Welcome to the new RCSLT website - Royal College of Speech and

Transcription

front sep rcslt
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Page 1
Sept 2005 • Issue 641
Welcome to the
new RCSLT website
rating 60 yea
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1945
-2005
p25 JULY
19/8/05
12:15 pm
Page 1
To advertise
in Bulletin
contact . . .
Katy
Eggleton,
telephone
020 7878 2344
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
RCSLT-sep- Contents p3
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Sept 2005 • Issue 641
Picture: Getty Images
COVER STORY:
Welcome to
the new
RCSLT
website
CONTENTS
See page 8 for details
4
Editorial and letters
Royal College of Speech
and Language Therapists
6
News: Key messages from the RCSLT council;
PECS celebrates 20 years of success; Closing the
communications impairment gap in Scotland; A
self-publishing adventure; Special educational needs
under the spotlight; RCSLT Speech and Language Therapy
Week and more
2 White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX
Telephone:
email:
website:
020 7378 1200
bulletin@rcslt.org
www.rcslt.org
President
Sir George Cox
Senior Life
Vice President
Sir Sigmund Sternberg
Vice Presidents
Simon Hughes MP
Baroness Jay
Baroness Michie
Chair
Sue Roulstone
Deputy Chair
Rosalind Gray Rogers
Hon Treasurer
Gill Stevenson
Professional
Director
Kamini Gadhok
Editor
Steven Harulow
Deputy Editor
Annie Faulkner
12 Emma Shah reports on the first speech and language therapy
conference to be held in East Africa
18 Tracy Robson describes how she used Talking Mats with young
offenders to improve their communication skills
20 Susan Stewart and Amanda Hampshire explain their initiative to help
secondary school pupils with speech, language and communication
impairments understand their diagnosis
18 Professional issues: The new Mental Capacity Act and speech and
language therapy
19 Reviews: The latest books and products reviewed by specialist SLTs
Publication Editor Sarah Gentleman
20 Any questions: Your chance to ask your colleagues and share your knowledge
Marketing
Officer
22 Specific Interest Groups: The latest meetings and events around the UK
Publisher
Design
Sandra Burke
TG Scott
(A division of
McMillan-Scott plc)
Courts Design Ltd
Disclaimer:
The bulletin is the monthly magazine of the
Royal College of Speech and Language
Therapists.The views expressed in the bulletin
are not necessarily the views of the College.
Publication does not imply endorsement.
Publication of advertisements in the bulletin is
not an endorsement of the advertiser or of the
products and services advertised.
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e d i to r i a l & l et te r s
It’s been a busy summer
The RCSLT communications team have
been busy this summer, getting ready
for Speech and Language Therapy Week,
from 10-14 October (see pages 12-13 for
more details).
We’ve produced a Speech and Language Therapy
Week promotional pack to help you launch your
activities, with posters, balloons, stickers and
information to help you plan your event and
engage your local media. We’ve had hundreds of
requests for the pack and by now some of you will
have already received yours. If you haven’t ordered
one yet, please email: sltweek@rcslt.org, before 12
September.
We’ve also re-designed the RCSLT’s A career in
Speech and Language Therapy booklet with
educational and health publishing specialist Hunter
Lodge. The new full-colour format is more
appealing to prospective therapists. The booklet is
now available from the RCSLT reception (0207 378
3012) and a pdf version features on the RCSLT
website.
Speaking about the website, some of you may
have noticed the new updated version that
appeared during August. The website features most
of your usual favourites, and some new additions
(see page 8 for details). If you haven’t been there
yet, visit: www.rcslt.org and have a look. We
welcome your feedback via the email link on the
home page.
The redesign is the result of months of
consultation and work with top website design
company Premier IT, who also develop online
continuing professional development systems.
Premier have also designed a new online CPD
diary for SLTs, which Anna van der Gaag is now
trialling with a small group of volunteers.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the
RCSLT communications team for all their hard
work during the year.
Meanwhile, we would like to apologise for the
disruption caused to our email system between 28
July and 3 August. Because of the volume of emails
the RCSLT receives, it took several days to catch up
on the backlog.
Steven Harulow
Bulletin editor
email: bulletin@rcslt.org
4
bulletin September 2005
LETTERS
Bulletin thrives on your letters and emails
Write to the editor, RCSLT, 2 White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX
email: bulletin@rcslt.org
Please include your postal address and telephone number
Letters may be edited for publication (250 words maximum)
Be aware in the independent
sector
As many therapists become
disillusioned with the NHS, jobs in the
independent education sector may look
very attractive.
However, although many
independent schools may work well,
some operate an archaic system where
the senior management and the
governing body have little regard for
employment law, and where
discrimination takes place.
For example, support for your
continuing professional development
(CPD) may depend on whether the
right person in management likes you.
A colleague’s recent experience
suggests that therapists should be
vigilant regarding a several issues when
considering a new post.
These include requesting written
copies beforehand of: a specific
Look after yourself
Risk assessment is not a phrase that
readily comes to mind for SLTs in
terms of their own safety at work.
Perhaps it should.
After more than 30 years of practice,
with increasing amounts of ward-based
dysphagia intervention, the
accumulative strain of bending,
twisting and turning to accommodate
the patient has taken its toll on my
back.
I ignored early signs of back pain,
taking a rather foolish ‘patient first’
attitude. Now, after four-and-a-half
months off work, I face the prospect of
contract of employment, for a health
professional rather than for teaching
role; the school’s policy on CPD, again
specifically for therapists and not for
teachers; the expected caseload number
of students; the policy on allocated
time for report writing, especially with
increasing numbers of statemented
pupils now being funded by local
education authorities, as well as
requests for tribunal evidence; and the
policy on non-funded pupils with
communication difficulties, as
therapists may find their duty of care
compromised by an emphasis on
finance.
Membership of AMICUS is
absolutely essential. Although my
colleague had a difficult time, luckily
she settled out of court, which would
not have been possible without the
support of the union.
Name and address supplied
surgery and must ask the inevitable
question, “what should I have done to
look after myself better?”
Other professions risk assess each
position/posture for specific patient
interactions. To the best of my
knowledge, we do not.
My PCT has been supportive,
purchasing a special tilting chair for
ward work and initiating general
guidelines for safe practice in six areas
that SLT managers have identified by as
high risk. Should this be a national
rather than a local initiative?
Sue Hindley
Gloucestershire
www.rcslt.org
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LETTERS continued
Thanks for the memory
Reading Sue Steven’s article, ‘A time of
freedom and innovation’ (Bulletin, July 2005
pp20-21), reminded me of my own time at
the Central School of Speech and Drama. I
qualified in 1963, just before Sue took up
her place.
We will miss HSA funding
In reply to the article, ‘HSA to close its
charitable trust’ (Bulletin Supplement, July
2005 p1), I was very fortunate to receive one
of the HAS-funded speech and language
therapy scholarships in April 2005.
This provided the opportunity to develop
my research skills and enabled me to present
research-related information at a conference
in Melbourne. It also protected allocated
research time from a clinical caseload and
funded the purchase of a questionnaire, key
to my research methodology.
Not only did HSA provide financial
support, it also funded a prestigious
Seeing the picture of the ‘cube’ and, even
more, the picture of Jenny Warner teaching
the class of carefully coiffured girls, brought
on a wave of nostalgia and fond memories
of those times.
The rather strange curriculum did indeed
teach us all to be self-reliant and
professional although, unlike Sue, I
sometimes blush to remember some of the
things I did in good faith, when I too did
not know where the nearest therapist was.
Thank you for jogging my memory.
Prue Leeding (nee Tarr)
Oxford
ceremony at The Dorchester in London,
during which I reflected on my
achievements and future goals, learned
about current innovative practice conducted
by NHS health professionals, and celebrated
with the RCSLT committee, work colleagues
and family/friends. HSA employees were
enthusiastic in promoting the relationship
between the HSA and the NHS.
The experience made me feel valued as an
NHS health professional and encouraged as
a new researcher. I am saddened that the
specific association between the HSA and
NHS professionals will be discontinued.
Their unique approach in supporting
research at the individual level will be
missed.
There is only limited funding currently
available for building research capacity in
the workplace. Discontinuing this
scholarship will make the research funding
process ever more elusive.
I would like to thank the RCSLT and the
HSA for including me in the last of the HSA
scholarship awards.
Kelly McPhee
Specialist SLT
Sheffield South West PCT, Sheffield
Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The RCSLT would like to apologise for any offence that may have been caused by the
Dynavox advert that appeared in the August Bulletin.This advert should have
appeared as it has in this issue but due to technical problems it appeared incorrectly.
www.rcslt.org
September 2005 bulletin
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Patient-led care will have
implications for all NHS SLTs
New government plans to enhance patient-led care in England and
Wales will affect SLTs working in the NHS and other areas
NHS Chief Executive Sir Nigel Crisp issued a
new major policy statement at the end of
July.
Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS sets out
the framework and timetable for the future
structure of health services in England and
Wales. The programme aims to deliver £250
million of savings, mainly from management
and administrative costs.
The title reflects the emphasis given to
commissioning as a ‘pre-requisite for making
patient choices real’ and the plan sets out
fundamental changes in function for PCTs.
They will become ‘patient-led commissioning
organisations’, with their role as providers
reduced to a minimum by 2008. Practicebased commissioning has also been fast
forwarded to December 2006.
Strategic health authorities (SHAs) must
submit proposals by 15 October 2005, to
include their own re-configuration towards
alignment with larger government office
boundaries. For example, London’s five SHAs
could amalgamate into one.
Provider organisations will include NHS
acute trusts, foundation trusts, and voluntary
and private sector providers. These provider
organisations will have to empower clinical
teams and patients to work across
institutional boundaries and encourage
innovation, while maximising the use of NHS
resources. For example, there should be a
much greater collaboration with social
services. The Public Service Agreement (PSA)
targets (see below) remain government
priorities.
The implications for SLTs will, to a degree,
be dependent on the leadership of their
employer organisation and local partnership
arrangements. It is imperative that SLT
leaders engage with the changes being
proposed to inform and influence the
direction of travel before 15 October.
According to RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok,
there are particular concerns with respect to
6
speech and language therapy services where
individual staff work across both children
and adults, as the new developments are
taking the profession and others forward into
the development of a care group focused
workforce.
Ms Gadhok said the RCSLT is keen to
support members with this change agenda.
“As a starting point we need to hear from
SLTs who are engaged in work to respond to
this development, so we can disseminate
learning and establish peer support
networks,” she added.
“It is imperative
that SLT leaders
engage with the
changes being
proposed”
The RCSLT is also seeking a joint
workshop with the Allied Health Professions
Federation (AHPF), with support from the
Department of Health, to bring professional
leaders together to explore the options, assess
risks, raise concerns and identify solutions on
the implications for service delivery and the
future of the professions.
