Communication Matters calls for reform in funding and delivery of AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) services

From Communication Matters press release - 

Communication Matters, the lead UK organisation dedicated to supporting children and adults who need augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), has recently shared its reaction to the closure of a specialist facility in Oxford and calls on the Government to roll out a national model of delivery for AAC services and equipment. 

Earlier in the month it was announced The ACE Centre in Oxford would close its doors in June this year. The centre has, for nearly 30 years, provided crucial support for children and young people with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs. 

Dr Janice Murray, Chair of Communication Matters, said:

"It is sad to see the closure of The ACE Centre which has served AAC users and professionals well over its 30 years of existence. It is vital that we do not lose any further specialized AAC services across the country who like The ACE Centre offer a much needed specialist service. 

"To this end we are calling on the Government as part of its health reforms to implement the proposals put forward by Jean Gross, the former Communication Champion, for a national model of delivery for AAC services and equipment. Currently in the UK, specialism around AAC is under-provided and there is an urgent need to develop and maintain both national and regional centres to support those with AAC needs. If we are to make an impact and secure equitable funding for AAC users, the time for movement has to be now." 

The Specialised AAC Provision 'commissioning national services' report, authored by Jean Gross, details and costs a model of national commissioning for specialist AAC services. It outlines a 'hub and spoke' model ensuring complex AAC needs are defined as specialist and therefore funded nationally with less complex needs being managed in a supported network at local level.

The 'hub and spoke' proposal comes at a critical time when the NHS is considering the future of specialised services and would hope to provide a route to clear funding of equitable services and provision across the country.

Dr Murray concludes:

"Communication Matters is encouraged by the recent announcement of the AAC grants by the Department for Education, to support and develop the existing services to demonstrate how a model of service delivery can work across England. These grants are about to be confirmed and will help develop the 'hub' services described in Jean Gross' report. We will be following these projects closely to ensure the things learned from this work inform the Government's decision around specialist health commissioning."

Note: AAC is the term used to describe methods of communication which can support or replace the more familiar methods of speech and writing when these are impaired. AAC includes unaided systems such as signing and gestures, as well as aided techniques ranging from picture charts and paper-based systems to the most sophisticated computer technologies currently available, referred to as communication aids. AAC can help someone understand communication, as well as a means of expression.

TAC for the 21st Century (2nd edition) is now in the Kindle bookshop (and can be downloaded onto your PC).

TAC for the 21st century: Nine essays on Team Around the Child by Peter Limbrick is published in its second edition (April 2012) for the Kindle bookshop.

If you do not have a Kindle, you can down load the book to your PC with free software here

About the book:

The TAC system, accepted as good practice in several countries, offers opportunities to radically re-appraise how practitioners use time and resources in pursuit of effective support for the increasing population of infants who have multifaceted conditions and disabilities.

TAC for the 21st Century will inform and inspire managers, practitioners and families in the struggle to match limited resources to increasing needs.  

The nine TAC essays show the evolution of TAC philosophy from its foundation in the early 2000s. TAC began as a straightforward approach to multidisciplinary joint working and has become the vehicle for genuine child and family-centred support.

TAC for the 21st Century is also available as an ordinary book on Amazon and at Interconnections.

The tradition of marrying a cousin is becoming more entrenched among British-born Pakistanis living in Bradford than it was a generation ago, writes Winifred Robinson.

Note: This item is extracted from the BBC Radio 4 website

This has been the surprise finding of the Born in Bradford research project. It's a huge long-term study of 14,000 mothers and babies in the city, the largest ever undertaken in the UK. Half of the families in the project are Asian.

Cousin marriage has important implications for health because marrying a cousin increases the risks of passing on genetic disorders. Bradford has three times the national rate among children for disabilities including deafness and blindness.

Globally, cousin marriage is practised by an estimated billion people, according to Professor John Wright, who is leading the Born in Bradford research project. It yields considerable social benefits - particularly in ethnic groups, where it is traditional for women to live with their in-laws.

"People marry cousins because it means you are coming into a family where everybody loves you," Professor Wright says, "and there are economic benefits of keeping land or other assets in the family".

The problem with cousin marriage is that it doubles the risk of passing on the recessive genes that lead to abnormalities. Cystic fibrosis is the one we all know about, where two healthy parents carry a recessive gene for the condition.

"If a cousin has a genetic variant that causes a disease and marries a cousin with the same genetic variant, then there is a one in four chance that the children will have that disease," Professor Wright explains.

On the face of it the risk is not great - a 4% risk of having a child with an abnormality if you marry a cousin, compared with 2% among the general population. But with repeated cousin marriage, the risks stack up in families with sometimes devastating results.