Feb 2006 • Issue 646

Looking to the future for children’s services

Feb o6 Master cover 19/1/06 7:37 am Page 1

Opportunities at the RCSLTDo you have finance, performance management, contracts, IT or health and safety skills or interests?

Would you like to make a contribution to the strategic direction of these areas in the running of the RCSLT?

The RCSLT is seeking applications for its Finance and Organisational Resources Board.

We need:

A Deputy Honorary TreasurerThe RCSLT is seeking nominations from members to stand for election as the Deputy Honorary Treasurer. This is for a four-year term

of office, starting in September 2006, with two years as the Deputy Honorary Treasurer on the Finance and Organisational

Resources Board and then two years as Honorary Treasurer and member of the RCSLT Council.

The Deputy Honorary Treasurer will:

❖ develop competency in the role of the Honorary Treasurer

❖ deputise if the Treasurer is absent

❖ as a member of the Finance and Organisational Resources Board, take on

special responsibilities for performance and contracts and deputise for the Honorary Treasurer

From September 2008 - September 2010 the Deputy Honorary Treasurer will become the Honorary Treasurer

and a full member of the RCSLT Council (trustee).

The Honorary Treasurer's role is to:

❖ chair the Finance and Organisational Resource Board meetings (four per year)

❖ report the Board's recommendations to Council

❖ liaise regularly with the Head of Performance and Contracts

❖ meet the external auditors independently at least once a year

❖ present the audited accounts at the annual general meeting

❖ attend four Council meetings a year

❖ as a trustee of RCSLT, contribute to its overall strategic direction

We are also seeking:

Two Finance and Organisational Resources Board membersThe Finance and Organisational Resources Board, chaired by the Honorary Treasurer, is a new board which has replaced

the Finance Committee.

The aims of the Board are to:

❖ implement the strategic objectives of the RCSLT within the functional areas of: finance, performance and

contracts, HR, IT and health and safety/buildings

❖ provide corporate leadership to implement the RCSLT strategy

❖ ensure the RCSLT complies with its governing documents, charity and company law and ensure probity

and effectively monitor the financial and business performance of the RCSLT as an organisation

There are vacancies for two members, one with specific responsibilities for ensuring that the RCSLT strategic objectives

for IT are taken forward and one for health and safety/buildings.

The term of office will be from commencement date to September 2007.

All these appointments are non-reimbursable, but travelling and accommodation expenses are met by the RCSLT.

For an application pack, please contact Bridget Ramsay: tel: 0207 378 3001 or email bridget.ramsay@rcslt.org

The deadline for receipt of nominations is 1 March 2006.

If you are interested in these appointments and would like more information, please call the current

Honorary Treasurer, Gill Stevenson. Tel: 01904725413 or email: gillian.stevenson@sypct.nhs.uk

IFC 25/1/06 8:59 am Page 1

Royal College of Speechand Language Therapists2 White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX

Telephone: 020 7378 1200email: bulletin@rcslt.orgwebsite: www.rcslt.org

President Sir George Cox

Senior LifeVice President Sir Sigmund Sternberg

Vice Presidents Simon Hughes MPBaroness JayBaroness Michie

Chair Sue Roulstone

Deputy Chair Rosalind Gray Rogers

Hon Treasurer Gill Stevenson

ProfessionalDirector Kamini Gadhok

Editor Steven Harulow

Deputy Editor Annie Faulkner

Publications Editor Sarah Gentleman

MarketingOfficer Sandra Burke

Publisher TG Scott(A division of McMillan-Scott plc)

Design Courts Design Ltd

Disclaimer:The bulletin is the monthly magazine of the Royal College of Speech and LanguageTherapists.The views expressed in the bulletinare not necessarily the views of the College.

Publication does not imply endorsement.Publication of advertisements in the bulletin isnot an endorsement of the advertiser or of theproducts and services advertised.

C O N T E N T S

COVER STORY:

Looking tothe future forchildren’sservicesSee page 8

February 2006 • Issue 646

Cover: Getty Images

4 Editorial and letters

6 News: SLTs join Amicus mass lobby; School Talk: coming to a town near you; Dementia dysphagia initiative wins equalities award; Council says no to separate speech and language therapy union and more

12 Anita Harron, Anne McMahon and

Éadaoin Ní Mhianáin discuss how they improved services to Irish-medium schools in Northern Ireland

14 Raman Kaur and Louise Highley recall how collaboration with SENCOs improved the communication needs of 200 schoolchildren

16 Sarah Illingworth describes a successful partial booking scheme

18 Professional issues: The CPD online diary: how it will help you

record your CPD

20 Any questions: Your chance to ask your colleagues and share your knowledge

21 Reviews: The latest books and products reviewed by SLTs

22 Opinion piece: Laura Seeley voices her opinion about the ‘dyslexia myth’

23 Specific Interest Groups: The latest meetings and events around the UK

Contents Feb 19/1/06 7:39 am Page 1

www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 5

editor ia l & let ters

L E T T E R S c o n t i n u e d

continued from previous page

In this context, I was impressed by Kamini

Gadhok’s active presence at the lobby and

by the respect in which she is clearly held.

This too can only be to the good of the

profession.

Jenny Sheridan

Battersea, London

Experience is also valuable After reading the letter regarding equal

banding for SLTAs (Bulletin, January 2006,

p4), I feel I must respond.

I have been an assistant for the past

decade and prior to this worked in adult

learning disability services. The experience I

have in this specialised area of work is vast,

and although I am very aware I am not a

qualified SLT, I feel that through my

experience I have many skills and

knowledge, which are far broader than that

of a newly-qualified therapist.

We do have similar levels of

responsibility in different areas and there

are many areas in which we can, and do,

work competently autonomously.

It is important that no one’s skills are

undervalued or underestimated, as

everyone works hard. There has been an

overlap in technicians’ and newly qualified

therapists’ pay for many years.

Agenda for Change is controversial, but

let it not divide the profession. We all have

different skills of equal value that

should be rewarded fairly. A professional

qualification is valuable, but so is

experience.

Rachel Roberts Creber

Communication Development Officer,

Learning Disability Directorate, Bro

Morgannwg NHS Trust

Who guards the guardians?I forget the precise quotation in Latin, but I

believe the translation is roughly, “who

guards the guardians?”

Having read of the antics of the Health

Professions Council’s former Director of

Finance in January’s Bulletin (p6) and

then of the 972 registration renewal

problems on another page (p8), I

wonder if there are plans to set up a body

to protect the professionals from the body

set up to protect the public from the

professionals (as Sir Humphrey from Yes,

Minister might have said)?

Presumably, any ideas I might have about

a link at all (allegedly) between ‘mailing’

and ‘other processing difficulties’ and

the ‘missing’ £133,326, could be put down

to an unfortunate tendency to read

Private Eye.

Clive Stagg

SLT

With the death on 24 October of Bunty Slater-Brown, Scotland lost

one of its best-known and loved therapists.

The elder daughter of a Fife farming family, Bunty was a bright

girl who, having done well at school and finding her first job in a

bank lacked challenge, decided to take a chance with the emerging

profession of speech therapy.

She trained in Edinburgh and opted to take the exams of both

the then existing societies, the Association of Teachers of Speech

and Drama and the British Society of Speech Therapists, qualifying

in 1944. (She recalled how one examiner, Joan Van Thal, made the

journey to Edinburgh as it was not considered safe for a young

woman to travel unaccompanied to London in wartime.)

Her first post was with the Midlothian Education Authority and

she later transferred to a similar role in Edinburgh, employed by

the city council where she spent the greater part of her working

life. Her abilities were always apparent and she progressed steadily

upwards through the hierarchy eventually becoming head of

service.

Following the reorganisation of speech therapy services in the

1970s, she moved to Dundee and a post with the Tayside Health

Board, which she held until her retirement.

She will be remembered with affection and gratitude, not only by

the countless young patients whose lives she enriched, but equally

by the generations of Edinburgh students who were privileged to

develop their clinical skills under her inspiring tuition and

sympathetic guidance.

