Afasic has welcomed today’s report  from outgoing Communication Champion Jean Gross, which highlights the needs of the 1 million children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in the UK today.

The report Two Years On: report of the Communication Champion for children details recommendations to Government, local authorities and the voluntary sector for the future of speech, language and communication services for children. It has been published to coincide with the end of the National Year of Communication (known as the Hello campaign).

Linda Lascelles, Afasic CEO, said: “Jean Gross’s work as Communication Champion has been timely.

“Too many of our children do not receive the specialist support they need and provision being made available is a postcode lottery. Parents of children with a specific language impairment (SLI) should be vigilant.

“In a time of cuts and threats to services such as speech and language therapy and advisory teaching, they need to make sure their children are getting all the help they need.

She added, “The barriers identified in the Champion’s report are concerning and in the current climate parents need to be proactive in securing the help their children and young people need. We are hopeful that the Government will take forwards the recommendations laid out in this report as protecting children’s ability to communicate is vital.”

Further information can be viewed on the Hello website and the report can be dowloaded below:

  Communication Champion Report - Two Years On (943.6 KB, 291 hits)

  Afasic response to Communication Champion report (464.0 KB, 104 hits)

Outgoing Communication Champion warns of widespread cuts to speech and language therapy services – read the article in Private Eye.

News Category: Government, Reports and Inquiries