots to fill.

We extend our deepest sympathies to her husband Rob, her family and all those people whose lives she changed for the better.