After the break-up of her marriage in the mid-1960s, for many

years Bunty shared a home in Edinburgh with her widowed

mother, to whom she was devoted. Her only sibling, her much

loved younger sister Mary (also an SLT) sadly died in 2003.

Her retirement was, nevertheless, a happy one and afforded her

the opportunity to develop her many talents. She was an artist of

considerable merit and her other interests included poetry, drama

and music. Always an extrovert, she kept in touch with her large

circle of friends and former colleagues and was an active member

of our retirement network.

The adjective that most readily springs to mind when thinking of

Bunty is ‘colourful’, and that is how she will be remembered by

those of us who knew and loved her – the flaming red hair, the

dashing dress sense, the chunky jewellery, the vivid autumnal

shades that suited her so well and the rich, down-to-earth tones of

her voice. She will be greatly missed.

Mollie Donald

OBITUARY Margaret (Bunty) Slater-Brown 1923-2005

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Speech and language therapists joined over

200 Amicus collegues at the Houses of

Parliament on 10 January to voice their

concerns over the potential break up of the

NHS, proposed by the government’s

Commissioning a Patient-led NHS.

Amicus members assembled on a cold,

gloomy morning to lobby their MPs and tell

them personally how the government’s

proposals will affect their services, and inform

them about what is happening to their

primary care clients as a result of current

spending cuts, subsequent vacancy freezes

and redundancies.

Commissioning a Patient-led NHS,

published by the Department of Health on 27

July 2005, aims to give GPs a greater role in

designing and commissioning services for

their patients. The proposed changes include:

� For PCTs to withdraw from their provider

function and be solely responsible for

managing the commissioning of services

� To reduce the number of strategic health

authorities and line up those remaining to

match the geography of government regional

offices

� To reduce the number of PCTs from 302 to

100 or fewer by merger

The union says the proposals could mean that

SLTs, health visitors, community nurses and

other health professionals will no longer be

employed by the NHS and could instead be

employed by other organisations, including

private businesses, GPs and charities. The

results will be “the damaging fragmentation

of community services for patients”.

Amicus Head of Health, Gail Cartmail said,

“We are campaigning against plans in

Commissioning a Patient-led NHS, which we

know will fragment the delivery of services

currently provided by PCTs to the serious

detriment of clients/patients and staff.”

“At the same time, Amicus is leading local

and national campaigns against service and

staff cuts both in community and hospital

based services.”

RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok addressed

Amicus members at the event and outlined

the RCSLT’s position in relation to

Commissioning a Patient-led NHS.

“Speech and language therapists feel there

SLTs join Amicus mass lobby of ParliamentRCSLT expresses its concerns over Commissioning a patient-led NHS.Steven Harulow reports

The RCSLT’s position on Commissioning a Patient-led NHS

1 SLTs feel there is a need for healthcare reform and so, in principle, support changes that will result in improvements to patient care.

2 However, the RCSLT believes that fragmenting the provision of services will lead to a deterioration in those services for patients.In the new divisive world of commissioning and provision, who will be the holder of the care package who will ensure seamless care pathways for patients?

3 The RCSLT wants to know how government will ensure commissioners do the best job possible?Commissioning is highly complex, and commissioners need to be highly skilled and experienced. Feedback from our members is that some commissioners need further guidance and training to do this difficult job.

4 The RCSLT believes that service quality will suffer because practitioners are not being effectively engaged to ensure future healthcare provision is of high quality.There is a concern that SLTs, other professions and clinical leaders are not being empowered to take innovation forward. Decisions about the future of provider services are being decided with limited consultation at a local level and not necessarily by managers who know enough about the needs of the local population, the complexities of the range of community services, or what will be best to ensure continuity of care.

Waltham Forest SLT Ruth Robinson (second front fromright) joins the Amicus lobby of Parliament

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www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 77

news

is a need for healthcare reform and so in

principle support changes that will result in

improvements to patient care,” Ms Gadhok

said.

“However, the RCSLT believes that

fragmenting the provision of services will

lead to a deterioration in those services for

patients. In the new divisive world of

commissioning and provision who will be the

holder of the care package who will ensure

seamless care pathways for patients?”

Ms Gadhok added that the RCSLT wants to

know how the government will ensure

commissioners do the best job possible?

“Commissioning is highly complex, and

commissioners need to be highly skilled and

experienced. Feedback from our members is

that some commissioners need further

guidance and training to do this difficult job,”

Ms Gadhok said.

“The RCSLT also believes that service

quality will suffer because practitioners are

not being effectively engaged to ensure future

healthcare provision is of high quality.

“There is concern that SLTs, other

professions and clinical leaders are not being

empowered to take innovation forward.

Decisions about the future of provider

services are being decided with limited

consultation at a local level and not

necessarily by managers who know about the

needs of the local population, the

complexities of the range of community

services, or what will be best to ensure

continuity of care.”

Effects of cuts on patient careRCSLT Workforce Planning Project Officer

Stef Ticehurst has gathered together evidence

showing the real effects NHS spending cuts

are having on client care:

� Lisa is a woman who had a stroke

resulting in dysphagia. She only required

physiotherapy input for mild waking

difficulties for one to two weeks, but, due to

the lack of a community speech and language

reablement service, had to stay in hospital for

a further five weeks. Another stroke patient

who required multidisciplinary input could

have used her rehabilitation bed.

� Because of a 0.4 whole time equivalent

(WTE) cut for an autistic spectrum disorder

post and a freeze on maternity leave cover, 46

families with children with severe autism

difficulties received letters in January saying

there would be no input into speech and

language therapy advice or input into their

education or care.

� As a result of a 0.5 WTE SLT post cut in a

school for children with specific language

impairment, 20 children at Key Stage 1 have

not received any speech and language therapy

advice/therapy into their communication

problems for over a year. This means they will

not be helped to increase their language skills

affecting their educational and social

development.

If you have more evidence of the effects of

cuts on client care, email: bulletin@rcslt.org

Meanwhile, a Commons Health Select

Committee has described Commissioning a

Patient-led NHS’ plans to save £250 million as

“clumsy and cavalier” and unlikely to improve

healthcare.

“The cycle of perpetual change is ill-judged

and not conducive to the successful provision

and improvement of health services,” the

committee’s report concludes. “Major

restructuring should only be undertaken if

there is an overwhelming argument in its

favour; in this case there is not.”

The report also criticises the 11-week

consultation period behind the proposals,

saying that, because the process started as

many people went on their summer holiday,

“patients, local people, NHS staff, other NHS

organisations, MPs, councillors and other key

stakeholders have been unable to contribute

meaningfully to the process.”

The report concludes, “The department

must more carefully consider the impact of its

proposals on its staff, which are its most

valuable asset. Major changes to the NHS

have large costs and should not be embarked

upon lightly.”

Do you have more evidence of the effects of cuts on

client care? email: bulletin@rcslt.org

RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok (centre left) and RCSLT Head of Policy andPartnership Nick Smith (centre right) with Amicus lobbyists

Kamini Gadhok (centre) brings home the RCSLT’sconcerns over Commissioning a patient-led NHS

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Council says no toseparate speech andlanguage therapy union

The RCSLT has produced a new position paper to enable it to respond

to requests for the profession’s position regarding the role of SLTs

within the changing context and development of children’s services.

Supporting children with speech, language and communication needs

within integrated children’s services sets out a framework that has been

tested by author Marie Gascoigne with UK RCSLT members and

others from key groups, such as practitioners in independent practice,

the voluntary sector and higher education institutions.

Looking to the futurefor children’s services

Marie says, “We want people to

have an understanding that children’s

services in three to five year’s time will

be radically different to the services we

now know, and to have a position

paper that will allow the profession to

respond proactively rather than

reactively to the challenge that this creates.

"We need to think beyond the structures, systems and models we know

now and be creative. We also need to improve our sharing of practice

across the profession – the research for the paper has highlighted the

duplication of effort in services across the UK in developing working

models."

Supporting children includes a brief summary of theory underpinning

intervention for communication disability and analyses a number of key

policy initiatives over the past few years.

It sets out 15 recommendations that support four key areas: delivering

effective support; planning for maximum impact; systems for strategy and

developing the workforce.