Structural options may include:
Children’s PCTs
Staff becoming part of GP practices
All staff being employed by the acute
sector
SLTs who work with children being
employed by the education sector
The establishment of companies limited
by guarantee (exploring specialist
personal medical services contracts). For
example, therapy and nursing teams at
East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT –
led by director of therapies and speech
and language therapy manager Tricia
McGregor and director of nursing and
primary care Jo Pritchard – have
submitted an outline business case
proposing the establishment of Central
Surrey Healthcare. The new 720-strong
company will focus on the recruitment
and retention of staff and the
development and provision of services in
hospital, community and home settings.
For more information, email
tricia.mcgregor@eeandms-pct.nhs.uk
The re-structuring of NHS commissioning
will follow a tight and ambitious timetable
for SHA and PCT reconfiguration,
commencing this August and eventually
completed by December 2008.
Visit: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/67
/17/04116717.pdf to read the policy
statement.
Send your views on the new framework
and the establishment of a peer support
network, and your examples of engagement,
to Linda Nixon, RCSLT Policy Lead. Email:
linda.nixon@rcslt.org
Public Service
Agreement targets
To improve health outcomes for
people with long-term conditions by
offering a personalised care plan for
vulnerable people most at risk
To reduce emergency bed days by 5%
by 2008, through improved care in
primary care and community setting
for people with long-term conditions
To improve access to services,
ensuring that by 2008 no-one waits
more than 18 weeks from GP referral
to hospital treatment
To increase the number of people
over 65 supported to live at home by
1% a year in 2007 and 2008
www.rcslt.org
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Supplementary AfC
guidelines now available
The RCSLT and Amicus released the latest Agenda for Change (AfC)
supplementary guidelines in August
The guidelines outline the situation as it is now, in
terms of work carried out in relation to speech and
language therapy job profiles, and the work the
RCSLT and Amicus are doing to monitor outcomes
and provide support where needed.
The guidelines say the mixed outcomes from the
limited results received so far highlight the
inconsistencies in local implementation of AfC and
the need for proactive management of the process.
According to the guidelines, while excellent
results have been achieved in some trusts – with
real gains for more junior SLTs, and senior SLTs
maintaining or improving their current salary levels
– in a larger number of trusts, senior SLTs (often
the beneficiaries of the 2000 equal value victory)
are being matched to levels that are lower than
hoped for.
“It seems likely that achieving higher bands is
more difficult for community than for acute SLTs,
and that rural areas are achieving poorer outcomes
than urban areas,” the guidelines suggest.
The guidelines also detail the national profile
outcomes for jobs from Band 2 clinical support
workers, through to Band 8c/9 professional
managers; discuss the important points to
remember in terms of developing job descriptions
and person specifications; and examine the RCSLT’s
guidance on MSc equivalence.
They also discuss aspects of the matching
process, and how to argue a review.
In the appendices, the guidelines detail the
national profiles for SLTs; Whitley and AfC pay
scales, including rates for sessional employees and
high cost area supplements; and provide contact
details for regional Amicus Occupational Advisory
Committee delegates.
Visit: www.rcslt.org
Key messages from the RCSLT Council
The RCSLT Council met on 20 and 21 July 2005.
The following are the key points it would like to
communicate to the membership:
The RCSLT position paper on speech and
language therapy provision for people with
dementia has been finalised and is ready for
dissemination.
Kay Fegan has been appointed as the new
Councillor for Scotland.
Celia Todd will continue as
Councillor for Professional
Development and chair of
the Professional
Development Board.
The RCSLT has renegotiated
members’ insurance and this
has resulted in increased
cover for lower premiums.
There has been an excellent
response to the call for papers
for Realising the Vision, the
RCSLT conference in Belfast
in May 2006. Therefore, a
second call for papers will not
be required. For more details
www.rcslt.org
of the conference, visit:
www.socsci.ulster.ac.uk/comms/rcslt/home.htm
A review of the RCSLT’s organisational
structure is currently underway in light of the
pressures created by UK devolution and other
external factors.
The eight-line telephone system at the RCSLT
headquarters in London is no longer capable of
proving a high level of service to members. The
RCSLT membership and
information team is
investigating a modern
replacement (see ‘Ringing
changes at the RCSLT’ on
page 9 for further details).
The penultimate draft of
national standards of
placement-based learning has
been circulated and a final
version will be produced in
September.
There has been an excellent
response to the call for papers
for Realising the Vision
NEWS IN BRIEF
makingITwork
The fourth edition of Connecting for
Health’s (CfH) makingITwork is now
available online.The 16-page newsletter
covers key aspects of CfH’s work and
charts the progress it has made on
implementing the ambitious NHS
National Programme for IT.Visit:
www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk
6th CPLOL Congress
The Comité Permanent de Liaison des
Orthophonistes/Logopèdes de l’Union
Européenne (CPLOL) is calling for posters
and papers for A multilingual and
multicultural Europe: A challenge for SLTs,
the 6th European Congress in Berlin on
15-17 September 2006. Submit your
abstract to the scientific committee by 1
October 2005. Email:
congress2006@cplol.org
Protecting the vulnerable
The Department for Health is developing
a new vetting scheme to prevent
unsuitable people working with children
or vulnerable adults. Starting in 2007,
the scheme will add to the existing preemployment checks available through
the Criminal Records Bureau and the
Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme.
Visit: www.dh.gov.uk/
PublicationsAndStatistics/fs/en
Welcome to saferhealthcare
The National Patient Safety Agency
(NPSA) has launched saferhealthcare, a
web portal dedicated to providing
healthcare professionals with one-stop
for knowledge and innovation for safer
healthcare.The site provides tools, advice
and research on best practice in patient
safety, with four topics to launch the site:
patient identification, safety culture,
discharging patients and medication
practice.Visit:
www.saferhealthcare.org.uk/ihi
Swallowing conference
The first UK swallowing research group
conference will take place at the British
Medical Association in London on 2
December.The conference aims to bring
together researchers to share and
develop research projects, encourage
peer review and support, and
disseminate and debate the latest
swallowing research. For details email:
DAVID.SMITHARD@ekht.nhs.uk or tel:
01303 850 202 ext 44625.
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Welcome to the
new RCSLT website
The RCSLT is proud to
unveil its new website.
Here Bulletin explores
the site and looks at
some of the new
features it offers
Some of you may have noticed the
appearance of the new look RCSLT website
during August.
The new site is the result of months of
discussion, consultation and design work.
The RCSLT has worked with top website
design company Premier IT – who have
experience of working with other health
professional organisations, education groups
and industry bodies – to develop a site that is
easier to use, and flexible enough to expand
as the RCSLT continues to extend its
activities.
We’ve tried to develop a site that is more
intuitive to use than the old site. You’ll notice
it has a few features that all modern websites
should incorporate, including intuitive
navigation, a search facility, an a-z search, a
comprehensive site map and a well-designed
homepage. There is also a ‘bread crumb trail’
in the top left hand left corner of each page,
which shows you where you are on the site,
how you got there and how you get back to
where you came from.
We have given detailed consideration to
design, type sizes and colour contrasts used
on the site, to make it easier to read. We
recommend that you view the site with your
screen resolution set at 800 x 600 or above.
However, if you have difficulty, viewing the
site, the ‘accessibility’ section at the top of
each page tells you how you can adapt the
site for your own needs.
Easier to navigate
The main navigation sections appear on
every page of the website. The headings show
you where to go:
8
About the RCSLT details everything you
might need to know about the College,
including a brief history, the RCSLT’s mission
statement and strategic pan, how and why
you should join, membership rates and
particulars about how the RCSLT is run. As
the site unfolds we will present more
interactive methods of joining the College
and purchasing resources.
Clicking on the Resources section reveals a
menu of services and products that the
RCSLT offers to its members, including the
Clinical Guidelines, clinical advisers and SIG
pages, information on RCSLT publications
(with the online Bulletin and Bulletin
Supplement), professional standards, research
and useful links pages.
The Continuing Professional
Development section includes a
background of CPD for SLTs, advice for
returners, links to Agenda for Change and
the Knowledge Skills Framework pages,
information on international working,
news on grants and awards and the latest
Health Professions Council
developments, and a foretaste of the
RCSLT’s planned CPD online
developments.
Working with government outlines the
RCSLT’s relationships with the devolved UK
governments and speech and language
therapy developments in the four UK
countries. The RCSLT is involved in many
discussions and consultations on a number of
issues and this is the ideal arena to publicise
this activity.
About SLTs is the section to refer people to
if they are looking for an SLT, or have a desire
to find out more about the profession as
a career. The section also includes
information on pay scales, becoming an
SLT assistant and international working.
News and events includes the latest RCSLT
news, contains the RCSLT’s media releases
and links with the ‘latest news’ section on the
home page to tell you about up-and-coming
speech and language therapy events.
The Forum section replaces the old ‘chat
room’ pages and will allow members to
communicate with each other on topics of
interest in a secure password protected
environment.
A developing tool
Like all good sites, the RCSLT website is an
‘organic’ tool. It is designed with flexibility in
mind. What you see today is the beginning of
a site that will develop as a result of your
feedback and the continued work by RCSLT
officers and Premier IT.
Have a look at the site and please let us
know your feedback. Visit: www.rcslt.org
Logging in
The online login facility will enable you to access
website content that is available to registered users.
When you register with the web site for the first
time, the website will authenticate your registration
and email you a unique username and password.You
will then be able to login to the password-protected
content, including forums, online CPD and other
information not intended for the public domain.
CQ3: have your say
The draft content of Communicating Quality 3 (CQ3)
will soon be available on the RCSLT website.We will
consult with all members and a range of external
stakeholders on CQ3, so let us have your comments on
what we have achieved so far. Feedback will help to
further shape the content prior to the online and
print launch of CQ3 early next year.
www.rcslt.org
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Ringing changes at
the RCSLT
If you have tried calling the RCSLT recently and not
been able to get through or reach a voicemail you
have unfortunately been a victim of our ageing
telephone system.
Council has agreed to fund a new system, and
RCSLT Membership and Information Manager
Sharon Silvera is looking into the one to best suit
the RCSLT’s needs.
The RCSLT installed the current eight-line
system in 1993. It was sufficient back then, but due
to a steady increase of phone traffic over the years,
it is now creaking under the pressure.
Sharon says, “For example, if we have sent out a
batch of membership renewal reminders and 30
people call us about this at the same time, then we
obviously don’t have the lines or staff capacity to
speak to everyone at once.
