Age 5+ Clinical sales pitch
AAC & physical/learning disability
AAC - Alternative and
Augmentative
Communication
Prevalence
•
•
The amount of people aged 15-19 years needing AAC has
increased 70% from 1998-2008.
0.05% (6,200) children/young people need high tech
AAC in the UK.
Current policy
•
•
•
Service provision is
variable
Funding is split jointly
between the health and
education services.
Service pathway - spoke
and hub model of service
delivery
Current Issues
•
•
•
•
85-90% of SLT teams have no SLT with AAC
competence
There is no statutory body governing the provision of
AAC devices
30% of AAC devices go unused
73% reported AAC devices breaking down with 14%
waiting over a month for a replacement
Why we need funding
•
•
•
•
Bercow report (2008) found that the needs of children
requiring AAC devices were not consistently being met.
The cost of a full assessment for a high-tech AAC device
is £2,500.
AAC devices have a 5 year lifespan before needing to be
replaced
Managing an AAC device (including purchasing it) costs
approximately £4,000 per system
Funding part 2
•
•
More money is currently spent on loan banks than
provision.
The NHS is required to set aside £14,000,000 for AAC
services from its yearly budget (OCC, 2011).
- However, progression of technology has outstripped
current NHS budgets
AAC commissioning needs improve to meet needs and
be more sustainable
•
AAC - Key
documents/Websites
Scope and the ‘no voice, no choice’ campaign
Communication Matters/ISSAC
http://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/standards/aac_quality_standard_for_commissione
rs_sept_2011.pdf
Office of the Communciation Champion http://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/standards/AAC_Service_Specification_final_comm
_champion_oct_2011.pdf
http://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/standards/AAC_Report_Final_comm_champion_
nov_2011.pdf
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Services Standards (Version 1.2) August 2012
British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine (2000) ‘Electronic Assistive Technology’:
http://www.bsrm.co.uk/Publications/EATabstract.pdf
SLCN resulting from
physical & learning
disabilities
Definitions
● Learning Disabilities
● Physical disabilities
● Co-morbidities
● Severity
Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
89% of people with learning difficulties need speech and language
therapy intervention (Bradshaw, 2007)
Variable SLT intervention.
However there are some common areas of difficulty within this
client group
Potential risks of not intervening
Needs not currently met by mainstream NHS services (Mencap,
2007)
Current provision- health
• Raising awareness
• Identifying key priority areas
• Good practise guidance
Current Provision - Education
•
“Speech and Language therapy should be treated as a
special educational provision if it ‘educates or trains’
children.”
Children and families bill, 2013.
● Statement of Special Educational Needs
○ Soon to be called Education Health Care (EHC)
plans).
The Need For Funding
•
•
There will be negative implications if communication support is not
available to these individuals - CQ3(2006)
Funding will support SLT developments which can help individuals
with these difficulties:
Training
High quality personalised therapy.
Research
•
•
•
● Responsible bodies should ensure that disabled students are not
substantially disadvantaged compared to non-disadvantaged peers
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001)
● LEAs in England and Wales must provide an accessibility plan for
people with SEN needs to ensure participation considering the
child’s preferences
Equality Act, 2010
•
Communication is vital to participation in life
International Communication Project 2014
Key Documents
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Disability
discrimination act (1995)
Special Educational Needs and Disability act 2001
Come on in - CDC, 2004
Childrens act 1989
Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (1989).
Conventions on the rights of the child (1989).
Human rights act (1998)
Parent Participation improving services for disabled children (2004)
Every child Matters (2003)
Useful links
•
•
•
•
•
http://www.afasic.org.uk/2013/12/success-speech-and-language-therapy-willremain-an-educational-provision/
Goswami, U (2008) Mental Capital and Wellbeing: Making the most of ourselves in
the 21st century
Learning difficulties: Future challenges. Government office for science. Retrieved
19/3/14 from http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/foresight/docs/mentalcapital/learning_difficulties.pdf
http://www.mencap.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Mencaps%20Education
%20Policy.pdf
http://www.rcslt.org/speech_and_language_therapy/commissioning/learning_dis
abilities_plus_intro