Great news: ACE Centre is saved

Oxford communication technology support centre to remain open following creation ofnational specialist ACE organisation.

Two leading charities have today announced plans to develop a national service for individuals inEngland with communication needs and ensure that a vital site in Oxford remains open.

The merger of the ACE Centres in Oxford and Oldham will ensure the Oxford site, whichpreviously faced closure at the end of June, will continue to provide independent advice,assessments and training to enable access to technology for individuals, including children, withsignificant communication needs. The move is to be financed by investment from the ACE Centrein Oldham, and will also use an existing grant from the Department for Education to developnational services providing support in the areas of Augmentative and Alternative Communication(AAC) and Assistive Technology (AT).

Members of Parliament, including the Oxford Centre’s constituency MP Andrew Smith, have raisedconcerns about the closure of the Oxford site limiting access to specialist communicationssolutions for individuals with acute needs, their families and professionals who support them.

The announcement follows the recent publication of the Government’s response to the SpecialEducational Needs Green Paper, which confirmed funding to develop AAC models nationally totackle the under-provision of local and regional services, in relation to the estimated size of thepopulation who require AAC services and communication aids.

Managers and Trustees of both Boards of the ACE Centres, who have pushed for a solution, haveclaimed the announcement will ensure the right to communicate is extended to as many peopleas possible in England. The sector-led plan has been welcomed by the Department for Education.

Anna Reeves, Manager of ACE Centre North, said:

“Communication is not a privilege, but a right that is fundamental to an individual’s quality oflife.  This merger, which has received welcome support from the Department for Education, willhelp provide crucial support to children and adults in England who have complex communicationneeds.”

“What we have done is to lay solid foundations for the provision of a national service.  Both ACECentres already have tremendous individual legacies, and today’s announcement will allow us tobuild on our existing successes – ensuring that every individual needing support has access tounrivalled independent assistance on how best to meet their unique needs.”

Bill Nimmo, Chair of the Board of Trustee for the ACE Centre in Oxford, said:

“This is a vital and very positive step in the development of national service that is best placed toprovide advice and access to technology for both children and adults with communication needs.

“Many of individuals we’ve supported over the years have required very specialised assistance. Unifying the two ACE Centres will allow us to develop our expertise even further, which can onlybe a good thing for the thousands of people in England with communication needs.”

Andrew Smith, Member of Parliament for Oxford East, said:

“Saving ACE Oxford from closure is great news and an enormous relief for all those with acutecommunication needs relying on the remarkable expertise of the centre.  It has been hearteningto see the public support for this vital work. The merger with ACE North is an opportunity tostrengthen provision in the future, giving hope and life chances to people otherwise isolated bycommunication difficulties.”

www.ace-north.org.uk
www.ace-centre.org.uk 

Speech Therapists/Pathologists: Have you got something to share?

S & L World:the global bulletin for our profession is a forum for sharing news, good practise, reviews, success stories, 'I wouldn't do that again in a million years' tales or anything else you think would be of interest to fellow professionals.


We are such a small profession we need to come together. We are a dynamic, fantastic group of professionals but it's often easy to forget that.


If you have anything you'd like to share please get in touch either editor@slworldbulletin.com or info@smalltalk-ltd.co.uk.


The dead line for the next issue is 15th July (I do have some room for manoeuvre if you need it) so please let me know. 

www.slworldbulletin.com

Does your child tick some boxes for traditional diagnoses but not others ?

Perhaps some of the following will ring bells?

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is defined as a deficit “in information processing of audible signals not attributed to impaired hearing sensitivity or intellectual impairment” (Roeser and Downs, 1995, p.101). Prevalence data for APD is sparse, especially for children, but in Chermak, Hall and Musiek (1999) they cited Chermak and Musiek (1997) as saying it is estimated that APD occurs in 2-3 percent of children, with a 2:1 ratio of boys and girls. Dr Tont Sinimarra from GOSH thinks it could be as high as 8%!

Common Symptoms: 

• Easily distracted by background noise.
• Doesn't follow oral directions well, especially if they are complex and have to be carried out some time later.
• Has problems recalling names, dates, times, and other information.
• Has poor memory for numbers, letters, words, and other information that is heard.
• Has difficulty with directions, especially if they are complex, lengthy, presented in a noisy background or to be carried out some time later.
• Asks for statements to be repeated.
• Is slow to respond to questions or directions.
• Gives inappropriate answers to simple questions.
• Has difficulty interpreting abstract information.
• Has poor musical abilities.
• Is slow to respond to questions or directions.
• Has difficulty with verbal math problems.
• Shows unusual reaction to sudden or loud sounds.
• Has difficulty identifying the source or location of a sound.
• Is easily distracted by noises.
• Performs better in one-to-one settings (Kelly, D.A., 1995).

If you can identify with any of these, your child may have APD. We'll look at strategies in later posts.

We can screen fro APD using Scan 3 and LiSN-S so please get in touch if you would like us to help.

www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

Teachers, are you worried about the phonics check?