The aim of the paper is to capture and disseminate key principles that

the RCSLT believes should underpin service commissioning and provision.

“In this way it will provide a framework that UK service planners and

managers can use to develop services that will best meet the needs of

children with speech, language and communication needs,” Marie adds.

The 28-page publication is included with this month’s Bulletin. It is also

available online at www.rcslt.org/resources or as a hard copy by contacting

the RCSLT switchboard, tel: 0207 378 1200.

New head of Policy for RCSLTThe RCSLT welcomes Nick Smith as its new Head of Policy and

Partnerships team.

Nick’s appointment is the third of four new heads of

department at the RCSLT as part of its major organisational

review. He joins Head of Performance and Contracts Brian

Gopsill and Head of Professional Development Sharon Woolf as

part of the new senior management team.

Nick (pictured) has a great deal of

experience in political influencing

and campaigning. Before joining the

RCSLT, he worked for the Labour

Party in Europe where he developed

excellent links with members of the

European and UK parliaments and

the British Government.

Nick has also been a campaigns

manager at the NSPCC and an

elected councillor responsible for

education in Camden, London. He is

a single dad, with two girls still in

primary school.

In his first two weeks with the RCSLT, Nick hit the ground

running. Firstly, he managed the RCSLT’s input into the

successful Amicus lobby at the House of Commons (see page 6)

and in week two visited Northern Ireland to work with RCSLT

CEO Kamini Gadhok, Workforce Planning Project Officer

Stephanie Ticehurst and Northern Ireland Policy Officer Alison

McCullough, to help develop a forthcoming conference on

communication needs.

‘Implementing Council’s strategic objectives and working

closely with RCSLT members on the new Policy and Partnerships

Board will be the first priority for the policy team in London and

across the UK,” Nick says.

“Together, we will develop policy to reflect the interests of

patients, RCSLT members and the organisation. Working in

partnership we will lobby and campaign to influence government

and others based on the views of the profession and the RCSLT

membership”.

At the October 2005 RCSLT Council meeting, RCSLT CEO Kamini

Gadhok reported that she had discussed the matter of a combined

professional body and trades union function with the CEO of the

Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (an organisation which successfully

combines both roles).

His advice was that the speech and language therapy profession in itself

is too small to present strong union representation, and that it would be

unlikely to be recognised as a negotiating body by government.

He also felt that there were insufficient economies of scale to make

trades union activities viable at an annual subscription rate members

would be able to afford.

The Council received the report and noted similar advice had been

received from Wales and agreed that no further work would be done on

the matter.

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SLT Ella Parker and dietician Gemma Bourke won a

£1,000 North London Knowledge and Skills

Framework Equalities Award of Excellence last

December for their joint initiative to improve the

lives of older hospital inpatients with dementia.

The pair, from the Whittington Hospital NHS

Trust, sought to challenge the inequalities that

many older individuals meet, especially those with

dementia whose difficulties are often

misunderstood and wrongly labelled.

They developed a weekly lunchtime interaction

and feeding group on the hospital’s care of older

people wards for individuals with swallowing or

feeding difficulties who are not meeting their

nutritional needs.

The initiative aims to meet each individual’s

diverse needs to help them to access an equal

service. As a result of the intervention patients are

better able to meet their nutritional needs in the

group and have opportunities for improved social

interaction.

There have been a number of significant

outcomes of the lunchtime group, including

increased oral intake for patients compared to when

they eat alone; increased mood post-group;

improved holistic nutrition and swallowing

assessment; and identification of at-risk patients.

Commenting on their award, Ella and Gemma

said, “We are both delighted to have won this award

and gain recognition for our work. We plan to

extend the initiative so it will be rolled out to all

wards across the hospital and train more nursing

staff in this interactive feeding approach.”

Judith Jackson, speech and language therapy

service manager at the Whittington, said, “This

excellent venture has extended holistic patient care

and raised the awareness of swallowing and

nutrition issues throughout the hospital.”

Ella and Gemma intend to use the prize money

to continue to develop their initiative.

N E W S I N B R I E F

Complex needs onlineInterconnections, the independent

service focusing on children with

complex needs and their families, has

developed a free electronic bulletin

going to over 3,500 people in the UK and

Ireland, and overseas.The bulletin

includes news from other networks;

news of government initiatives;

information about forthcoming

conferences, meetings and events;

innovative work; summaries of research

findings; questions; and job vacancies.

Visit: www.icwhatsnew.com/bulletin

/bulletin.htm

The ICN needs youAre you undertaking any total/inclusive

communication projects in your local

area? Would you like to hear about the

total communication work other SLTs are

doing around Scotland? The RCSLT

Inclusive Communication Network is a

network of around 40 SLTs in Scotland, all

with an interest in total or inclusive

communication, that aims to facilitate

networking and share learning. If you are

interested in joining the network, email:

kim.hartley@rcslt.org.Visit:

www.rcslt.org/news/icn

RCSLT membership growsFigures released in January show that

there are now 12,908 RCSLT members.

This includes 9,983 SLTs (99% of the SLTs

registered with the Health Professions

Council), 1,483 students and 314

associate members (speech and

language therapy support workers).

Paperless direct debit arrivesYou no longer have to complete a

mandate if you wish to pay your RCSLT

subscription by direct debit (DD). Just

contact RCSLT Membership Manager

Sharon Silvera, tel: 0207 378 3011 or

email: sharon.silvera@rcslt.org, if you

want to set up a DD, change your details

or cancel your DD. During the next

subscription year there will be a

surcharge for members wishing to pay by

cheque or credit card. If you are not

currently paying by DD please consider

this.

Dementia dysphagia initiative winsequalities award

Ella Parker (left) and Gemma Bourke with their award

SLTs in the mediaIt has been a busy few months for speech and

language therapy in the nation’s media.

RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok featured in a full-

page article in the London Evening Standard in

November on the problems caused by shortages of

SLTs.

The Herald newspaper in Edinburgh published a

letter from RCSLT Scotland Policy Officer Kim

Hartley on 23 November. The letter was in response

to earlier correspondence and recommended that

service providers contact their local speech and

language therapy service about establishing

“communication accessible” services.

Also in Scotland, Marion Rutherford spoke to

The Scotsman on Sunday on 11 December in

relation to a Portsmouth University study on the

use of gestures to clarify the meaning of words for

young children.

Michael Palin Centre manager Frances Cook

spoke about stammering and took concerned

parent’s calls as part of BBC Radio 4s Check Up

programme on 8 December.

Manchester SLT Nadine Arditti got up early to

appear on BBC Radio 5 Live’s breakfast programme

on 9 December. This was in response to a British

Medical Journal research report on dummies and a

reduction in sudden infant death syndrome. Nadine

spoke about the potential language development

problems indiscriminate dummy use can cause.

Later in the day, West London SLT Gila Falkus

featured on the BBC One O’clock News speaking on

the same subject. And on 10 December

Hammersmith SLT Annie Aloysius (nee Bagnall)

was a guest on Vanessa Feltz’s radio show on BBC

London.

If you’ve been in, or see speech and language

therapy in, the media spotlight, write and let

Bulletin know. Email: bulletin@rcslt.org or send the

evidence to Bulletin, 2 White Hart Yard, London

SE1 1NX.

Dav

id R

otch

elle

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N E W S I N B R I E F

Psychodrama and stammering Specialist SLT and psychodrama

psychotherapist Gail Smith will lead a

one-day workshop in Oxford on 11 March

to explore the clinical use of

psychodrama within adolescent and

adult stammering therapy. Participants

will explore how the psychological and

social impact of stammering can be

addressed using this method and the day

will provide an opportunity for

participants to explore work related or

personal issues around stammering. For

more information tel: 0775 321 8996 or

email: gailphillipasmith@hotmail.com

Opera evening for epilepsyThe National Centre for Young People

with Epilepsy (NCYPE) is inviting music

and opera lovers to join an evening of

opera and song at the Ashdown Park

Hotel on 18 February. Established artists

from Covent Garden, the English National

Opera and Glyndebourne will perform

the music for the evening.The evening

will include a champagne reception and

a four-course meal.The cost is £80 a

head. Contact Emma Johnston tel: 01342

831 245 or visit: www.ncype.org.uk

Guidelines on pandemic fluDepartment of Health guidance on major

infectious diseases can help allied health

professionals advise their patients on

potential pandemic flu epidemics, such

as ‘bird’ flu. Explaining Pandemic Flu gives

strategic guidance to assist local and

national planning in England, including

arrangements to support the UK

Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan.

