Janet O'Keefe, Speech and Language Therapist

Clive Yeadon is an independent social welfare and social policy consultant and independent social worker who will lead a seminar at the Towards a Positive Future 2012 Conference on 16th June 2012 on “What does it take to get better children’s social work services?” Clive has been through the ranks in the field of social work. Now as an independent consultant, he is in great demand as a “problem solver” in complex cases. His education law qualifications put him in the somewhat rare position of understanding the inter-relationship of social services and education legislation, and his breadth of experience means that his work as a witness at SEN Tribunals can be very important, especially where parents are seeking a residential school placement. Clive says: “Most families shy away from any engagement with “social services”. There may be good reason for this, but typically parents associate social workers with what used to be called ‘welfare’, and what is now seen as a service which exists to remove children from their families and put them in care. In fact, not only is there a great deal which can be gained from a positive relationship with the local “Children with Disabilities Team”, but contact with the team may be essential if you are looking to have your child attend a specialist residential school. Either way, this discussion will try to deal positively with your concerns, help you be assertive and confident about your rights, and identify why contact with a social worker might be a wise and positive step to take.” Visit the conference page.

Louise is Training Manager at the charity Child Brain Injury Trust; her role is to raise awareness about the issues that children, young people and their families face following the devastation of childhood acquired brain injury.  She has trained over 2,000 professionals across Education, Healthcare, Social Services and more recently with those working with young offenders and those at risk of offending. The aim of the training is to highlight that 90% of those affected by childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) have no physical sign of their disability and because of the hidden nature and lack of knowledge of ABI there injury is often unnoticed or even misdiagnosed.  Louise has also spoken at many conferences on this subject including SEN, Youth Offending and ABI conferences.  Since joining the Child Brain Injury Trust  in 2008 Louise’s passion for ensuring that these children and young people receive the appropriate support to enable them to achieve their full potential in life, has helped raise the profile of this hidden disability.

Book your place to hear Louise at http://www.wordswell.co.uk/conference/