Message from Chair of the Adult Communication Coalition England

5 February 2010

Take Action now to support Adult communication

This morning you may have seen on pages 24-25 of the Daily Mail the story of Martin Pistorius, his account of why communication is so important to his life and how he was denied a voice for 14 years. From our research we know that worryingly he is not alone and many adults in the UK have not been given the equipment they need to communicate and they support they need to use it.

The Government is taking action to support children and young people’s communication, but this commitment stops at 19 years of age.

Martin spoke at Adults Communication Coalition England parliamentary launch in the summer of 2009 and together we called on the Government to make a similar commitment to adults over 19 years of age.

So far 92 MPs have come out to support our call for a national audit of services for adult with speech, language and communication needs.
 
Now we need your help!

We are still waiting for the Government to reply to us and tell us what they will be doing to ensure that every adult has the equipment and support they need to communicate.

If you have had a story similar to that of Martin’s or know of someone who has please write to the Daily Mail and tell them about your experiences and the need for better services and support by sending an email to letter@dailymail.co.uk

Or comment on the piece online at: Daily Mail

Please see briefing paper by the Adult Communication Coalition England

Phyllis Campbell-Mcrae

Chair of the Adult Communication Coalition England