Communicating Phonics is a brand new free publication from The Communication Trust aimed at Key Stage 1 teachers Communicating Phonics is a guide to support teachers delivering and interpreting the phonics screening test to children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The guide will help
teachers to deliver the test this June, but also has lots of useful tips and advice to support the overall literacy development of children with SLCN.

Why you should read it?
The phonics checklist, also known as the phonics test or phonics screen, is being administered to Year 1 children from June 2012. The Department for Education has supplied universal guidance for administering the checklist and for interpreting and responding to the results. There are, however, implications for many children with special educational needs (SEN) and particularly those with SLCN.
The term ‘speech, language and communication needs’ (SLCN) is used to describe a wide range of issues that make it difficult for children to communicate with others.

SLCN is the most common SEN identified by primary schools (26.5%) and is a feature of many other areas of SEN, such as hearing impairment, learning difficulties and autistic spectrum difficulties. SLCN is also the most common childhood disability: 10% of all children have SLCN as a long term need. Evidence also shows that in areas of social deprivation 50% of children may enter school with delayed language. SLCN is often under‐identified. This guide, put together with the expertise of nearly 50 of specialist organsiations, will support teachers in
delivering the test but also in overall literacy development of children with SLCN.


How is the guide structured?
Communicating Phonics provides a general overview of issues and then detailed information on 14 different types of SLCN, with a particular focus on the phonics test. It also gives details on how to interpret the outcomes of the test and support the literacy development of children with SLCN.

We know how busy teachers are so the guide has been organised so that teachers can dip in to get to the information they need. This includes:
- General principles
- A quick reference table
- Detailed information on particular SLCN, and how they relate to the test
- Links to a glossary of terms and resources on speech, language and communication
Download the guide at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/phonics 

Speech, language and communication: are they special needs?

The Communication Trust, a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations specialising in speech, language and communication, has welcomed today’s SEN Progress and Next Steps report from the Department of Education.
The Trust welcomes the drive towards joined up approaches and efforts to ease the journey for children with SEN and their families but has concerns about the effect of these changes on the 1 million children and young people in the UK with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Wendy Lee, Professional Director for The Communication Trust, says: “Over the last five years, there has been a 58% increase in the number of children and young people with SLCN as a special educational need. Identification and support is crucial but traditionally the UK has had low recognition and awareness of SLCN.
“Changes in labelling, particularly around the diagnosis of behavioural, social and emotional problems, will need to be managed carefully. Parents and the children’s workforce often notice and recognise poor literacy or poor behaviour but may not notice the SLCN difficulty underneath such as poor understanding, vocabulary or conversational skills. We need to work hard to ensure that the ‘hidden’ difficulties of children with SLCN are identified early across all phases of education.

“When SLCN is not addressed, problems can manifest over the years affecting the individual, their family and wider society. Figures show that more than half of children excluded from school have an unidentified SLCN and in our youth justice system, 60% have SLCN, which has previously been undetected.”

The Communication Trust is working closely with the Government on how to support and identify SLCN and is pleased with the strong emphasis on this in the early years and with the focus on workforce development. Specifically, the Trust has:

•  Managed and delivered in partnership with Jean Gross, formerly Communication Champion for children, the National Year of Communication (Hello campaign) to raise awareness of children and young people’s communication development and how to recognise and support SLCN
• Worked to support children’s communication charity I CAN to deliver the Early Language Development Programme (ELDP)
• Developed with support from City & Guilds, a new Level 3 Award in Supporting Children and Young People's Speech Language and Communication for practitioners working with children and young people aged 0‐19 across education, health, youth justice and social care. With support from the Department for Education, the Trust has developed free resources to support the early identification of SLCN
• Developed for the first time a mandatory unit on speech, language and communication that is included in initial training for early years practitioners as part of the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s workforce www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/qualifications
• Released in partnership with Jean Gross, formerly Communication Champion and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), Better Communication – outlining a range of approaches to commissioning around SLCN
•  Produced a booklet Let’s Talk about It aimed at increasing awareness of SLCN to teachers going through initial teacher training
• Recently launched a film aimed at raising awareness of recognising SLCN with youth justice and educators www.sentencetrouble.info/film

Wendy Lee continues: “As schools are given greater flexibility to determine their own policies and practices on SEN and the range of statutory information requirements are reduced, it is vital that schools are scrutinised by Ofsted and by Local Authorities on the services they provide, to ensure that the large numbers of children with mild and moderate SLCN are not overlooked. “The Trust is concerned that children with SEN risk getting left behind as the new NHS and schools architecture gets embedded. As personalised budgets come to the fore, parents will need extra support to ensure a joined up approach that meets their child’s needs across health, education and care.”

“As a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, we understand intrinsically the unique role that the voluntary sector plays. We are pleased this has been championed in the report and look forward to continuing to work with the Government to improve the lives of children, young people and their families.”