“We therefore want a system that allows queuing,
so you can choose to hold to wait for staff to deal
with your call or you will be offered an automatic
ring back service. We are also hoping to have a
more efficient voicemail service that will activate
automatically if someone is not at their desk, rather
than ringing seven times before it kicks in, as at
present.”
www.rcslt.org
Neurological website
Expert medical information for people
affected by neurological disorders is the
focus of the Brain and Spine Foundation’s
new website.The site has frequently
asked questions on a range of
neurological problems, from cancer to
meningitis, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and
dizziness, and enables sufferers and
carers to download booklets.Visit:
www.brainandspine.org.uk
Speech disorders SIG
A group of SLTs based in and around
London is keen to set up a specific
interest group for speech disorders. If you
are interested in getting involved, email
either frances.ridgway@royalfree.nhs.uk
or Emma.Doyle@haringey.nhs.uk
Sharon is looking into the best phone system to
suit the RCSLT’s needs
Sharon is also keen to have a system so RCSLT
country councillors and policy officers will have an
ordinary RCSLT extension. The advantage to this is
that, if they are unavailable, staff at the RCSLT
London office can answer instead and deal with
enquiries, greatly improving service efficiency.
Sharon hopes the new system will be up and
running in the near future, so watch this space.
PECS celebrates 20 years of success
The Picture Exchange Communication System
(PECS) developed as a unique augmentative,
alternative training package to allow children and
adults with autism and other communication
difficulties to initiate communication.
First used in the United States, PECS has received
worldwide recognition for focusing on the
initiation component of communication.
The system begins by teaching students to
exchange a picture of a desired item with a teacher,
who immediately honours the request. For
example, if a student wants a drink, they will give a
picture of ‘drink’ to an adult who directly hands
them a drink.
Verbal prompts are not used, thus encouraging
spontaneity and avoiding prompt dependency. The
system goes on to teach discrimination of symbols
and how to construct simple ‘sentences.’ Ideas for
teaching commenting and other language
structures, such as asking and answering questions,
NEWS IN BRIEF
are also incorporated.
The system has been successful with adolescents
and adults who have a wide array of
communicative, cognitive and physical difficulties.
It is reported that both pre-school and older
students have begun to develop speech when using
PECS.
To celebrate 20 years since its inception, the 2nd
International PECS Congress will take place in
London on 11-12 November 2005.
International keynote speakers, including PECS
co-developers Andy Bondy and Lori Frost, will
provide updates on current issues and new
developments as PECS continues to develop
worldwide.
This conference will be of interest to anyone
working with children or adults with
communication difficulties.
For more information tel: 01273 609555 or visit:
www.pecs.org.uk
Disability website
Source, an internationally focused
support centre, has re-launched its
website.The site gives access to
information on disability and health
issues and includes a free email bulletin.
New topic areas are dedicated to
disability, inclusion and development,
mother and child health and
participatory communication.Visit
www.asksource.info
New DLF leaflets
The Disabled Living Foundation has
updated 12 of its general information
fact sheets containing advice related to
equipment and independent living
solutions.These include Choosing a Chair
and Chair Accessories, Choosing Children’s
Daily Living Equipment; Choosing
Children’s Play Equipment; and Choosing
Eating and Drinking Equipment.Visit:
www.dlf.org.uk
Research consultation
The Department of Health (DH) wants
your views on Best research for best
health: a new national health research
strategy. The consultation paper sets out
proposals for the future direction of
health research for the DH and the NHS
in England. Respond before 21 October
2005.Visit:
www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations
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Closing the communication
impairment gap in Scotland
The RCSLT and Scottish SLT Managers
Network Communication Impairment Group
(CIAG) held a successful meeting with
Malcolm Chisholm MSP, Minister for
Communities (including Equalities Policy) on
2 August.
At the meeting, CIAG Chair Mary Turnbull
outlined the discrimination faced by those
with communications impairments across
sectors, emphasising that the group is
campaigning, not as health workers, but as
representatives of the profession uniquely
focused on the needs of people with
communication impairment.
RCSLT Scotland Officer Kim Hartley
Conversation therapy
is award winner
A conversation therapy scheme for stroke
patients has won this year’s first prize in
Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust’s annual Chair’s
Quality Awards.
The scheme, based at St David’s Hospital, is
run as part of the department of adult speech
and language therapy and supports
individuals to regain their speech and their
ability to read and communicate after a
stroke.
Presenting the award on 29 July, trust chair
Simon Jones spoke about the dramatic impact
the scheme is having on people’s lives after a
very traumatic experience.
“The work the conversation therapy group
is carrying out is having a huge impact on the
quality of life of stroke patients and is helping
them manage their own symptoms, which
then gives them greater mental strength and
confidence,” Mr Jones said.
Commenting on the award win,
conversation therapy lead SLT Ruth
Nieuwenhuis said, “Winning this award is
fantastic news for all the people involved
which includes SLTs, members of the Stroke
Association, and Speakability and also very
importantly, volunteers who are patients
themselves who dedicate their time to helping
new patients regain their confidence and
communicate effectively.”
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presented the Minister with evidence of the
Scottish Executive’s lack of engagement with
people with communication impairment. She
pointed out this has lead to an extremely
limited range of communication supports in
local communities.
“The CIAG has called on the Executive to
undertake comprehensive primary research to
raise awareness of the issue and to lay the
foundation for a communication impairment
strategy for Scotland,” Kim said.
At the meeting the Minister agreed there
was strong evidence, “of a big gap across the
Scottish Executive,” regarding the needs of
people with communications impairments.
Mr Chisholm said he would “follow up the
research idea” and that he intended to pursue
the issues within the Equalities Unit and
other Scottish Executive departments, and
report back to the group in September.
David Thomson, Head of Disability at the
Scottish Executive’s Equality Unit, also said he
would speak to the CIAG to arrange
appropriate representation for people with
communications impairments on Equality
Unit Disability Working Groups and the
Linguistic Access Group.
For more information, email:
kim.hartley@rcslt.org, tel: 0131 226 5250
Duo combine to fight fraud
Chief executives Mark Seale (HPC) (left) and Jim Gee (NHS CFS) take a united stand
against NHS fraud
The Health Professions Council (HPC) has
joined forces with the NHS Counter Fraud
Service (NHS CFS), the organisation
established to fight corruption in the NHS.
Chief executives Jim Gee, NHS CFS, and
Mark Seale, HPC, signed the agreement on
13 July.
The two organisations will work
together to safeguard patients and staff
from the threat of fraud by closer working
and sharing information.
The partnership’s crackdown on crime
will include targeting bogus paramedics
and therapists as well as fitness to practise
issues.
HPC Director of Fitness to Practice
Kelly Johnson welcomed the initiative.
“The protocol formalises procedures
between the two organisations for
information sharing and joint
investigations and will allow information
relevant to each organisation to be
exchanged at an early stage thus ensuring
early detection of fraudulent activities,” Ms
Johnson said.
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A self-publishing adventure
Jannet Wright and Myra Kersner discuss the publication of their new book,
A Career in Speech and Language Therapy
“How often do people say to you, ‘I’m interested in speech and
language therapy. It sounds like such a rewarding job, how can I
get more information?’
The questions people ask are nearly always
the same. They want to know about what
therapists do, about career prospects, entry
requirements for the courses, sign language
training, what they should do beforehand if they
are considering taking a course, and are there any
male therapists?
It has been 34 years since Betty Byers Brown
published Speak for Yourself: The Life of a Speech
Therapist, the first and only book in the UK that
attempted to address some of these questions. This
is now out of print.
We therefore decided to use our experience of
dealing with the admissions process for the
undergraduate and postgraduate speech and language
therapy courses at University College London and
wrote A Career in Speech and Language Therapy.
As several of our other books about speech and language therapy
had already been published we were surprised when our proposal for
A Career in Speech and Language Therapy was turned down by a
number of publishers as being for ‘too small a niche market’.
Undaunted, we decided to publish it ourselves.
After reading several ‘how to’ self-publish articles,
we set up the imprint Metacom Education and
found a printer in Huddersfield.
We consulted specialist colleagues to ensure
accuracy of information in clinical areas and a
year later published A Career in Speech and
Language Therapy.
The book is intended for those still at
school considering their first qualifications as
well as mature applicants seeking a change of
career.
It provides answers to those ‘frequently
asked questions’ as well as giving profiles of
therapists at work and is available from
Metacom Education, PO Box 48508,
London NW4 4WP. Visit:
http://metacomeducation.tripod.com”
Jannet Wright, Myra Kersner
Senior lecturers, Department of Human Communication Science
University College London
email: info@metacom.me.uk
Special educational needs under the spotlight
Rae Smith reports on the controversy surrounding the launch of the Philosophy of Education
Society’s new booklet on special educational needs
Baroness Mary Warnock presented her
much-heralded pamphlet, Special educational
needs: a new look, on 29 July 2005 at the
University of London’s Senate House.
It seemed that many had attended in order
to protest at its content. A banner declared,
‘Disabled people know special schools don’t
work’.
There was a feeling of accusation in the air,
as speaker after speaker vigorously outlined
their opposition to the existence of special
schools, or spoke of the miserable time they
had endured in them.
Several people with disabilities impressively
described their successful placement in
mainstream schools and highlighted the
principle of disability rights.
The University of Manchester’s Professor
of Education, Alan Dyson, asked why we were
still talking about these issues after all this
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time (presumably because we are still talking
about truth, justice, freedom and equality).
Attention was drawn to the 8 July
advertisement in the Times Educational
Supplement, which defended inclusion. The
London Borough of Newham’s Richard
Reiser extolled inclusion, saying that even an
autism spectrum disorder support group in
his borough insisted inclusion was the best
policy for them.
Baroness Warnock said very little, but
stated that mainstream placement had proved
helpful to some people but was disastrous for
others.
In fact, what the pamphlet actually says is
not that inclusion is a mistake, but that there
are some children for whom physical
inclusion in mainstream schools is not
emotionally, educationally or socially helpful.
This group are seen as needing small,
nurturing environments where their
particular difficulties can be understood and
addressed.
The pamphlet describes the statementing
process as ‘wasteful and bureaucratic, causing
bad blood between parents and education
authorities’ and calls for a rethink in the form
of a new government enquiry, rather than
wholesale abandonment of inclusive policies,
as some had feared.
Many other points made in the pamphlet
are relevant to communication disorders,
although this topic is not directly raised.
Every speech and language therapy group
should obtain a copy of Special educational
needs: a new look (£6.99).
Contact Liz Clements, email:
elizabeth.clements@kcl.ac.uk
or tel: 0207 8483160.
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SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY WEEK
Speech and Language
Therapy Week
Getty Images
10-14 October 2005
To help celebrate its diamond jubilee, the
RCSLT is encouraging members to take part
in Speech and Language Therapy Week, from
10-14 October 2005.
The week will give SLTs and speech and
language therapy support workers a great
opportunity to take part in this UK-wide
profile raising initiative.
Breaking down the barriers to
communication
As RCSLT members, you already know how
many barriers there are to communication,
particularly for anyone who communicates in
a different way. Speech and Language
Therapy Week will give you the chance to
show how the speech and language therapy
profession is breaking down those barriers,
by holding events and activities in schools,
clinics, hospitals, centres and many other
settings.
To help you prepare for the event we’ve
created a promotional pack. The pack
contains posters, balloons and sticker badges,
and details of how you can order RCSLT
literature, pens and pads. It also directs you
to information to help you plan your event
and grab those elusive media headlines.