Visit: www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance

/EmergencyPlanning/fs/en

Call for better palliative careMore needs to be done to improve care

to patients who are dying, according to

an NHS Confederation report.The report

says 56% of people would prefer to die

at home, but only 20% do so, and up to

56% of people die in hospital although it

is an unsuitable environment for most

dying patients.The report calls for

improved choices for those wishing to

die in hospices or their own homes.Visit:

www.nhsconfed.org/docs/ooh_end_of_

life_care.pdf

Win a pack of ColorCards Three lucky Bulletin readers can

win a pack of Speechmark’s

ColorCards sequencing range in

this month’s prize draw.

Developed by language

professionals and teachers, these

language flashcards are designed

to support teaching and

therapeutic input in the clinic,

school and home.

Bulletin has two different

categories of ColorCards

sequencing sets to give away, one

set for adults and two

aimed at children.

To win your free

ColorCards, state

whether your

preference is for adult

or children’s cards and

send your name, RCSLT

membership number and

address to Sandra Burke, 2 White

Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX.

Entries close 14 February

2006. Only one entry per person.

Conference puts UK dysphagiaresearch on world mapOver 100 clinicians and researchers from a wide range of professional disciplines attended theinaugural meeting of the UK swallowing research group (UKSRG) in London on 2 December

The conference concentrated on four main themes:

the central control of swallowing and respiration;

clinical assessment; instrumental investigation; and

new and emerging treatments.

Dr Shaheen Hamdy, University of Manchester

lecturer and consultant gastroenterologist at the

Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust, presented his

work on the cortical control of swallowing. He

succinctly outlined the research to date, relating it to

the rehabilitation of patients with dysphagia

through consideration of cortical plasticity.

Consultant physician Michael Polkey, from

London’s Royal Brompton Hospital, described an

improved technique for the assessment of the

supraspinal pathways to the diaphragm - although

dysphagia was only mentioned in passing. Dr Lin

Perry, senior research fellow, St Bartholomew’s

Hospital, also gave a comprehensive overview of the

diagnostic reliability of dysphagia screening.

Cervical auscultation has been much debated in the

literature, and Dr Michael Drinnan, principal medical

physicist at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon

Tyne, outlined clearly what is known about this

procedure, as well as presenting preliminary data on

the possible origin of the auscultation sounds.

Dysphagia nurse specialist Dr Steve Davies,

Gateshead Health NHS Trust, and Liz Boaden, head of

adult speech and language therapy services, Chorley

and South Ribble PCT, presented the dysphagia

competence framework, although this was slightly out

of place in the context of a research conference.

Keynote speaker Professor Angus Walls,

restorative dentistry, University of Newcastle upon

Tyne, discussed Living with your teeth. He reviewed

current knowledge of the relationships between oral

function and swallowing, and discussed and

reflected on optimal oral hygiene.

Annette Kelly, senior SLT at the National Hospital

for ENT and Dr Maxine Power, senior research

fellow at Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust,

presented their research. The former concentrated

on using fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of

swallowing and video fluoroscopic swallow study to

score pharyngeal residue; the latter on reviewing the

literature on sensory stimulation as a treatment for

dysphagia.

Although time-limited, these important lectures

showed that SLTs are contributing significantly to

our understanding of the management of patients

with dysphagia.

The exciting development of the UKSRG

represents a significant step forward in stamping UK

dysphagia research onto the world map. The next

conference will be in 2007. For more information

visit: www.uksrg.org.uk

Sue McGowan

Clinical specialist SLT, National Hospital for

Neurology and Neurosurgery

email: Susan.mcgowan@uclh.nhs.uk

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www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 1111

news

School Talk: coming to a town near you

School Talk training timetable 2006

Date Region Venue Local Contact

7 February London (Southwark) The Newcomen Centre, Guy’s Hospital, St Thomas Street, Janet ChambersLondon SE1 9RT 0207 771 3431

13 February North West (Salford) Broadwalk Training Centre, 51 Belvedere Road, Fiona KornSalford M6 5EJ 0161 607 1683

22 March South West (Plymouth) TBC

30 March South East (Nr Woking) Meath School, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Janet DunnSurrey KT16 0LF 01932 872 302

2 May South East (Nr Woking) Meath School, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Janet DunnSurrey KT16 0LF 01932 872 302

19 May North East (Newcastle) Joseph Cowen Room, Claude Gibb Halls of Residence, Janet DunnNorthumbria University, University Precinct, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8SU 01932 872 302

Early June London (Islington) TBC

16 June Yorkshire (Halifax) TBC Elizabeth Cameron01422 305 561

30 June South East (Meath) Meath School, Brox Road,Ottershaw, Janet DunnSurrey KT16 0LF 01932 872 302

The Communications Forum, with funding from

the Health Foundation, has produced a DVD and

training package called School Talk.

The day-long training – disseminated by

children’s communication charity ICAN – aims to

facilitate inclusion of children with a

communication disability at Key Stage 2. It is a tool

to facilitate large-scale training of mainstream staff,

including teachers and teaching assistants, and SLTs

across whole areas.

It provides practical tips on how to change the

school environment and ensure children with a

communication disability can benefit fully from

their education.

The session costs only £25, and includes materials

and a light lunch.

The box below outlines the dates and venues for

2006. For more information, or to book your place,

contact ICAN: email: training@ican.org.uk or tel:

0845 225 4073.

Nuffield grant will support SLT studyTwo London-based SLTs and an SEN advisory officer have won a

£273,000, three-year, Nuffield education grant to conduct an

intervention study with secondary school children with specific

language impairment (SLI).

Dr Victoria Joffe, senior lecturer at City University’s Department of

Language and Communication Science, where the project will be

managed, is aided by Nita Madhani, SLT manager at Redbridge PCT,

and Melanie Foster, SEN advisory officer, Redbridge Children’s

Services Authority.

“It is very exciting,” said Dr Joffe, “the grant will enable a

randomised control study on speech and language therapy to take

place, and will provide speech and language therapy input into a

group – secondary school-aged children – that has been largely

ignored.”

The study aims to explore the prevalence, nature and types of SLI

and provide a description of language impairment in Year 7 secondary

school children.

The project, due to start in September in secondary schools in an

outer London borough, will investigate the effectiveness of two speech

and language therapy interventions – narrative/storytelling and

vocabulary enrichment – in improving language and

communication systems.

The study will investigate the effectiveness of each therapy and their

combination, and will examine which specific aspects of language are

improved. It will also identify specific areas of language and

communication, through the use of predictive outcome measures that

improve differentially as a result of the two interventions and their

combined effect.

According to Dr Joffe, teaching assistants will deliver the therapy

supervised by SLTs. Intensive training and support will be provided to

teachers and teaching assistants from participating schools.

“This type of service delivery is a realistic and recommended means

of intervention and sets the scene for significant changes in

professional practice and service delivery in the borough and allows

for capacity building in speech and language therapy and education,”

Dr Joffe added.

“Hopefully, this will be a service delivery model that a) we can test,

and b) be sustained by the NHS and local education authorities after

the project’s completion.”

For more details, contact Dr Victoria Joffe. Tel: 020 7040 4629,

email: v.joffe@city.ac.uk

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feature IRISH MEDIUM EDUCATION

Irish-medium schools:partnership in practice

In recent years speech and language therapy

services in Northern Ireland (NI) have

addressed the increasing demand from

mainstream schools to support children with

speech, language and communication

difficulties in accessing the curriculum.

In 1999, the Western Health and Social

Services Board and the Western Education

and Library Board (WELB) piloted a new

initiative to meet this need. Due to the

success of the project, which combines a

model of training and in-class support for

education staff, the Department of Education

for Northern Ireland funded similar projects

in the remaining four education and library

boards.

