Literacy news
Warning over cuts to speech therapy
17 Jan 2012
Cuts to speech therapy services could force thousands of children with problems to wait for months for support, the Government’s communication champion, Jean Gross has warned ministers.
The Government’s proposed NHS reforms which allow GPs to commission services could also make it harder for children with speech problems to get help.
In an interview with The Independent, Ms Gross said parents needed more information about children’s speech development arguing that many families were still unaware how to help their youngsters.
She called for parents to be offered information via smart phones and social networking sites, saying parents were willing to make dramatic changes to their lifestyles once the dangers of their children’s excessive television viewing or dummy use were explained to them.
Ms Gross is calling for the Health and Social Care Bill, currently going through Parliament, to be amended to make it compulsory for children’s community health services to be commissioned jointly by the NHS and local authorities.
Read the full story at The Independent.
If you are interested in the development of young children’s speech, language and communication please join our free Talk To Your Baby Community of Research and Practice.
Most read
Related content
- London Literacy Champions evaluation report 2012 in Research reports
- Help! There’s a boy in my class! in Blogs by Jim Sells
- Talk To Your Baby and National Childbirth Trust Research Review in Research reports
- Literacy in unexpected places in Blogs by Jonathan Douglas
- New year musings on the new National Curriculum in Blogs by Abigail Moss