We’ve already had hundreds of requests for
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the pack and these are on now their way. If
you haven’t ordered one yet, email:
sltweek@rcslt.org before 12 September.
Prize competition
The RCSLT is offering £500 to the group or
department that can demonstrate the most
extensive media coverage. To enter the
competition, send in evidence of your media
successes (in the form of newspaper cuttings,
radio tapes and video footage) to Speech and
Language Therapy Week Competition, 2
White Hart Yard, London, SE1 0TP. The
closing date for entries is 1 November 2005.
The December Bulletin will show the best
of your Speech and Language Therapy Week
photographs and activities. Again, the
deadline for Bulletin contributions is 1
November.
Good luck with all your activities. We
appreciate how busy you all are and welcome
your decision to take part in Speech and
Language Therapy Week.
Fresenius Kabi
Fresenius Kabi, distributors of Thick & Easy, are proud to sponsor the SLT and SLTA of
the Year Award in conjunction with the RCSLT Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
At Fresenius Kabi we are dedicated to the principal of ‘Caring for Life’. As a sciencebased company we have a strong commitment to continuing research and
development and have an impressive pedigree of innovative ‘firsts’.
Thick & Easy is the UK market leader for dysphagic products and we pride ourselves
on our diverse product portfolio and superior support services.
We offer the widest variety of packaging solutions for our Thick & Easy thickener and
complement this core product with our range of pre-thickened drinks and prethickened dairy.
Our dysphagia team are constantly striving to ensure we provide unrivalled support
and innovative ideas that help you meet the highest standards of patient care.
Fresenius Kabi and Thick & Easy remain the first choice for ‘Dysphagia Management
Solutions’.
Visit: www.fresenius-kabi.co.uk
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SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY WEEK
Some words from
our sponsors
To celebrate this 60th anniversary year,
we are delighted to be working with a
number of key sponsors who offer
RCSLT members valuable career,
educational and clinical support:
Speechmark
Speechmark Publishing Ltd, the UK’s
leading specialist publisher of practical
books, resources and ColorCards for
professionals working with the
educational and therapeutic needs of
people of all ages, is delighted to
sponsor the RCSLT’s Speech and
Language Therapy Week from 10-14
October 2005.
Since its establishment as
Photographic Teaching Materials (PTM)
in the late 1970s and through its years
known as Winslow Publishing,
Speechmark and the RCSLT have
enjoyed a long and fruitful
relationship. Many College members
are Speechmark authors and in turn
Speechmark has supported the
College through sponsorships,
advertising and exhibitions.
As sponsors of the RCSLT’s
Speechmark Bursary since 1994,
Speechmark has supported SLTs
wishing to further their professional
knowledge or work in a voluntary
capacity overseas, and has helped fund
trips to a variety of destinations
including Ghana, New Zealand, Hong
Kong and Kenya. The 2004 winner,
Samantha Eckman, for example, left the
UK in August 2005 on a one-year
secondment to India to work as a
volunteer SLT in the field of head, neck
and palliative care.
Speechmark’s sponsorship of this
year’s Speech and Language Therapy
Week confirms its commitment to the
profession as it looks forward to many
more years of close collaboration.
Inclusive Technology
Inclusive Technology is delighted to be the ICT resources sponsor for the RCSLT’s
diamond jubilee 60th anniversary activities during 2005.
Inclusive provides assistive technology – the hardware and software that helps those
with special needs to live, learn and communicate. We have a wide range of
communication aids, from single message devices that are the simplest way for people
with speech problems to make themselves heard through to more complex multimessage devices.
These include favourites like the BIGmack, LITTLEmack and Step-by-Step from
AbleNet, and the classroom focused 4talk4. We also have the robust, portable ‘Tech’
communication aids from AMDi, including the BETT Award winning Tech/Talk with
Environmental Control Unit. Our communicators are all easy to use and can be quickly
and simply programmed with your own voice or sounds.
Inclusive’s software also supports language development. Our SwitchIt! series offers
motivating and engaging cause and effect activities that are ideal for early language
work.
We also offer training and organise a range of events centred on technology for
special needs including SpecialneedsIT at the NASEN and TES Special Needs Exhibition
and the Special Needs Fringe.
For further information visit: www.inclusive.co.uk
RS Locums
RS Locums is one of the UK’s top medical staffing agencies placing SLTs. We also
benefit from having a dedicated long-term recruitment division in the form of RS
Permanents.
We place high-calibre SLTs in numerous NHS hospitals as well as in private practices.
We also recruit for community organisations including health centres, day nurseries,
schools and colleges and training centres from Grade I to Grade III.
RS Locums delivers an effective and efficient service to every one of our candidates.
With an experienced team of recruitment consultants and state-of-the-art customer
service technology, we take the time and care to understand your individual needs,
and match you quicker to the right job.
As a result you can expect the best placements, at the best rates, with a simple and
professional service. We even offer a choice of payment terms, and provide full, timely
and accurate information on each placement.
Our friendly consultants are ready and waiting to find you your next job. For more
information, contact us now!
visit: www.rslocums.co.uk
Novartis Medical Nutrition
Novartis is a global leader in medical nutrition. We are dedicated to maintaining and
improving the health and wellbeing of consumers and patients – at home or in health
care delivery settings – by fulfilling their specific nutritional needs. In partnership with
health care professionals and leveraging the research and development capabilities of
our Pharma Company, we offer the highest quality medical nutrition products and
services.
Novartis is delighted to be supporting the diamond jubilee 60th anniversary activities
of the RCSLT in October this year. We hope to meet you at the study day where we will
be exhibiting our latest Resource Dysphagia product news and services, which are
designed specifically to help in the management of your patients with dysphagia.
For further information on the Novartis Resource range of dysphagia products, please
call our customer careline on 01403 324 135.
visit: www.speechmark.net
Visit: www.dysphagiaonline.com
dedicated to providing information on dysphagia
to patients, carers and health care professionals
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OVERSEAS WORKING
Speech and language
therapy in East Africa
Emma Shah gives a fascinating insight into the professional life of a speech and
language therapist in East Africa
In a hot week in January 2005, Nairobi’s SLTs
welcomed colleagues from Uganda and Kenya
to the first East African speech and language
therapy conference.
None of these countries has ever had their
own training course, so the services rely on
foreign expatriates and volunteers. However,
Uganda has now developed a diploma course,
which at the time of writing was due to start
at Makere University in September 2005. We
hope that a Kenyan university will also take
up the challenge.
The Kenyan population is about 30
million, and it is estimated that there are at
least 1.2 million people in the country with a
speech and language disorder. This is
undoubtedly a conservative estimate.
Statistics from Aga Khan Hospital (AKH)
Mombasa since 2000, and Aga Khan Hospital,
Nairobi, and Nairobi Hospital, since 2001,
indicate SLTs have managed 517 clients (353
children, 164 adults) – usually by giving at
least one block of eight sessions of therapy.
This is not an entirely accurate picture
because of elements such as part-time
working, maternity leave, lack of personnel
and facilities.
Referrals have come from rural Kenya as
well as from Nairobi and Mombasa, and also
from the nearby countries of Somalia,
Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and
Congo.
Special Education Professionals (SEP) – a
Nairobi-based group of part-time volunteers
offering services to children with multiple
disabilities – report that 85% of children
presenting at their monthly multidisciplinary
consultations require speech and language
therapy.
Seven SLTs and assistants attended the
conference: Gela Jochmann, neurolinguist,
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Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and SLT
assistant Clemence Aryanyjiuka, Uganda;
private SLT Elizabeth Kruger Scheltema,
Nairobi; SLT Nuala Ribeiro-Alibhai, AKH,
Mombassa; SLT Reyhan H. Erguden and
myself, AKH Nairobi, Nairobi Hospital;
Joseph Ole Mapi, clinical medical officer,
ENT Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi.
It was fantastic for us to be able to spend a
week together, since most of us never see
another SLT or any one else in our field. The
exhaustive programme included: a talk on the
Ugandan process in setting up the course; the
Ugandan curriculum, assessment and therapy
materials; a talk on hearing impairment –
assessment and rehabilitation; Bobath basic
training in facilitating breathing and
positioning, caseload audits discussion and
comparisons, a laryngectomy talk, ethical
dilemmas and cultural issues. We also
discussed contacts for future long-distance
support, and plans for future meetings.
We highlighted the differences in our
caseload in Africa as compared with other
countries. This covered many areas:
Voice. It is fashionable, for example, for
African preachers and politicians, to
develop extremely rough, strained
voices. Many reflux problems seem to
be diagnosed in functional voice
disorders.
Laryngectomees may be in the younger
40- to 50-year-old age bracket, as well
as in the older age group. They are not
necessarily smokers. Laryngectomees
tend to be referred late to ENT, and
given a total laryngectomy followed by
radiotherapy. Blom-singer
tracheoesophageal puncture is not
common in East Africa because of the
cost of valves and the rural locations of
most laryngectomees.
Aphasia is another area that causes
problems, for example we work in a
multilingual environment and have
difficulties assessing pre-morbid
abilities. Even educated people may not
be able to write or spell well in English
or the main language, Kiswahili.
Assessment of African-English grammar
requires knowledge of the person’s first
language, since many people translate
from another language. Commonly
used constructions in African English
would not be acceptable in a totally
English-speaking environment. For
example tag questions do not have to
agree with the subject, “He’s very tired
today, isn’t it.” Many clients are only
fluent in their first language, and do not
speak any of the country’s official
languages. Because of this clients may
find it difficult to access therapy, even if
their therapist is African.
Many terminally ill HIV patients are
referred with dysphagia, although many
also present with communication
disorders. A person’s HIV status is often
not known or declared owing to the
stigma attached. This can make it difficult
to explain the prognosis of the
communication disorder to patients and
family.
There is little knowledge of dysphagia,
even among highly-experienced
neurologists. Medical colleagues with
UK-training report high inpatient
mortality because of aspiration
pneumonia. Percutaneous endoscopic
gastrostomy tubes are rare and there
are often huge problems, for example
leakage, vomiting, using the wrong
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OVERSEAS WORKING
equipment. Dysphagia diets are not
available in hospitals. Thickeners are
either unavailable or prohibitively
expensive. We tend to recommend
locally available smooth/thick foods
such as ‘uji’ (millet porridge) or mango
juice.
It is common to see adults with
unrepaired clefts. Some outside
organisations, for example Operation
Smile in Kenya, visit to operate and give
speech and language therapy advice.
However, there is no follow-up with
local speech and language therapy
services.
Many parents have heard the term
‘autism’ and find it preferable to a
diagnosis of ‘mental handicap’. ‘Learning
disabilities’ is used here as a specific
term, for example in dyslexia. Special
schools for children with autism or
mental handicap are very limited.
There is a high rate of cerebral palsy
owing to poor obstetric facilities and
cerebral malaria.
