"Communicate with Wordswell... for advice and therapy that make a difference." 01353 698156

82 Cannon Street, Little Downham, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 2SS. email:

In additon to reading the Bercow Report it would be useful to read the attached report from the Occupational Advisory Committee from the Union 'Unite' (Amicus Section).   The issues that NHS Speech and Language Therapists have identified to their Trade Union via a questionnaire are really concerning. Compulsory redundancies are becoming relatively commonplace – affecting a third of Speech and Language Therapy Departments. Job loss through other means (such as voluntary redundancy or vacant posts left vacant) is now the norm. SLTs told 'Unite' of the incredible insecurity they faced through constant reorganisation, of the unrelenting pressure to do more with fewer resources, and of the collapse in morale of so many in the profession. The loss of CPD opportunities, the trend towards specialist posts being deleted, and how it’s becoming increasingly commonplace for senior posts to be deleted and replaced by more junior posts whenever someone leaves. The overall picture that emerged was an extraordinarily bleak one – of dedicated, committed, hardworking staff, increasingly put in a situation where they cannot offer decent services. This is, of course, in the wider context of an NHS that – at least in England – is now in real crisis.

NICE have reversed their initial recommendation that simultaneous bilateral implantation should be available for prelingual deaf children, without providing any further evidence for this decision.

You can find more information at: http://www.2ears2hear.org.uk/.

Janet O'Keefe has been elected Chair of the RCSLT SLT Medico-Legal SIG for the period March 2008-2010.

Janet's brother and his wife, Ian and Jan Richmond, have recently re-located to South West France. They live in the farmhouse with their cats and dogs on this old tobacco farm. They currently have one fully equipped gite available to let which sleeps 4-6 people. The new pool complies with the stringent French safety regulations. The barn will be converted later to more accommodation...watch this space...we can't wait to go! More Information

Cerebra were overwhelmed with demand last year so this year they are limiting the Voucher to £500 which can include materials and mileage. They want to target children who are not getting regular 1:1 therapy. They are asking for one reference from either the school or a professional who works with the child.

1.  To receive a Voucher, parents will need to fill out an application.

Cerebra will only be accepting applications for children aged 16 and under who have a neurological, brain-related condition (e.g. cerebral palsy, autism, Down’s syndrome). If they are school-age, the child must have an SEN Statement or be on School Action Plus in Wales and England, a Co-ordinated Support Plan in Scotland or be on Stage 4 or 5 in N. Ireland.

3.      The child must not have received 1:1 speech therapy in the last 6 months.

4.      A reference must be sent with the application. If your child is school age, the reference must come from the school. Otherwise it should be from a professional who works with your child (health professional, social worker, Portage worker.) The letter needs to confirm your child’s condition and recommend speech therapy.

If successful, the voucher is worth up to £500 of SLT.  Cerebra will be using speech and language therapists who are members of the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP). All ASLTIP therapists are certified members of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and registered with the Health Professions Council.

With the voucher, Cerebra will send a list of ASLTIP therapists in the family’s geographical area. The parents will need to contact a therapist who is able to help their child. In rural areas of the UK one may find travel time and costs to see a private therapist impractical.

The therapist must invoice Cerebra direct for payment.

For more information or an application, please call Alex on 0800 328 1159.  Please see website for more information.

We want to let you know about a new service from The Ear Foundation and Advanced Bionics to be known as “Sounding Board.” It is aimed at people working with implanted children in education, although it may also be useful to parents and others.

With Sounding Board

You can email any question you like about cochlear implants and the education of implanted children.  You will receive an answer based on wide experience and also after consultation with the manufacturers and other professionals. The questions and answers will be archived anonymously on the site so that you can browse to see if your own question has already been answered. 
You can share experiences by contributing your own comments.
There is an expanding section of resources. You can access simple and straightforward information relating to all cochlear implant systems: how to use them and how to trouble shoot them. There is also information on the majority (soon to be all) of the radio aid systems and their use with cochlear implants; classroom management issues and useful resources. In future we aim to have information about assessment and monitoring; research and best practice.
You will receive a monthly email updating you on issues around cochlear implantation and what is available on Sounding Board, with recommendations about websites, resources and a monthly case study.
 

There is already a great deal of information out there on the web but Sounding Board brings it all together and makes it accessible to people who do not have time to seek it out themselves.

The service is free.  It only takes a few seconds to register.

