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| The
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Difficulty
speaking and communicating can have causes including learning disabilities,
physical disabilities like cerebral palsy, strokes, brain injury, neurological
diseases and cancers of the head and neck. Some children have severe problems
in learning to speak although their physical and mental development is
otherwise normal. You can get help from speech and language therapists
and from the voluntary organisations who specialise in this area.
Speech
and Language Therapists
Speech and language therapists are professionally trained to help children
and adults who have impaired communications in either understanding or
producing speech and language. Sometimes the therapist might advise using
a communication aid.
You can find out about local services by contacting your local NHS speech and language service through your GP or the health authority (Scotland: Health Board) whose number is in the phone book, or phone NHS Direct on 0845 4647
Voluntary organisations
The Communication Forum was set up in 1994 to bring together those concerned with communication impairments. The Forum does not itself provide services, but promotes initiatives on behalf of two and a half million people in the UK with communication impairments. If you need information about a specific communication difficulty, contact the relevant organisation below. See ADDRESSES for full addresses and phone numbers of organisations or write to the Forum.
Communication Forum, PO Box 854, 3 Dufferin St, London EC1Y 8NB
Core members (with communication disability as a central concern): Action for Dysphasic Adults/ AFASIC/ British Aphasiology Society/ British Dyslexia Association/ British Stammering Association/ Communication Matters/ David Lewis Centre/ I CAN/ Makaton Vocabulary Development Project/ The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children/ National Association of Laryngectomy Clubs/ National Centre for Cued Speech/ SCOPE/ Sense/ the SINGALONG Group.
Associate members (with communication impairment as one of their concerns: aid for Children with tracheostomies/ Children’s Head Injury Trust/ Cleft Lip and Palate Association/ Contact a Family/ Council for Disabled Children/ Down’s Syndrome Association/ Headway/ IPSEA (Independent Panel for Special Educational Advice/ Liberator Ltd/ MENCAP/ Motor Neurone Disease Association/ Multiple Sclerosis Society/ National Autistic Society/ Paget Gorman Society/ RAD/ RNIB/ RNID/ Speakeasy.
Action for Dysphasic Adults (ADA) is dedicated to the needs of those whose understanding and use of language is impaired by stroke, head injury, etc. but who are usually otherwise intellectually unimpaired. All forms of communication may be affected - reading writing and sometimes gesture.
Services include:
Support and advice for dysphasic people and their families, including legal and advocacy advice;
Publications and tapes
A network of branches and self-help groups across the country and support for those who wish to set up new groups
Training materials for professionals and volunteers;
Communication training scheme for care staff in residential home for the elderly;
Dissemination of knowledge through conferences and seminars and public education.
Telephone helpline staffed by speech and language therapist: 0207 261 9572
AFASIC (Unlocking Speech and Language) represents children and young people with speech and language impairments. It provides information and support to parents and professionals through literature, a helpline, workshops and conferences; liaises with local and central government and has 50 local groups throughout the country.
Tel: 0207 236 3632/6487
The British Stammering Association offers a UK-wide information and counselling service. Mutual-aid activities include early treatment of pre-school dysfluent children. Policy is set by stammerers and parents, with the support of expert speech and language therapists. Tel: 0208 983 1003 local call rate Helpline: 0845 603 2001
I CAN
(Invalid Children’s Aid Nationwide)
is the national educational
charity for children with speech and language impairments. I CAN’s
service includes three residential schools, a nursery development programme,
secondary language resource units and a training centre offering courses,
publications, and teaching aids. Tel: 0207 374 4422
Communication aids
People with severe difficulties in speaking or writing can be helped by communication aids. These range from charts with pictures, symbols and letters or words to electronic voice output devices and specially adapted computers.
You may be able to obtain communication aids from The NHS speech therapy services, local education authorities, schools and colleges, and through the Employment Service.
See also ‘EQUIPMENT’
Communication aids centres (NHS)
If necessary local professionals will refer you to specialist regional and national communication aids centres which assess the needs and advise on the most suitable aid. The NHS centres are staffed by speech and language therapists and may have occupational therapists and engineers. The following centres assess people of all ages unless otherwise indicated:
Birmingham Access to Communication and Technology. Tel: 0121 627 8235
Bristol (adults) Assistive Communications Aids Centre. Tel: 0117 970 1212, ext 2151
Cardiff Communication Aids Centre. Tel: 02920 566 281
Cornwall Truro Communication Aids Centre. Tel: 01872 74242
East Sussex Chailey Heritage Clinical Services. Tel: 01825 722 112
Edinburgh Keycomm - Lothian Communication Technology. Tel: 0131 443 6775
Glasgow Scottish Centre of Technology for the Communication Impaired.
Tel: 0141 201 6425/ 6426
Leicester Speech and Language Therapy Department. Tel: 0116 251 6811
London Augmentative Communication Service, The Wolfson Centre. Tel: 0207 837 7618
London Cheyne Child Development Service. Tel: 0208 846 6488
London Assistive Communication Service. Tel: 0208 846 1057/8
Newcastle
“Communicate” Northern Communication Aids Centre.
The Lodge, Regional Neurological Rehabilitation Centre, Hunters
Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4NR
Tel: 0191 219 5640 Fax: 0191 219 5647
Email for general enquiries: Communicate@nap.nhs.uk
Sheffield Speech and Language Therapy Agency, Fulwood House Tel: 0114 271 6765
Southampton Communication Aids Centre, Southampton General Hospital
Tel: 02380 777222
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