There are many referrals for hearing
impairment in Uganda’s Mulago
Hospital because of German measles,
cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome and
cerebral malaria. There are also
problems with unreliable testing
centres, outdated equipment and poor
access to hearing aids.
(From left) Clemence Aryanyjiuka, Emma Shah, Nuala Ribeiro-Alibhai and Gela Jochmann at the
first East African speech and language therapy conference
East African and European
differences
We also feel that there are differences between
speech and language therapy in Europe and
that provide in East Africa:
Mulago Hospital has a free service and,
as a result, experiences many one-off
visits to diagnose, counsel, give therapy
and advise on available services (if any).
In Nairobi, we see laryngectomees in a
therapy group at the Kenyatta National
Hospital (the large government
hospital) to save therapists’ time and to
maximise peer support. We have
recently run an intensive, residential
group to teach oesophageal speech,
since patients have problems attending
weekly or monthly because of travel
costs.
Cultural expectations when working
with men can also cause problems. It
can be difficult to do ‘hands-on’ work,
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for example with breathing. Often we
show the female family members what
to do, and they then carry out the
therapy.
Speech and language therapists
working in Uganda have carried out a
programme of sensitisation and training
in rural areas, resulting in many referrals.
Assessing and ‘doing’ therapy in another
language can be exhausting when you
are not proficient in that language.
Communicating with our aphasia clients
in Kiswahili can be easier than talking to
their relatives.
There is increased reliance on the family
to carry out therapy. This is especially
true for clients who come once or
infrequently, or if the client speaks only
in their home language. Families often
find it difficult to spend time and money
rehabilitating older people and
expectations of the older person are
very different.
Multidisciplinary working is virtually
unheard of in East Africa and it can be
impossible to liaise with other
professional colleagues. Telephone lines
often do not work, there are frequent
power cuts and the postal service is
unreliable. We rely on mobile texting to
keep in touch with clients and
professionals since this is the cheapest
and most reliable method of
communication.
We all work ‘out’ of our specialisms. It is,
therefore, hard to keep up with current
research and background reading.
We fund all our own equipment. No
specialised equipment can be acquired
in East Africa and we struggle to find
items that are culturally appropriate,
even toys. There are no assessments
standardised on East African
populations.
Much of our work is voluntary and
unpaid, and flexibility and creativity are
key.
I felt much more enthusiastic after our
conference. We had the chance to photocopy
resources and learned about each other’s
interests and experiences. Next year we plan to
focus on one topic relevant for both children
and adults.
Emma Shah – SLT, Aga Khan Hospital,
Nairobi Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
Email: amoi@iconnect.co.ke
Acknowledgement:
Thanks to Gela Jochmann and Voluntary Service Overseas
for providing transport and accommodation costs for
delegates outside Nairobi.
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TALKING MATS AND YOUNG OFFENDERS
Using Talking Mats
with young offenders
Tracy Robson describes how she used Talking Mats with young men in a young
offenders institution to improve their communication skills
A growing body of research shows significant
numbers of young men in custody in the UK
experience difficulties with speech, language
and communication (Hamilton, 2000; Bryan,
2004; Robson, 2003).
These studies suggest that if difficulties are
identified and appropriate support provided,
young adults are able to access a wider range
of rehabilitation programmes and education
and are more able to challenge their
offending behaviour.
Therefore, identifying young people with
communication difficulties is a fundamental
part of the speech and language therapy
provision at HM Young Offender Institute
(YOI) Polmont in Scotland.
The screening of young adults (YAs) at
HM YOI Polmont takes place at the start of
their sentences. The screening identifies
difficulties as well as enhancing the SLT
profile within the establishment.
The development of Hamilton’s screening
tool (1999) – identifying communication
problems in the areas of hearing, articulation,
fluency, language, voice, pragmatics, literacy
and self-perceived difficulties – facilitates
quick and effective screening completion.
An SLT interviews YAs with sentences
longer than six months. Screening relies on
self-reported difficulties throughout the
interview.
Self-reported difficulties are an appropriate
form of assessment because there are few
standardised assessments for use with this
client group and the SLT service at Polmont
suffers time constraints.
Bryan’s study (2004) found that selfreporting of difficulties appeared a reliable
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way of identifying problems. Fourteen of the
30 young people in the study reported an
awareness of difficulties, a figure validated
through formal assessment.
In 2003, I felt that many YAs being
screened either did not understand the
screening tool questions, or were unable to
express their difficulties fully.
While the screening tool was considered
adequate for the larger population of
Polmont, a complementary tool was required
for YAs.
In previous research projects, research SLT
Joan Murphy developed the Talking Mats
framework (1998) enabling people with
cerebral palsy and communication difficulties
to express their thoughts and views.
The framework has since been used to
cover a wide range of acquired and
developmental communication difficulties.
Following a meeting with the Stirling
University alternative and augmentative
communication research team, an informal
two-week trial took place using Talking Mats
to assess whether they would be appropriate
during the initial screening of these clients.
I adapted the Talking Mats format to make
it more appealing and easier to use. An A4
format was used with colour boardmaker
pictures reduced to 3cm x 3cm.
Boardmaker pictures used with Talking
Mats were particularly appropriate to this
client group (Boa, 2003) because they are:
cognitively easy to access;
easily adapted to represent relevant
issues and concepts;
useful in concept visualisation;
useful as a scaffold for memory and
cognition; and
useful to those with literacy difficulties.
A five-point scale was used ranging from
‘feeling really good’ to ‘ feeling really bad’ to
indicate how YAs felt about certain aspects of
communication. Throughout the one-hour
screening interview I asked YAs how they felt
about certain aspects of communication.
The symbols used included a total of nine
relating to literacy and 14 relating to
situation- and interaction-based
communication inside and outside the prison
environment.
Security issues precluded photo recording
of the mats. Instead, the pictures were taped
to the sheet to create interview records.
Talking Mats from YAs who were not placed
on the SLT waiting list were dismantled for
reuse.
Eleven YAs completed a Talking Mat in the
initial two-week trial. No YA refused and all
gave useful feedback.
There was an interesting mix of YAs who
sat in silence while completing the task and
those who talked about their reasons for
placing the symbols as they did so.
From a purely subjective viewpoint, I
noted that when asked for more detail, YAs’
answers seemed fuller than with the original
screening tool.
Following initial feedback from two YAs
that the task was ‘like school’ and materials
were ‘daft wee pictures’, I reduced the size of
the boardmaker symbols to 1cm x 1cm and
changed them to black and white.
Three YAs commented that they were able
to ‘see’ things differently, perhaps indicating
that use of the Talking Mat had aided
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TALKING MATS AND YOUNG OFFENDERS
language processing. Overall, nine YAs gave
positive comments, including observations
that they felt more directly involved and that
their views mattered.
The trial had a number of positive
outcomes:
Talking Mats allowed YAs who did not
acknowledge the difficulties to receive
support;
It enabled YAs with poor self-confidence
and low self-esteem to talk through
issues and strategies relevant for them
at the time they most needed them;
Talking Mats led to improved
understanding of why formal
assessment may be used and they
helped the YA to engage in therapy;
The method also allowed the
prioritisation of a YA’s therapy needs;
and
Overall, YAs became engaged and found
the process enjoyable, giving greater
awareness of their needs and a better
understanding of future therapy goals.
Although the Talking Mats were originally
intended to offer a new method of screening,
there was not enough time for every YA to
complete a Talking Mat in the time allowed
for initial interviews. Consequently, the
technique is now used during the first session
with a YA once he has been admitted for
therapy.
Not only is this invaluable for gaining an
indepth insight into the self-reported
difficulties, but it also allows the YA and the
SLT to set therapy goals jointly.
Tracy Robson – SLT, HM Young Offender
Institute Polmont
Email: tracy.robson@fvpc.scot.nhs.uk
References:
Boa S. Goal Setting for People with Communication
Difficulties. Pilot study funded by Forth Valley Primary Care
NHS Trust, 2003.
Bryan K. Preliminary study of the prevalence of speech
and language difficulties in young offenders. International
Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 2004;
3, 391 - 400.
Hamilton J. Speech and Language Communication Therapy
Annual Reviews. HM YOI Polmont, July-September, 2004.
Murphy J.Talking Mats: Speech and language research in
practice.Speech and Language Therapy in Practice, Autumn
1998, 11-14.
Robson T.Speech and Language Therapy Service Annual
Review. HM YOI Polmont, 2003-2004.
www.rcslt.org
Case study: Joe
At initial interview, Joe (not his real name), 17, presented as quiet and withdrawn. He
completed a Talking Mat during the initial screening interview, which allowed him to
explore his feelings about communicating when in a group situation and when he felt
others did not understand him. He also described ‘difficulties with describing words’
(word-finding).
After three weeks, I saw Joe again to agree speech and language therapy targets and
completed a word finding assessment. The assessment confirmed significant word
finding difficulties and Joe’s comprehension to be intact. Therapy involved helping Joe
to understand why word-finding difficulties occurred and explored ways in which he
could develop strategies to access words and therefore increase his confidence during
conversation.
At the end of a six-week block, Joe reported improvements in his ability to express
himself, had become more confident in his surroundings and, in particular, had gained
confidence in speaking in a group.
We reviewed the Talking Mat at the end of therapy, allowing Joe to move the areas
previously placed under the ‘very unhappy’ symbol to the ‘happy’ symbol – providing
concrete visual feedback on his progress.
Case study: Carl
Prison staff identified Carl (not his real name) as having possible learning difficulties
and, although he only had a 60-day sentence, they thought it appropriate that an SLT
assessed him.
He completed a Talking Mat, which highlighted feelings of frustration and inadequacy
regarding communication.
Due to Carl’s relatively short sentence, it was more appropriate to pass on information
about his communication needs to his community social worker. The Talking Mat
allowed me to give Carl’s social worker an exact and detailed list of not only his
communication needs, but also Carl’s feelings about these.
It also provided a record of the interview that, I hope, will enable Carl to gain further
support upon release.
Case study: Billy
Billy (not his real name), 20, was nearing the end of a four-year sentence. After a car
accident when he was seven, the transition to high school was significant enough to
cause Billy to drop out. He had become a heavy drinker by the age of nine. The prison
education centre referred Billy as having difficulties with interaction within the
classroom environment.
Completion of a Talking Mat highlighted many areas of difficulty relating to
communication including short- and long-term memory problems; difficulties
understanding and following conversations/ instructions; problems in group
participation; word finding difficulties; intelligibility problems and literacy difficulties.
Using the Talking Mat as a visual support, Billy was able to prioritise areas to work on
prior to his release. This enabled not only joint planning of goals and rationale for work
completed, but also the chance for Billy to participate and engage fully in the sessions.
19
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COMMUNICATION AWARENESS GROUPS
Why do I need
speech and
language therapy?
Susan Stewart and Amanda Hampshire describe their initiative to help secondary
school pupils with speech, language and communication impairments to
understand their diagnosis
Most health professionals are well aware that
when we break bad news to clients, they may
not ‘hear’ what we tell them. We often have to
repeat the same information several times
before the client understands fully what they
are being told.