Speech and language therapists are

seconded from health trusts to education and

library board facilities to:

� provide training and support for year one

teachers to increase their awareness of

language difficulties and their impact in

the classroom

� increase the awareness of classroom

assistants in supporting the teacher to

address children's language difficulties

� increase parents' awareness of the role

they can play in helping their children's

communication skills

� share knowledge of working practices

Primary schools are selected on the basis of

social need. The project team draws up a

service level agreement with each school

outlining the importance of collaboration

and the structure of the project (figure one).

This ensures the project's ethos is embedded

into daily classroom practice.

In-class supportEach school receives a fortnightly visit from

the advisory SLT, who models group activities

in the classroom. Demonstration provides a

model of how to modify language activities

for children with particular speech, language

or communication difficulties. The modelled

activities develop attention and listening

skills, comprehension, narrative skills,

vocabulary and phonological awareness.

The SLT ensures teachers can easily use the

language activities to develop speech and

language skills in any area of the curriculum.

TrainingTeachers and classroom assistants attend

training days and cluster groups that focus on

normal speech and language development;

identification of speech and language

difficulties; links between language and

literacy; the impact of speech and language

difficulties on ability to access the curriculum

and strategies; activities to support

development of communication skills and

specific areas of interest to participants, eg

fluency, word finding, autistic spectrum

disorder and selective mutism.

Strategies/resourcesSchools receive language resources to support

the implementation of the project.

EvaluationThe advisory SLTs evaluate the effectiveness

of the projects in terms of outcomes for:

Children - assessment of vocabulary,

narrative skills and phonological awareness

show more children falling within normal

limits post-project.

Teachers - questionnaires, scenarios and

action plans have provided feedback and

evidence of teachers' increased skills,

knowledge and confidence.

In September 2003, the projects extended

into Irish-medium schools in the South

Eastern Education and Library Boards

(SEELB) and WELB.

It was the first time that SLTs worked

directly with Irish-medium schools, a fast-

growing sector of the Northern Ireland

education system. In these 32 schools and

units, the curriculum is taught solely through

Irish. Children are immersed in Irish at

school, yet 98% of their parents are non-Irish

speakers (Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta, the

Council for Irish-medium Education).

We were faced with two immediate

challenges:

� we are not fluent Irish speakers yet

needed to provide in-class support in

Irish

� we had no resources in Irish particularly

for phonological awareness, eg words that

rhyme in English do not rhyme in Irish

However, we were committed to providing

these schools with the same quality service

afforded to the other schools involved.

In order to do this we worked together

with Éadaoin Ní Mhianáin, the advisory

teacher for literacy in Irish-medium schools.

Our partnership proved to be essential both

on school visits and in developing resources.

Éadaoin jointly planned activities and

accompanied us on school visits. We were,

therefore, able to deliver language activities

totally in Irish and to collaborate with staff in

their chosen language. She advised on

SLTs Anita Harron, Anne McMahon and advisory teacher Éadaoin Ní Mhianáindiscuss how they improved speech and language therapy services to Irish-mediumschools in Northern Ireland

Figure one: Key elements of the projects

Strategies/resources

Evaluation Training

In-classSupport

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www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 1133

curricular areas and the integration of

language and literacy activities.

Teachers' comments on the post-

programme questionnaires were extremely

positive and they expressed gratitude that

they were being provided with materials in

Irish: “I was very pleased that a lot of

resources were made available to me in the

Irish language. It is brilliant to now be getting

as much support for Irish-medium as for

others,” was one comment we received.

The teachers also explained that the

project's greatest strength is its practical

nature and that the in-class support had

inspired them to develop classroom practice

and school policies: “We have realised that we

want to add speech and language

development into our monthly plans, so we

are revising current plans and even language

policy.”

“I was impressed with the project and feel

that its benefits were, for once, aimed in a

practical way at the classroom.”

“This has been an invaluable speech

project from the point of view of second

language/immersion teaching. The children

are exposed to a more definite structured

language activity on a daily basis, which

undoubtedly helped their language

acquisition.”

As for the other project schools, we

evaluated outcomes for children on:

� receptive vocabulary - using the British

Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS)

� narrative - the bus story

� phonological awareness - Preschool and

Primary Inventory of Phonological

Awareness (PIPA)

We also wanted to find out if children in the

Irish-medium schools made comparable

progress to their peers in English-medium

schools. However, the assessments could only

be administered in English due to their

standardisation. This put the children in the

Irish-medium schools at a disadvantage as

their progress in Irish was not measured.

However, the results were encouraging (see

table one).

We discussed the lack of available Irish-

medium resources at regular planning

meetings with Éadaoin and the teachers, and

had to devise our own materials for our

school visits.

We were able to translate some of our own

materials into Irish but this was limited and

we could not do this for phonological

featureIRISH MEDIUM EDUCATION

awareness. However, we soon had a bank of

resources that we had piloted in the Irish-

medium schools.

We realised that other schools throughout

NI and the Republic of Ireland would benefit

from them. The question was: how could we

produce these in a more professional way and

distribute them more widely?

We had always found Black Sheep Press

materials very child-friendly and easy to use

and knew they had produced materials in

Welsh.

We contacted Alan Henson who was

interested in taking this further. We collated

all our Irish resources and developed them

into three sections – syllable segmentation,

rhyme and initial sounds.

We have a great sense of achievement now

that they are published and available for SLTs

and teachers throughout Ireland to buy,

enabling professionals to deliver an equitable

service to those learning in Irish.

The resource pack was formally launched

on 15 June 2005. Speaking at the launch, Séan

MacCorraidh, adviser on Irish-medium

education for Northern Ireland, declared the

resources are a strong foundation for the

implementation of a phonics methodology to

reading and spelling being developed in the

boards in partnership with Comhairle na

Gaelscolaíochta for use in Irish-medium

education both at primary and post-primary

levels.

RCSLT Northern Ireland Policy Officer

Alison McCullough also emphasised the

Anita Harron – advisory SLT, Foyle Health andSocial Services Trustemail: anita_harron@welbni.orgAnne McMahon – advisory SLT, Down LisburnHealth and Social Services Trustemail: anne.mcmahon@seelb.org.ukÉadaoin Ní Mhianáin – advisory teacher forliteracy in Irish-medium schools

References:Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (Council for Irish-mediumEducation).Visit: www.comhairle.org Deighilt Siollaí (IR 1); Rím (IR 2); Tús fhuaimeanna (IR 3). BlackSheep Press, August 2005.Visit: www.blacksheep-epress.com

benefits of partnership between SLTs and

education and the need for continued

collaboration.

Receptive vocabulary• Both sets of children made significant gains• Despite limited experience of English

vocabulary only 6% of children in Irish-medium schools were below average post-project compared to 23% on initial assessment

Narrative• Over a nine-month period the Irish-medium

children made gains of, on average, 15 months on information and sentence length

Phonological awareness• Both sets of children made significant

gains in the areas of syllable segmentation,rhyme awareness and phoneme isolation

• On syllable segmentation the Irish-medium children made greater improvement than their peers, possibly because of more exposure to novel words

Table one: Key findings/recommendations

Celebrating the launch of the Irish resource pack. Front row (l-r): Éadaoin Ní Mhianáin; AlisonMcCullough; Anita Harron; Anne McMahon. Back row (l-r): Sue Harpur (assistant advisory officer,WELB); Monica McNicholl (assistant programme manager, Foyle Trust); Séan MacCorraidh(adviser on Irish-medium education)

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feature COLLABORATION

Collaborative practice:successful intervention

We work in a busy inner city area of

Birmingham. In April 2003, we were

struggling to provide an effective and

efficient service to clients within a culturally

diverse and multilingual community.

We had only two sessions a week to

manage a caseload of 10 local mainstream

schools, so we held a problem-solving

meeting with 10 special educational needs

coordinators (SENCOs), one from each

school.

We presented them with the following

problem: how could we best meet the

communication needs of 200 school-aged

children using two sessions a week of the

SLTs’ time?