You can access the site from The Ear Foundation website and follow the links to Sounding Board http://www.earfoundation.org.uk

This is a letter drafted by lead counsel regarding new proposals/regulations for SENDIST which will impact on parents' right of access and appeal against our children's statements and creates an unfairness to many low income families of disabled children.Please circulate to familiy and friends and send to your MP and copy into SENDIST at Mowden Hall, Darlington - we need to stop these measures - consultation finishes on the 11th July 2008.

SAMPLE LETTER
 
 
Dear
 
Re: Children with Disabilities, changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal Regulations
 
I write to you as my member of parliament, because of proposed changes to the rules involving the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.  I am extremely concerned that these changes are being produced as a result of a general legal reform which pays no regard to the special role of the Tribunal, and its jurisdiction, which outside of the Family Court, is unique.
 
The current reforms are providing for an upper/lower tier of tribunals, and are convenient to lawyers, and to the legal administration.  They have the following detrimental effect on families of children with disabilities, and special educational needs, and particularly are unfair and handicap the parents.  The problems are as follows:
 
·        Firstly, the system favours local authorities, by abolishing a restriction on witnesses, and by getting rid of the substantial written element of the case, which means that the Tribunal is a short cost effective and highly expert body.
·        Introducing directions hearings, and other administration orders, which will increase the costs.
·        If the restrictions on witnesses are abolished, plus the introduction of directions will mean that hearings which are generally one day or less, will be much longer and much more expensive.
·        The current system was brought in because local authorities had a substantial advantage and could call a large number of witnesses.  Parents had limited budgets, and were concerned by their children’s needs and disabilities, not by the budget.  The new system helps local authorities unfairly.
·        There is also a proposal that the Tribunal can order a child examined.  The Family Court, which has jurisdiction in this area, only does so in certain set circumstances.  Special needs appeals take place in circumstances where the authority is bound by statute and regulation as to how far and in what circumstances it can examine a child.  The current proposals would seek to abolish parental rights, and in addition, create greater power for a local authority to examine a child in tribunal proceedings, than it is given by statute.
 
 
 
Overall, I am extremely concerned by these changes in rules, and the fact that the consultation is really one for lawyers.  It is unfair to parents and is only convenient to the Legal Administration.
 
I would be grateful if you take this matter up, not only with the Department for Children and Families, but the Department of Justice.  It would seem the best way to deal with this is to call for these regulations to be actually debated in parliament.
 
Yours sincerely

Dear Supporter,

The I Exist campaign continues to make progress towards its goal of improving the lives of adults with autism. Thank you to the huge numbers of you who have already emailed your local authorities asking if they have a named team or individual with responsibility for autism and a system in place to record the number of adults with autism in their area.

If you haven’t already done so, please email your local authority asking them what they are doing for adults with autism in your area. We are already starting to receive responses from some local authorities but want to encourage all Directors of Adult Social Services to reply to us. We will be publishing these on our website over the summer so please visit www.think-differently.org.uk over the next few months to see if your local authority has responded to the campaign.

We are currently consulting on our campaigning priorities for the next year and would really welcome your input. To have your say on what the NAS should be working on over the coming months, fill in our short online survey.

Thank you once again for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Benet Middleton
Director of Communications

The West Norfolk branch of the NAS branch held their I Exist campaign launch at the Dukes Head Hotel in Kings Lynn and it was a very successful event, it was great to see so many people there.

For those who were not able to make it, the NAS campaigns team updated us on the really encouraging response to the campaign from central government.  The response so far includes agreement from the Department of Health to fund a prevalence study into the number of adults living with autism, and a full-time permanent post within the Department of Health focused specifically on autism.  These and other steps are building towards the first ever national strategy on autism.   We also had a carer of an adult on the spectrum speaking about her life so far, Ekkehart Stauffenberg giving us an insight into how adults with autism can find themselves within the criminal justice system and the work of Asperger East Anglia.  Robert Pritchett the South East Regional Director chaired the evening.

The next stage of the campaign is to work with local authorities to help them understand and meet the needs of adults living with autism locally.  The launch was a great chance to start raising awareness within the local area, but there is much more to be done.  A new action has now been launched on our website, and you can help continue the campaign by Please email your local authority, asking them to ensure they put systems in place to record how many adults with autism live in their local area and if they have an individual or team appointed with responsibility for autism.

Also, if you didn't get chance to fill out your postcard and leave it in our postbox, please do dig it out of your pack and send it off.

Thanks so much for your support, together we will improve the lives of adults with autism.