In our experience as SLTs working with
children, it may take parents several years to
hear and accept information about their
child’s diagnosis. Given that we are usually
discussing speech, language and
communication difficulties, it follows that
understanding their diagnosis will probably
take even longer for the young people
themselves.
They need to appreciate the implications of
their diagnosis, but before they can do that
they have to understand the words and
sentences with which the message is
delivered.
The Special Educational Needs Code of
Practice (2001) and the National Service
Framework for Children (2004) recognise that
children and young people have a right to
receive information about their diagnosis,
and that they are in a unique position to
make decisions and exercise choices about
their education and the sort of help they
would like to receive.
Furthermore, if these young people are to
live and work independently, they need to
understand their difficulties so they can
develop coping strategies and explain their
problems to others. This presents a
20
significant challenge for professionals
working with the communication impaired.
Communication awareness
groups
We have developed communication
awareness groups to try and meet this
challenge. We provide speech and language
therapy input for pupils attending a language
resource base (LRB) in a mainstream
secondary school in County Durham.
During several annual review meetings that
were being held to consider the progress of
pupils in year 8, it became clear that although
many of the pupils had attended a primary
LRB and had taken part in many (if not all)
of their annual reviews, they did not know
their diagnosis. Nor were they able to explain
why they had been placed in an LRB.
Our aim in setting up the groups was to
help these pupils understand their particular
diagnosis, so they could explain their
communication difficulties to others, for
example, their peers, parents, teachers,
supervisors in work experience placements
and college lecturers. Our concern was to
strike a balance between informing pupils
about their difficulties and maintaining their
often fragile self-esteem.
We started the first group in January 2003
and met the pupils once a week during
school term time. In fact, it took a year to
work through all the material we had
prepared. We have since completed a second
group that, again, took a year to complete.
We have worked on the following areas:
Appreciating the uniqueness of every
individual. This has included looking at
how the pupils might be similar to or
differ from one another in terms of their
physical features. We consider each
pupil’s talents and skills and celebrate
their strengths and differences.
Understanding what ‘communication’
means. We thought-shower the many
different ways of communicating and
agree on a definition, for example that
communication involves getting a
message across to another person.
Demonstrating which parts of the body
are used in communication and what
happens if these are not working in a
typical way. The youngsters enjoyed
miming and guessing activities where
they were not allowed to use different
parts of their body when communicating,
for example their hands, eyes or voice.
Understanding the role of the brain in
communication. We have encouraged
the pupils to think about the functions
of the brain in terms of receiving,
processing and sending information. We
hoped this would help them to
understand that their brains might be
working differently to the brains of their
neurotypical peers, and that this might
explain why they have a communication
disorder.
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COMMUNICATION AWARENESS GROUPS
Understanding that there are many
different kinds of intelligence, for
example musical, interpersonal,
mathematical, verbal and physical. We
invite each pupil to work out what his
or her strongest intelligence is. They
also consider celebrities and are
encouraged to see that although their
favourite Newcastle footballer hero might
have a very strong physical intelligence,
his musical intelligence might be rather
weak.
At this point, we guide the pupils towards
recognising that they may have a less
strong verbal and/or interpersonal
intelligence. We have done this by
thinking of different skills that might
characterise these intelligences, for
example understanding hard language,
learning new words, telling jokes or
making new friends. So far, almost all
the pupils have been able to identify
what they find difficult.
Linking their difficulties with verbal
and/or interpersonal skills with their
placement in the LRB and with speech
and language therapy.
Identifying different diagnostic terms
and diagnosing fictional characters who
present with these problems. The
fictional characters are based on the
youngsters in the group, and we
encourage pupils to identify not only
with the character, but also with the
diagnosis.
Producing information sheets describing
different types of communication
disorder. The pupils think about what
they might like to know about their
disorder, for example:
“Why me?”; “Is it my fault/anyone else’s
fault?”; “Will it go away?”; “What can
other people do to help me?”; “Where
can I find out more information?”; and
thought-shower the answers.
“Explaining your communication
disorder to someone else.” After the
group has finished, we visit each pupil
at home and show their personal
‘communication awareness folder’ to
their parents/carers. We encourage each
pupil to explain his or her particular
difficulties in this safe environment.
We assess the pupils’ understanding of their
diagnosis using a questionnaire before the
group starts. The questionnaire asks pupils if
www.rcslt.org
Susan Stewart (right) and Amanda Hampshire (left) working with two of the pupils in the
language resource base
anyone has talked to them about their
communication difficulties and whether they
know what their diagnosis is. We ask them
why they have been placed in the LRB and
why they come for speech and language
therapy.
None of the pupils so far has been able to
name their communication difficulty. Some
have some insight into why they have speech
and language therapy (for example,
“understand things, talking and thinking”;
“speak too fast, have trouble understanding”),
but others have evidently linked their LRB
placement to literacy difficulties or to
unrelated medical conditions.
Our first cohort of pupils completed the
group last year. Their follow-up
questionnaires showed significant differences.
All the pupils had a name for their
communication difficulty (for example,
Asperger’s syndrome, language disorder,
speech and language disorder and pragmatic
disorder).
They also had a much better understanding
of why they were in the LRB and why they
were receiving speech and language therapy
(for example, “I have a language disorder and
it is difficult for me to learn sometimes”;
“…so that I can get around my disorder”).
These pupils are now in year 10. They have
already started to study courses outside the
school (in a local FE college) and are about to
embark on work experience placements.
We have started to build on the work done
in the group to help the pupils design leaflets
about their communication difficulty. The
leaflets not only describe each person’s own
particular strengths and weaknesses, but also
suggest ways in which others might like to
help them.
The LRB teacher and LRB support assistants
have taken part in the groups. This has
fostered team working and a shared
understanding of communication disorders
and therapy targets. The Connexions adviser,
who advises children on career choices in the
school, is well informed about communication
disorders. Both she and the pupils are now in
a strong position to realistically discuss further
education and careers.
Most importantly, the LRB pupils now have
a choice. If they wish, they can disclose
information about their communication
difficulties.
We would argue that this is a vital skill in a
world where the public has little awareness of
the complexity of communication or of the
implications of a communication disorder.
Susan Stewart and Amanda Hampshire
SLTs, Durham and Chester le Street PCT
email: amanda.hampshire@talk21.com
References:
Department for Education and Skills. SEN Code of Practice.
DfES, 2001.
Department of Health.National Service Framework for
Children,Young People and Maternity Services. DH, 2004.
21
RCSLT-sept- Prof Issues p22
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p rofe ss i o n a l i ss u e s
The new Mental Capacity Act and
speech and language therapy
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 became law in England and Wales in April following almost 15
years of consultation. RCSLT policy officer Linda Nixon outlines some of the key points for
speech and language therapy
The Act aims to empower people who lack
capacity by providing a statutory framework
to put them at the heart of the decisionmaking process. It will protect vulnerable
people who are not able to make their own
decisions and makes it clear who can take
decisions, in which situations and how they
should go about this. It also enables people to
plan ahead for a time when they may lose
capacity.
The Act is underpinned by five key
principles:
a presumption of capacity – every adult
has the right to make his or her own
decisions and must be assumed to have
capacity to do so unless it is proved
otherwise
the right for individuals to be supported
to make their own decisions – people
must be given all appropriate help before
anyone concludes that they cannot make
their own decisions
individuals must retain the right to make
what might be seen as eccentric or
unwise decisions
anything done for or on behalf of people
without capacity must be in their best
interests
anything done for or on behalf of people
without capacity should be the least
restrictive of their basic rights and
freedoms
22
have not been fully involved and able to
support a client’s decision making.
All SLTs who work with vulnerable people
who lack capacity should know about the
principles outlined above. They should also
have the confidence to voice their opinion, as
part of a team assessing a person’s capacity or
supporting their decision making, knowing
they now have a legal responsibility to do so.
The RCSLT and the Act
The RCSLT has been in contact with the
Department of Constitutional Affairs and the
Department of Health, who are working
jointly on the implementation of the Act.
The RCSLT has outlined key areas where
members should be involved:
providing training and support to enable
professionals and carers to understand
the range of communication difficulties
people experience
supporting people to communicate where
there are specific language difficulties
direct clinical involvement relating to
medical decision making for individuals
with language and communication
difficulties
disseminating information about the Act
to members and ensuring their views are
fed back
participating in specific consultation
exercises relating to the implementation
of the Act
Consultation about advocacy
A new service – the Independent Mental
Capacity Advocate (IMCA) – is developing as
part of the legislation, to ensure some of the
most vulnerable people who are on their own
and are facing important decisions have
independent support to make those
decisions. The NHS and local authorities will
have a duty to consult the IMCA in cases of
serious medical treatment or changes of
residence (for example, moving to a care
home).
The government is consulting interested
parties prior to setting up this service. Three
areas – covering training and skills,
challenging the decision maker, and
regulations on serious medical treatment –
are of particular relevance to speech and
language therapy.
Consultation closes on 30 September 2005.
Send your comments to be taken into
account within the RCSLT’s response, to
Linda Nixon by 19 September. Email:
linda.nixon@rcslt.org
Visit: www.dca.gov.uk/incapacity/index.htm
Visit: www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/
LiveConsultations/fs/en
Why do SLTs need to know about
the Act?
Two key points of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
The Act enshrines in statute current best
practice and common law principles
concerning people who lack mental capacity
and those who take decisions on their behalf.
It updates current statutory schemes for
enduring powers of attorney and Court of
Protection.
The RCSLT receives many queries from
SLTs dealing with ethical issues around
consent. They often feel frustrated when they
Assessing lack of capacity – the Act sets out a single clear test for assessing whether a person lacks capacity to take a
particular decision at a particular time. It is a ‘decision-specific test’. No one can be labelled ‘incapable’as a result of a
particular medical condition or diagnosis. A lack of capacity cannot be established merely by reference to a person’s
age, appearance, or any condition or aspect of a person’s behaviour, which might lead others to make unjustified
assumptions about capacity.
Best interests – Everything that is done for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be in that person’s best
interests.The Act provides a checklist of factors that decision makers must work through in deciding what is in a
person’s best interests. A person can put his/her wishes and feelings into a written statement, which the person
making the determination must consider. Also, carers and family members gain a right to be consulted.
www.rcslt.org
RCSLT-sept-Book Reviews p23
19/8/05
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b o o k rev i ew s
Book Reviews
Expression, Reception and Recall
of Narrative
Instrument (ERRNI)
Dorothy Bishop
Psychological Corporation,
2004
£95
ISBN: 0-74912-606-X
The ERRNI assesses the ability to tell,
understand and remember a story and is
designed for use by SLTs and psychologists. It
is recommended for use with children aged
from six years and adults with acquired
aphasia.
It consists of a choice of two stories
presented as a sequence of 15 picture scenes,
arranged three across each page, to give the
idea of story progression.