Together we examined solutions. Our

purpose in doing this collaboratively was to

promote an interagency model of working

with schools that would ultimately encourage

joint ownership of communication goals.

The SEN Code of Practice (2001) supports

this: “It is good practice for education

professionals…to support and assist the work

of SLTs in educational settings. Collaborative

practice is essential for successful

intervention with children and young people

with speech and language difficulties.”

We first invited the SENCOs to state the

problems they had experienced with our

service. We identified the following issues:

� School staff were not always given

enough reassurance when they were

doing a good job

� SLTs were perceived as not wanting to

share their skills in working with

children with speech sound difficulties

� Activities given to children were

sometimes perceived as boring

� SENCOs were unhappy about SLTs

discharging children who were having

difficulties accessing the curriculum

� Speech and language therapy input

often did not meet national curriculum

standards for speaking and listening

After discussion, we agreed the following

mission statement: “Effective, efficient,

consistent and speedy access to intervention

for children with defined communication

needs in partnership with colleagues within

health and external to health.”

In order to achieve this, we decided to use

the sessions of speech and language therapy

time initially to train staff in the following

areas: comprehension, speech sounds, fluency

and expressive language.

During the next three terms we delivered

training to 10 SENCOs and 10 assistants (two

members of staff from each school). The

term ‘assistant’ has been used to represent a

range of roles in schools, such as learning

support assistant, integration assistant and

teaching assistant.

Each training package lasted three hours

and was hosted by one of the participating

schools. We followed a format that aimed to

encompass different adult learning styles

(adapted from Hanen, 1974).

At the end of each session, staff went away

with resources and practical ideas to use in

their schools – for example, a set of symbols

to support comprehension of the gingerbread

man story. Table one outlines our speech

sounds training package.

By September 2003, the training period

was over and we began to visit schools to

discuss the children on our caseload. We gave

all schools a timetable of our schedule before

visits so they could see how our time was

allocated.

Following on from the training, we sent

SENCOs a form to record each child’s main

communication need

(comprehension/expressive language/speech

difficulty or stammer). We also asked them to

state a preferred model of intervention.

The choices offered were: individual

programmes, group work and collaborative

working in the classroom with teaching staff.

Project evaluationIn September 2004, we evaluated whether

there had been any changes in attitude and

working practices. We met each SENCO and

Raman Kaur and Louise Highley discuss how collaboration with SENCOs helpedimprove the communication needs of 200 schoolchildren

Staff are clear about how scarce speech and language therapy resources are

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www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 1155

discussed individual cases. The following

differences were evident:

� Six of the 10 participating SENCOs had

achieved a better understanding of the

children’s communication skills and needs.

For example, one SENCO had previously

voiced concerns about a child’s /s/ blend

reduction. After training, she recognised that

his primary communication difficulty was

that of comprehension, and that he was

operating at 1 Information Carrying Word

level (Masidlover and Knowles, 1982).

� Six of the 10 SENCOs were now

highlighting children with comprehension

difficulties. Instead of wanting the SLT to

work on individual programmes with the

children, SENCOs were requesting other

intervention methods. This resulted in SLTs

working with teaching staff to enable them to

reduce language levels and complex topic

vocabulary (eg ‘transparent’ and ‘opaque’

became ‘dull’ and ‘clear’).

� New referrals from schools were becoming

more accurate, and supporting information

more relevant. This confirmed that SENCOs

had internalised knowledge from their

training. We reinforced this by discussing

new referrals with SENCOs with reference to

the information shared in the training

sessions.

� We found that teaching staff ’s expectations

of speech and language therapy had become

more realistic. SENCOs and SLTs were more

likely to agree on which children were ready

for discharge. Six of the SENCOs reported

more confidence in their ability to support

those children who continued to experience

communication problems and difficulties

accessing the curriculum.

� Referrals to speech and language therapy

halved in the six-month period after training.

This was due to five of the 10 SENCOs

setting up groups (eg speech/pre-

tutoring/vocabulary-building) before

referring children for speech and language

therapy. The assistants who had taken part in

our training ran these.

ConclusionsTen months after the completion of the

project, a review of the mission statement

suggested the following progress:

Speed of access: We are now seeing

children who are referred from participating

schools more promptly. This is because

children with communication problems are

featureCOLLABORATION

more likely to receive input before speech and

language therapy referral. Instead of being

referred at school entry, as previously, most of

the children are appropriately referred at a

later point, or are not referred at all.

Efficiency: We, as well as staff from

participating schools, are now clear about

how scarce speech and language therapy

resources are and are able to fulfil agreed

commitments. This has resulted in improved

joint ownership of speech and language input

for children, and improved working

relationships between participating schools

and SLTs, eg complaints from SENCOs have

decreased from three in the 12 months before

the project, to none in the year following the

project.

Consistency: Throughout the project, we

have used a consistent approach with all

school staff and parents. This has been

beneficial because it has promoted equality of

access to SLT resources across the schools.

Effectiveness: Six of the 10 participating

schools are now, with varying degrees of

confidence and independence, offering some

appropriate input to children with speech,

expressive and receptive language difficulties.

During school visits we have observed that

the practices being implemented in the

classroom are giving children more

opportunities to communicate and to access

the curriculum. For example, in two early

years’ settings, all staff wear photos on key

rings to support understanding of the daily

routine, and use objects of reference to enable

choice making.

Four parents from two of the participating

schools reported they have noticed increased

confidence in their children’s communication

and increased self-esteem.

Experience

• the SENCOs and assistants experienced what it is like to make a new sound and identified the difficulties associated with this

InformationWas given on:

• how speech sounds are made

• the development of speech sounds and processes

• the pre-requisite skills needed to make speech sounds

Practice

• SLTs demonstrated a step-by-step programme for children who are fronting/stopping etc.

Personalise

• School staff received a blank step-by-step programme that they completed and took away to apply to one child in their class with speech difficulties

Table one: speech sounds training programme

Next steps Following feedback meetings with SENCOs

and speech and language therapy staff, we

have now implemented the following action

plan:

� More training of SENCOs (eg Derbyshire

Language Scheme [Masidlover and Knowles,

1982]) to further develop their skills in

identifying and assessing children and in

improving the quality of their

communication groups.

� Inclusion of educational psychologists in

the termly planning meetings that have been

set up in the participating schools.

� Joint working between educational

psychologists and SLTs has created and

implemented an assessment system for use in

feeder nurseries. This should result in

children ‘at risk’ of continued language

difficulties being identified and flagged up as

of concern from the outset. SENCOs of

receiving schools would then be able to plan

for these children’s needs from school entry.

This tool was due to be evaluated in

September 2005.

Raman Kaur, Louise Highley

SLT team leaders, South Birmingham PCT

email: Raman.Kaur@sbpct.nhs.uk

References:Department for Education and Skills. The SEN Code of Practice.DfES Publications, 2001.Masidlover M, Knowles W. The Derbyshire Language Scheme.Derbyshire County Council Educational Psychology Service,1982.Manolson, A. The Hanen Programme. Canada:The Hanen Centre

Publication, 1974.Acknowledgement:Special thanks to Kath Robinson, former principal SLT, SouthBirmingham PCT.

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feature CASELOAD MANAGEMENT

Partial booking at yourconvenience

Camden and Islington PCT has nine busy

health centres hosting a paediatric speech

and language therapy service. All new

referrals to the service are centrally

processed from one site, where the

principal SLT is based.

New children are offered a short 30-

minute appointment at their nearest health

centre within six weeks of receipt of their

referral. Two SLTs are available at the

appointment – one to engage with the

parent/carer, one with the child. The two

SLTs then discuss the case and prioritise

appropriately for detailed assessment.

This short appointment is followed by a

longer one lasting up to an hour, which

involves a detailed assessment. We make a

video of parent-child interaction where

appropriate, and give both oral and written

information and advice.

The SLT then writes a detailed report

that is sent to the parents first and then,

with their consent, distributed to the

referrer and key professionals such as the

health visitor and GP.

If families do not attend this initial

appointment we offer a second short

appointment. If this second appointment is

not attended and we are not contacted, we

discharge the child from the service and

send a discharge report to the referrer and

other key professionals where known.

