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/WebsitesScope and the ‘no voice, no choice’ campaign

Communication Matters/ISSAChttp://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/standards/aac_quality_standard_for_commissioners_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.pdfhttp://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 lifeInternational 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-

will-remain-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/mental-capital/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_disabilities_plus_intro