The ERRNI is scored in terms of the
information conveyed, the complexity of the
grammatical structures used, comprehension
of the pictured narrative, and in terms of
how much information has been forgotten on
re-telling. Although it does not provide
qualitative information on how a child
structures narratives, therapists can gain this
through analysis of the language sample
generated.
We found the ERRNI easy to administer
and the children we used it with were
enthusiastic and responsive to it.
Transcription and scoring is time
consuming and completion of the training
exercises provided is essential for accurate
results.
We liked the ERRNI’s emphasis on story
generation rather than re-telling and felt that
the areas assessed linked more closely to
classroom activities than other standardised
assessments.
The ERRNI is a valuable addition to our
department’s resources. It is a versatile tool,
which quickly gathers information on
children’s language and relates to classroom
language use.
CO N T E N T S :
R E A D A B I L I T Y:
VA LU E :
*****
*****
*****
PRUE BRANDT, RACHEL EVANS, ELAINE
HIRST (RCSLT Adviser Children with SLI),
CHERYL MCMURROUGH
SLTs (specific language impairment) Broxtowe
and Hucknall PCT, Nottingham
www.rcslt.org
Listening to Children
Stuart Aitken, Sally Millar
CALL Centre, 2004
£15
ISBN: 1-89804-226-8
This book and CD ROM
accompanies the Aitken and Millar’s
Listening to Children with communication
Support Needs (2002).
The first section is brief and factual and
focuses on practical steps local authorities
and other agencies can take to involve and
consult children.
Section two contains additional materials,
which can establish a context for consulting
children. These include a range of strategies,
such as using smiley and sad faces,
communication passports, social stories and
Talking Mats. Examples and case studies
illustrate the points being made very clearly.
Guidelines for observation and recording are
included.
The CD Rom contains materials for
personalisation in addition to book 1: ‘Are we
listening?’ and book 2: ‘A rough guide to
listening’. This makes the package highly
informative as it provides all the tools
needed, although I found moving backwards
and forwards through the various sections on
the CD ROM slower than turning the pages
in a book.
This is a valuable resource, as it pulls
together many strategies and tools already
used with the single aim of helping us to
listen to children. Elements of the package
would be of benefit to the adult learning
disabilities community. Obviously,
vocabulary and examples need to be edited to
make it age-appropriate, but the basic tools
are of use to all.
CO N T E N T S :
VA LU E :
*****
*****
*****
GILLIAN HAZELL
Specialist SLT
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Clinical Anatomy and Physiology of the Swallow
Mechanism
Kim Corbin-Lewis, Julie M Liss, Kellie L Sciortino
2005
Thomson Delmar Learning
ISBN 1-56593-967-0
£31
The authors’ primary goal is to produce an
anatomy and physiology text focused on
swallowing. They aim to address the
differences in process and introduce areas
often missing from traditional ‘speech’
books. Their secondary goal is to provide a
framework to identify the clinical questions
relevant to an individual needing
intervention for dysphagia. The authors
fulfil both goals.
The text is aimed at students, experienced
SLTs and, importantly, other members of
the multidisciplinary team. Standard
medical terms and a detailed glossary
provide a common language for the
disciplines involved in dysphagia.
This book is compact, affordable and
comprehensive: a rare achievement in
swallowing literature. Each chapter has
learning objectives, clinical notes, study
questions and up-to-date references, in
addition to the main text. Illustrations are
clear and plentiful, vital for an anatomical
subject.
Clinical notes address ‘new’ therapies and
real clinical experiences. The authors refer
to primary source evidence or state where
there isn’t any — another rare quality.
This is the most comprehensive and
evidence-based anatomy and physiology
swallowing text I have read. It is clear and
engaging. In my job I am immersed in the
literature and evidence evaluation and I
would not be without this book. All
dysphagia clinicians should access this text.
CO N T E N T S :
VA LU E :
*****
*****
*****
PAULA LESLIE
Degree Programme Director and RCSLT Adviser
Dysphagia
University of Newcastle
23
RCSLT-sept-any Qs p24
19/8/05
11:21 am
Page 19
a s k yo u r co l l ea g u e s
Any Questions?
Want some information? Why not ask your colleagues?
Email your brief query to bulletin@rcslt.org. RCSLT also holds a database of clinical advisers who may
be able to help. Contact the information department, tel: 0207 378 3012.
Lidcombe and EAL
Long-term dysphagia
Have you used the Lidcombe program with families who
Do you have adult clients with long-standing severe
have English as an additional language or delivered the
dysphagia? My client is keen to get in touch with someone in
program through interpreters via a child’s additional
the same situation.
language?
Charlotte Jones
Sunita Shah
TEL:
EMAIL:
sunita.shah@brentpct.nhs.uk
Long wait solutions
Do you have a solution for long waiting times for screening
and then therapy?
Tricia Curtis
EMAIL:
Margaret.Blackmore@telfordpct.nhs.uk
PECs in school
01903 843218
EMAIL:
charlotte.jones@aaw.nhs.uk
Communication training resources
Do you know of a video/CD-Rom that could be used to give
communication training to hospital staff treating patients in
long-term mental health care?
Jan Roach
TEL:
01604 616374
EMAIL:
JRoach@standrew.co.uk
Would welcome contact with anyone working with
Dysphasia friendly menus
secondary aged pupils who use PECs. How are people
Is anyone else successfully using or developing dysphasia-
managing National Curriculum demands when
friendly inpatient menus incorporating photos?
considering goals?
Helen Meikle
Janina O’Toole
TEL:
01373 455112
EMAIL:
Helen.Meikle@mendip-pct.nhs.uk
TEL:
01709 874443
EMAIL:
Janina.OToole@nas.org.uk
Collaborative project
SLT resources needed
I’m a Belgian SLT just about to start in independent practice
and am looking for donations of, or to buy, SLT resources,
especially paediatric language assessments (CELF-p, CELFR, Reynall, PLS, Renfrew wording finding test, BPVS).
EMAIL:
24
pippakerr@hotmail.com
We are currently involved in a short-term collaborative
project funded by the Additional Support for Learning Act.
We would be interested in hearing about other projects
funded by the ASL.
Suzanne Marnoch, Sarah-Jane Soper
TEL:
01738 473714
EMAIL:
sarahjane.soper@tpct.scot.nhs.uk
Speech biofeedback
Collaborative joint assessments
Have you any information on the use of biofeedback or
We are seeking a developmental assessment for collaborative
micropolarisation to improve speech? The parent of my
work between our speech therapy and occupational therapy
client was offered this treatment at a Polish centre for
departments in Hong Kong. The assessment must include
children with cerebral palsy.
language, cognition, gross and fine motor, self-help and
Katherine Hawker
social/emotional skills.
TEL:
07876 465274
Carol Adcock
EMAIL:
katherine.hawker@lcwpct.nhs.uk
EMAIL:
marvellous_1997@yahoo.com
www.rcslt.org
RCSLT-sept-filler p25
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Page 20
Writing for the Bulletin
and Bulletin Supplement
RCSLT members contribute much of what you read in the Bulletin and Bulletin
Supplement. We welcome your contributions, whether in the form of letters,
features, news articles or conference reports.
The Bulletin and Bulletin Supplement are professional magazines,
rather than academic journals. Our aim is to publish articles that are
thought-provoking, enjoyable and of use to practising therapists
and support workers. We hope these guidelines will help you
contribute to your magazine.
Letters to the editor
A letter is the simplest way to communicate your opinion. Be
brief and concise. Limit yourself to 250-300 words and focus on
just one concept or idea. A lengthy letter is more likely to be
discarded, or the editor will decide what information will be cut
in order to fit. Include your name, address, daytime phone
number, your status and your place of work.
News and feature articles
The usual word limit for two-page Bulletin feature articles
is 1,400 words, plus up to six references. You can include
up to three tables or charts. A one-page Bulletin article is
about 700 words in length. News items can be brief (5075 words) or up to 350 words (half a Bulletin page).
Please write in an accessible style. Look at articles you and
your colleagues have enjoyed reading.
Never use a long word if a short one will do. Sentences of
more than 25 words are hard to read, so try to split them
up to make them shorter.
It is okay to be personal. For example, if you are writing
about your own practice, say ‘I’ rather than ‘the author’ or
‘the present post-holder’.
Spell out abbreviations the first time you use them. For
example, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
Avoid jargon, or explain it: not all your readers will be
specialists.
Do not use the passive voice. For example, if you write,‘A
decision was made not to assess patients over 60 years
old’, the obvious question (and one which the editorial
team will ask you) is,“Who made the decision?” Better to
write,“The multidisciplinary team made a decision not to
assess patients over 60 years old.”
Photographs are very welcome, but they must be clear
and of good quality and you must have obtained written
consent to publication from patients or carers. Remember
that the Bulletin is available online to members and any
written consent must acknowledge this. Either send hard
copies of photographs by post or email high resolution
(300 dots per inch) JPEG files. Photographs taken from
websites are too low in resolution to print in Bulletin.
Scanned images from books and magazines cannot be
used for copyright and technical reasons.
References
References appear in the text in brackets (Harulow, 2005).
Use the following format for references at the end of an
article: Author’s name. Article title. Book or journal. Publisher
(for books). Date. Volume number; pages. For example:
Beitchman, J. Seven year follow-up of speech-impaired
children. Journal of Child Psychology 1996; 37, 961-970.
Copley B, Forryan B. Therapeutic Work with Children and Young
People. London: Cassell, 1997.
Submitting your contribution
It is a good idea to contact the editor before submitting a
news or feature article. Do not submit the same article to
other magazines or journals at the same time, and do not
submit an article that has already been submitted to another
publication. If you have written a different article on the same
topic for another magazine, please discuss this with the
editor.
Send articles by email and include your postal address and a
phone number.
Copyright
The RCSLT retains the copyright of any article accepted for
publication. We normally permit re-printing, with due
acknowledgement, by not-for-profit organisations, but please
contact the editor first.
What can you expect from us?
We will attempt to publish your news piece or letter in the
next available publication. We will acknowledge receipt of
your feature article within one month and will inform you
whether it has been accepted within six to eight weeks. If
your article is accepted, the editor will contact you with
queries either when accepting it or at a later stage when
doing detailed editing. Feature articles are usually published
within six months of receipt. All articles and letters are edited
for style, length and clarity.
If your article is not accepted, we will offer suggestions for
alternative publication.
Send your contributions to:
The Editor, RCSLT, 2 White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX
email: bulletin@rcslt.org, tel: 020 7378 3004
RCSLT-Sept-SIG p26
19/8/05
11:25 am
Page 21
S p e c i f i c I n te re s t G ro u p n ot i ce s
National SIG Bilingualism (UKRI7)
15 September, 10.30 - 3.30pm
Working with and valuing diversity – A conference
exploring diversity, culture, religion and language.