We keep attendance records of these new

referral appointments. Over a five-month

period in 2003, the two busiest clinics

showed that only half the clients were

attending (table one).

This meant we were not only spending

about half our scheduled contact time

waiting for non-attenders, but we were also

completing note sheets and making up files

for children who would never enter the

service. We would then spend more time

sending second appointment letters, and

eventually writing and distributing

discharge reports.

At the beginning of 2004, we decided to

address ways of streamlining the new

referral systems to make them more

efficient and effective.

My research for this article led me to the

Department of Health (DH) website

(www.dh.gov.uk), where I found a range of

articles and directives on booking systems.

The government’s National Booked

Admissions Programme began in 1998 as

part of its strategy for modernising the NHS.

It aimed to make the NHS more accessible

and convenient. The NHS Choose and book

scheme, which offers patient choice in venue

and appointments, states that departments

should aim to reduce the non-attendance

rates, and in so doing reduce the time wasted

in chasing up appointments.

This system is mainly aimed at pressured

hospital departments, such as cardiology

where, for example, a patient needing a heart

operation can choose a hospital from up to

four, and decide when the operation is to be

carried out.

Liverpool Cardiothoracic Centre NHS

Trust has trialled this system and has even set

up a call centre to support the Choose and

book system. It states: “Booking provides

certainty and choice for the patient and they

are now effectively able to plan their date

around other commitments.”

Islington PCT has also followed DH targets

to load Choose and book software to

outpatient services across the borough,

resulting in a financial reward for completing

this huge task.

In April 2005, one Islington GP practice

became the first in the borough to use the

national Choose and book system, allowing

patients to select their own outpatient

hospital appointment using a website or call

centre. Confidentiality is assured: a password

is issued to patients ensuring that only they

can change bookings.

The DH states, “The definition of a

partially booked appointment or admission

is: The patient is given the choice of when

to attend. For partial booking the patient is

advised of the total waiting time during the

consultation between themselves and the

healthcare provider/practitioner. The

patient is able to choose and confirm their

appointment or admission approximately

four to six weeks in advance of their

appointment or admission date.” (DH,

2004).

In designing a partial booking system for

our department, we looked at other

services using similar systems. For example,

the Islington physiotherapy department

sends a letter to clients when they reach the

top of the waiting list asking them to

contact the department within three weeks

if they still require an appointment. If no

contact is made the client is discharged. A

clerical officer supports the department’s

system.

We have monitored attendance rates at the

two clinics using this new system – the results

speak for themselves (see charts one and

two).

Charts one and two show that clinic one

had on average a response rate of 61%, which

is higher than the previous non-attendance

Sarah Illingworth describes a successful partial booking scheme that gives clientsthe autonomy to book their own appointments

Table one: Attendance rates for twobusy clinics in 2003

Scheduled Average % attended

Clinic one 86 50%

Clinic two 84 46%

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www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 1177

rate of 46%. Clinic two had on average a

response rate of 54%, which is almost the

same as the previous non-attendance rate

of 50%.

It appears that the clinics are reaching the

same number of families through the partial

booking system, but have significantly

reduced the amount of paperwork required

following up non-attendance, and made their

contact time more efficient by 50%.

As attendance has consistently reached

almost 100% for those families who

contacted the service after receiving a referral

letter, therapists can now predict attendance

and offer a second more detailed assessment

appointment almost immediately. This new

system enables us to target families who do

not contact us more quickly, giving them an

opportunity to re-engage with the service.

PositivesAttendance for appointments has risen from

45% to 100% in the past year

� The therapists in each clinic are using their

time more efficiently and have reduced

paperwork for non-attenders

� Therapists’ time is used more effectively to

target children’s needs, making their work

more rewarding

� The system is currently manageable,

despite limited administrative support from

an SLT assistant one day a week

�Having departmentally-based

administrative support means we retain

control over appointments: families who call

featureCASELOAD MANAGEMENT

in receive a more personal approach

�We now have a Bengali co-worker who can

call families where English is not the home

language

� Families have informally reported they

prefer choosing their own appointment over

the telephone, and they like the flexibility of

choosing the appointment time and new

appointments

�When parents/carers call they can discuss

the appointment usually with an experienced

SLT, so they can also receive more

information via the telephone

� The system appeals to the clinic users who

attend appointments they have scheduled

themselves

� Referrers are able to chase up families who

do not contact more quickly and have re-

referred them where necessary

Challenges

� It took a significant amount of time to get

the system up and running at the base where

the referrals are sent out

� It continues to use a significant amount of

SLT time to run this initiative, and we are

currently requesting administrative support

�We initially feared we were losing families

who do not read English; however looking

through the records this does not seem to be

the case

�We now need to follow up families who

have not made contact with the help of the

referrers and ensure the service is as

accessible as possible

Due to the success of the partial booking

system, three other clinics now use this

method. I am currently designing a scheme

to follow up families who do not contact

using Sure Start SLTs. We have also begun to

gain some written feedback from clients from

structured questionnaires given in face-to-

face interviews.

We have a lot to learn from our colleagues

working in acute speech and language

therapy services, and other professions allied

to medicine. Even if government directives

appear to focus on acute services, there are

elements we can pull out and use to our

benefit.

Any change can feel stressful and requires

much time in planning and implementation,

but as our results have shown, the benefits

can only be positive.

Finally, we are keen to hear from other

departments using similar or other systems to

share working practice.

Sarah Illingworth – SLT, Islington PCTemail: sarah.Illingworth@nhs.net

References:Department of Health. Choose and Book. Patient’s choice ofhospital and booked appointment. Policy Framework for Choice

and Booking at the Point of Referral. DH, August 2004.

Charts one and two: clinic attendance rates after the new booking system

Our new partial booking system is as follows

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Perc

enta

ge

Clinic 1

April

May

June July

Augu

stSe

ptembe

rOc

tober

Nove

mber

Decem

ber

Month

% Responded % Attended

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Perc

enta

ge

Clinic 2

April

May

June July

Augu

stSe

ptembe

rOc

tober

Nove

mber

Decem

ber

Month

% Responded % Attended

receipt of referral

letter sent to clientasking them to

call in to arrange anappointment

appointment made overthe telephone with a

choice of time, anddetails sent via letter

referral sent back to referrer if nocontact made, with covering letter

16-17 19/1/06 7:51 am Page 3

bulletin February 2006 www.rcslt.org18

profess ional i ssues

In April 2006, the RCSLT will introduce an

online diary system for all practising

therapists and support workers. The system is

a simple electronic way of recording all CPD

activities and reflections on learning on an

ongoing basis.

The diary will minimise paperwork and

align with the Heath Profession’s Council

(HPC) and the Knowledge and Skills

Framework (KSF) processes. It includes the

HPC’s categories for CPD activities, and can

cross reference CPD activities to the KSF

dimensions and levels for those working in

NHS settings.

In addition to the recording function, the

RCSLT will be able to send email alerts on

short courses relevant to members’ location

and clinical interest. The diary will also

provide a forum for discussion on CPD

matters.

Members will be able to access the diary

via the RCSLT website. Provision will be

made for those who do not have access to the

online system, in the form of paper-based

versions of renewal forms and CPD records.

The CPD online diary: how it willhelp you record your CPD

We expect that by 2008, only a minority of

practising members will not have Internet

access.

The diary will provide the mechanism for

recording compliance with the RCSLT

standards and allow the RCSLT to undertake

random audits of CPD records. This will

make the requirement for a log and a counter

signature on renewal forms redundant.

Ultimately, online membership renewal will

be introduced to improve efficiency and save

time.

Since we launched the pilot version in

November 2005, over 100 therapists and

support workers have logged on to the

system. We hope that by the time the pilot

finishes on 16 February, we will have received

feedback from all the users. This feedback

will help us determine what, if any,

modifications need to be made before the

final version is launched via the RCSLT

website in April 2006.

How does the online diary work?Once you have registered as a user, you will

receive a password via your email address.