Key note speakers: Ali Jan Haider, Head of Equality
and Diversity, Bradford City, PCT; Mohammed
Arshad, Muslim Chaplain, Bradford Hospitals
Midland Hotel, Bradford
Assistants £30/SLT SIG Bilingualism members
£45/SLT non-members £55. Includes lunch
Email: ann-marie.caunce@blackburn.gov.uk
SIG Adult Neurology South, Mid and West
Wales (WA4)
20 September, 9.30 - 12.30pm
Rehabilitation of neglect using prisms, Zoe Fisher.
My favourite resource, bring to meeting
Postgraduate centre, Morriston Hospital,
Swansea
Members free/non-members £3
Contact Jean Bebb, tel: 01792 517863
South West Thames SIG in Developmental
Speech and Language Impairment (E15)
21 September, 7.45 for 8pm
Sensory integration therapy, speaker Catherine
Elsey, OT
The Meath School, Brox Rd, Ottershaw, Chertsey,
Surrey
Members free/non-members £5/fee for the year
£10. No need to book.
Contact Christina Evans, tel: 020 8977 4674
(evenings), email:cevans@lampton.hounslow.sch.uk
Northern Ireland Voice and Laryngectomy SIG
(I5)
21 September, 2 - 5pm
Clinical psychology and voice disorders, Dr Mark
Davies, consultant clinical psychologist, Belfast
City Hospital Trust; Dr Tom McCarthy, clinical
psychologist, Belfast City Hospital Trust; Mrs
Valerie Morton, voice specialist, Belfast City
Hospital Trust
Seminar Room, Dialysis Unit, Belfast City Hospital
Cost: Free
Contact Emma Mawhinney, tel: 02870 347859,
email: emma.mawhinney@chsst.n-i.nhs.uk
Oxford Voice and Laryngectomy SIG (E31)
21 September, 1.30 - 4.30pm
1.30pm – AGM; 2.30pm session - speaker tbc
Nurses Seminar Room, Radcliffe infirmary,
Woodstock Rd, Oxford
Non-members £7.50. New annual membership
begins
Contact Elaine Coker or Penny Taylor tel: 01604
545737, email:
elaine.coker@northamptonpct.nhs.uk
Computers in Therapy SIG (WE15)
27 September, 9.30am-3.30pm
Software evaluation and demonstration
Winford Suite Board Room, AOC, Southmead
Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB
Cost: £4
Contact Sophie Cottrell, tel: 0117 950 5050 ext
3711, email: Sophie.Cottrell@nbt.nhs.uk
SIG: For SLTs Working in Child Development
Centres (UKRI 3)
29 September
Down’s syndrome day with speech and language
therapy advisor talking about early intervention.
Members may bring relevant case studies to share
Room B402, Baker Building, Perry Barr Campus,
UCE. Directions online: www.uce.ac.uk in the
‘how to find us’ section
Members £15/non-members £20/students £5
NB Only those enclosing an A5 SAE with
26
apologies will receive minutes and notices. Book
places in advance as numbers limited
Contact Fiona Wilson, Therapies Office, Children’s
Hospital, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Armthorpe
Road, Doncaster DN2 5LT, tel: 01302 366666 ext
3854
SIG Aphasia Therapy (E24)
4 October, 10 - 4.15pm
Different experiences of aphasia - a master class.
‘When someone with aphasia speaks you can learn
a 1,000 things that you wish you knew before’: A
day of listening and discussion
Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge
Members £20/non-members £30
Email: Lisa.Rattray@epping-pct.nhs.uk, tel: 01279
444455
Wessex Learning Disabilities SIG (WE3)
5 October, 1 - 3.30pm
Person Centred planning followed by communication
passports and brief AGM. Speaker from Hampshire
Person Centred Planning Team
Thomas Lewis House, 23b Empress Road,
Southampton SO14 0JY
Membership for year £5/non-members £4
Contact Karen Rowlandson, tel: 01962 825304,
email: krowlandson@nhs.net
Adult Learning Disability – Central Region SIG
(C12)
5 October, 10 - 4pm
10am-12pm Groupwork on CQ3; 1pm-4pm Sex
education programme, Julia Brinsdon and Sandra
Rogers; Intermediary programme, Nicci Forshaw
and Naomi Mason
Room 1, Whitnash Lodge, Royal Leamington Spa
Rehab Hospital, Heathcote Lane, Leamington Spa
Contact Jackie Hartley, email:
jackiehartley@nhs.net or tel: 01562 746947
South West Disorders of Fluency SIG (WE12)
6 October, 9.30 - 4pm
Brief therapy, speaker Kidge Burns
Trust Headquarters, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol Rd,
Bristol
Members £10/non members £15
Contact Debbie Mason, tel: 0117 9190219, email:
debbie.mason@barnardos.org.uk
North West Adult Acquired Neurological SIG
(N10)
10 October, 10 - 3pm
Lee Silverman voice treatment for clients with
dysarthria/Parkinson’s disease, Elina Tripoliti
Chorley and South Ribble General Hospital, Post
Graduate Centre, Preston Rd, Chorley, Lancashire
Members £15/non-members £20
Tel: 01257 245290
Psychiatry of Old Age SIG Study Day (E17)
11 October, 9.30am (Reg and coffee) - 4pm
Dementia care in neurology, Dr Peter Garrard,
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience; SPPARC in
action: Creative practical adaptations, Ruth
Nieuwenhuis, Lead SLT (Aphasia), Cardiff and Vale
NHS Trust; business meeting and AGM; Workshop:
Can we adapt SPPARC for people with dementia?
Ruth Nieuwenhuis and Jennie Powell, Lead SLT,
cognitive impairment and dementia, Cardiff and
Vale NHS Trust. RCSLT, London
Members £5/non-members £10. Includes
refreshments and lunch
Contact Val Farn, tel: 01273 778383 ext 1381
Central Paediatric Dysphagia SIG (C15)
12 October, 9.30 - 4pm
Sensory Integration, Lindsay Hardy, OT
Brian Oliver Building, Brooklands, Coleshill Road,
Birmingham B37 7HL
Contact Louise Edwards, SIG Secretary, tel: 0121
333 9382, email: Louise.edwards@bch.nhs.uk
National SIG in Disorders of Fluency (UKRI6)
31 October
Getting started in research in stuttering, Dr Debbie
Sell, Rosemarie Hayhow and Sharon Millard
London
Members free/non-members/members
renewing on the day £20 (includes SIG
membership)/students £10
Contact Jane Fry, tel: 020 7530 4238, email:
jane.fry@nhs.net
SIG Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies
(National) (UKRI1)
1 November, 9.30 - 4pm
Acoustic Phonetics - the relationship to resonance
and voice, Ghada Khattab acoustic phonetician;
Voice - assessment and management principles,
Lesley Cavalli; Voice problems and VPI, Melanie
Bowdwen; Feedback Durban conference; Feedback
residential speech group
Devonshire House, Derby Royal Infirmary
SIG members £30/non-members £40
Contact Alison Jeremy, tel: 0121 333 9387, email:
alison.jeremy@bch.nhs.uk
Essex SLI SIG (E39)
3 November, 9.30 - 12.30pm
Children’s early language processing skills, Penny
Roy and Shula Chiat
Special Needs Support Service, Essex Education
Office, The Knares, Basildon, Essex SS16 5RX
Contact Jane Barnard, tel: 01375 360756, email:
janesplat@aol.com
SIG Children with Severe Learning Difficulties
(North West) (N18)
21 November, 9.30 - 4pm
JABADAO – Making a song and dance about
communication, Susan Munro
Room 120, Lancashire and South Cumbria Health
Authority, Caxton Road, Preston
Non-members £25/members free/SIG fees, now
due £10. Lunch provided
Email: Sally.Buttler@prestonpct.nhs.uk, tel: 01772
401457
Local Group
SLUG Surrey Local Group
20 September, 7.45 for 8pm
A focus on ADHD from childhood to adult life, Vail
Sale
Paediatric SLT Dept, Community Children’s Centre,
Maple House, Canada Drive, Redhill, Surrey
Cost: £2 per meeting. SLTs, SLTAs, non-practising
SLTs and students welcome
Contact Ann Adams, tel: 01737 768511 ext 6090
(work) or 01737 843378 (home)
To advertise your RCSLT-registered SIG event for
free send your notice by email only in the
following format:
Name of group and registration number, Date and
time of event, Address of event, Title of event and
speakers, Costs, Contact details
Details may be edited
Send to: viv.robinson@rcslt.org by the beginning
of the month before publication. For example, by
Monday 5 September 2005 for the October
Bulletin.
www.rcslt.org
IBC MID AUG(sup)
22/8/05
12:30 pm
Page 1
RCSLT
ONE-DAY
CONFERENCE
2005
The
Communication
Context
11 October 2005, at the Royal College of Surgeons
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE
Join the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists to examine the communication environment and
help us to identify good practice and solutions to problems that exist. Open to SLTs and all members of the
multidisciplinary team.
Programme
13.45
Keynote Speaker: The policy
context on choice and equity
09.30
Registration
10.00
Welcome
14.25
10.05
Professor Sally Byng OBE: The
Communication Context
Keynote Speaker: Princess
Royal’s Trust Carer Network
14.45
Coffee/ Tea
11.00
Breakout session: 1 Adults
with learning disability; 2
Children: 3 Adults with
acquired disorders
15.00
Breakout session: repeat of
morning breakout sessions
16.00
Keynote Speaker:
to be confirmed
12.00 -13.45 Lunch
16.25
Summing up and next steps
12.15- 13.00 RCSLT AGM
16.30
Close
Name: …………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………........... Organisation:…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........
Address:…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........………….............................
Telephone: …………...........…………...........…………...........…………........... Email: …………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………....................
Special requirements (e.g. diet, mobility) …………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...........…………...
I would like to register as:
RCSLT member (£35)
non-member (£62)
AGM only (free)
AGM only with lunch (£10)
Total payment enclosed …...........…………...........…………....
Return slip to: Shirley Pollaya, RCSLT, 2 White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX
or email your details to shirley.pollaya@rcslt.org
Sponsored by:
OBC AUG
20/7/05
12:53 pm
Page 1
T
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Conference outline: We communicate in a varied and complex environment that is often poorly prepared to accommodate individuals with
communication problems.Speech and language therapists aim to prepare people with communication, eating, drinking and swallowing problems to
lead independent lives. However, many of these people find themselves in hostile or ill-informed environments. Join the Royal College of Speech and
Language Therapists to examine the communication environment – from supermarkets and cinemas to schools and hospitals. Help us to identify
the barriers, good practice and identify solutions to the problems that exist.The aim of the day will be to produce a statement of good practice.
Costs: RCSLT members £35; non-members £62.The day will include the RCSLT annual general meeting from 12.15 - 1pm. Attendance to
the AGM-only is free. If you also require lunch, this will cost £10
For more details or to book your place email: shirley.pollaya@rcslt.org or tel: 0207 378 3024
www.rcslt.org

Welcome to the new RCSLT website - Royal College of Speech and

Transcription

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