You log on using your email address and

password and you can then start using the

diary. You are encouraged to change your

password to something familiar at the start.

There is a short online manual, giving you a

step-by-step guide to each page.

The main page is a view of a month on a

page (see figure one).

When you click on any day, a new page

comes up on the screen and you are asked to

enter the CPD activity, the time taken and

what kind of activity it is in relation to the

HPC’s categories, eg work-based learning,

professional activity, formal educational, self

directed learning (see figure two).

Further down the page you are asked to

make reflective comments on what you have

learned. You are also prompted to make a

link with the KSF dimensions (record which

dimension the activity relates to). A list of

CPD activities are cross-referenced to the

KSF dimensions – you just need to select the

relevant one and add it to your record.

You must remember to save the record, and

In December’s Bulletin (pp20-21) we outlined the new RCSLT continuing professionaldevelopment (CPD) scheme, due to begin in April 2006. A key part of the scheme will be anonline CPD diary, which will replace the old CPD log system. This month, we explain how theelectronic diary works and how it links with the CPD toolkit

Figure one: My Diary Figure two: List My Activities

18-19 19/1/06 7:53 am Page 22

www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 19

profess ional i ssues

you must complete it within 45 minutes of

writing, before your login period expires (the

system automatically logs you out after 45

minutes of inactivity, for your personal

security). Once saved, all the data entered

into the diary is held on a dedicated server,

which currently keeps over 150,000 secure

CPD records. There is therefore minimal risk

of records being lost.

You can view all your CPD activities under

List Your Activities. This shows you how each

activity is linked to the HPC and KSF, how

much time you have spent on each activity,

and what your reflections on learning were. If

you want a report on the amount of time you

have spent on CPD, click on the Hours Report

and obtain a breakdown of hours spent per

year (see figure three).

The RCSLT will undertake random audits on

a sample of diaries to assess compliance with

the new RCSLT standards (see table one). If

an audit reveals a shortfall in CPD activity,

we will contact the individual concerned and

make further enquiries as to their plans for

CPD. RCSLT staff will support members who

If the HPC selects you for audit, you will

have records showing you have maintained

up-to-date and continuous records of your

CPD. Your portfolio of evidence (PDPs, audit

forms, course certificates, supervision

records, peer review forms etc) will also form

part of the submission.

What if I don’t have access to theInternet?The RCSLT anticipates that, by 2008, the

majority of therapists and support workers

will have access to the Internet either at work

or home. However, there will also be paper

records available from the RCSLT on request.

These will allow you to record similar

information. You may still be audited by the

RCSLT if your name is selected in the

random audit. If selected, you will need to

submit your paper ‘diary’ and evidence from

your CPD portfolio to the RCSLT by

registered post.

Will I get forms in the postautomatically?CPD forms will not be sent to you with your

renewal letter this year. You will have to

download the forms from the website or

request copies to be sent to you by post.

Anna van der Gaag, consultant to the RCSLT

CPD Project and an HPC Council Member. She

was on the HPC’s CPD Professional Liaison

Group, 2003-2004.

Sharon Woolf, RCSLT Head of Professional

Development.

may be experiencing difficulties with

recording their CPD.

The new CPD scheme is mandatory for

RCSLT members. The online facility will

support members in recording the CPD they

have to undertake to maintain their HPC

registration and for their employers’

requirements. Wherever possible, the RCSLT

will support members in meeting their

requirements.

How does the online diary link tothe toolkit?The RCSLT toolkit contains guidance and

forms for various work-based CPD activities.

When you use one of these forms, record the

activity in your online diary (type, time, date,

etc). You may or may not choose to write

reflective notes in the dairy – it depends

whether you have them on your form as well.

Store the form itself in your CPD portfolio

together with your personal development

plan (PDP), course certificates, book reviews,

KSF post outline, audit forms, CV, etc. You

can, of course, also store these electronically.

Figure three: The Hours Report

Become an online

diary local championWe need SLTs and support workers to join a

network of online diary enthusiasts.

As a local champion, you can help colleagues

who are new to using the diary.

Email: cpd@rcslt.org to express your interest

Standard 1: Amount of CPD Undertake a minimum of 30 hours CPD per year (for full-time SLTs) (excluding mandatory training)

Standard 2: Type of CPD Undertake a mix of CPD activities (work- based, formal, self directed, professional activity)

Standard 3: Record of CPD activities Maintain an up-to-date record of CPD activities

Standard 4: Reflective account of Maintain an up-to-date record of the impact of CPD outcome of learning (impact on practice)

Table one: New RCSLT CPD Standards from April 2006

18-19 19/1/06 7:53 am Page 23

bulletin February 2006 www.rcslt.org20

ask your co l leagues

Any Questions?Want some information? Why not ask your colleagues?

Prioritising adult servicesDo you have examples of effective prioritisation systems for

adult in- and outpatient caseloads or innovative models of

service delivery?

Lisa Ferrary

T E L : 01708 708343

E M A I L : lisa.ferrary@bhrhospitals.nhs.uk

Stroke care pathwayAdvice wanted on putting together a stroke care pathway on

a stroke unit.

Rebecca Hooper

T E L : 029 2071 5569

Viscometer and fluidsHave you used a viscometer to standardise fluid

consistencies or ensure consistent, correct thickening of

fluids at ward level?

Paula Rogers

T E L : 00 353 1 4162471

E M A I L : progers@stjames.ie

Long-term PEG Has anybody produced a leaflet for anxious relatives of

patients who are long-term PEG fed?

Jenny Boulter

T E L : 029 2031 3733

E M A I L : Jenny.boulter@cardiffandvale.wales.nhs.uk

Priority rating scale Do you use a priority rating scale for clients with learning

disability in residential settings?

Gill Garvani

E M A I L : gill.garvani@hesleygroup.co.uk

NQT pay scalesWe want to contact other NQTs who have been assimilated

onto Agenda for Change and are now on transitional pay

scales, as opposed to the minimum band 5 point. Has

preceptorship been affected by not being on the main scale?

How have you reacted to being at least one point behind

peers who started on AfC?

Shelagh Benford

Charlotte Mustoe

E M A I L : shelagh.benford@salisbury.nhs.uk

Caseload weighting toolHas anyone used the Nottingham caseload weighting tool?

Has it been adapted for SLTs? Or do you know of any other

caseload weighting tool?

Hilary Cowan

E M A I L : hilary.cowan@westlancspct.nhs.uk

Paediatric assessmentsPaediatric speech and language assessments wanted,

including the CELF-P, CELF-3, STAP and RAPT?

Hannah Richards

E M A I L : hannah.richards@bromor-tr.wales.nhs.uk

ALD and accessible informationWhat are your local practices on using accessible

information when working in adult learning disability?

Helen Kirton

T E L : 01793 646980

E M A I L : helen.kirton@swindon-pct.nhs.uk

Adult dysphasia care pathwaysIs anyone using care pathways for any adult client groups

other than stammering – specifically dysphasia?

Gayle McCormack

T E L : 01481 725 241 etx 4188

E M A I L : gmccormack@hssd.gov.gg

Prioritising referralsDoes anyone have a successful system for prioritisation of

adult neurological community referrals? What criteria do

you use?

Anne Baggs

T E L : 01625 661885

E M A I L : annebaggs@echeshire-tr.nwest.nhs.uk

Email your brief query to bulletin@rcslt.org. RCSLT also holds a database of clinical advisers who may be able to help.Contact the information department, tel: 0207 378 3012. You can also use the RCSLT’s website forum to post your questionsor replies to other queries, visit: www.rcslt.org/forum

Question- Book reviews Feb 06 19/1/06 8:07 am Page 19

www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 2211

book reviews

Mental Health Aspects of Autism andAsperger SyndromeMOHAMMED GHAZIUDDINJessica Kingsley, 2005£13.95ISBN: 1-84310-727-9

B O O K O F T H E M O N T H

Book ReviewsAdult Cochlear ImplantRehabilitationKAREN PEDLEY, ELLEN GILES, ANTHONY

HOGAN (eds)

Whurr, 2005

£35

ISBN: 1-86156-321-3

This book contains much to help

SLTs learn about cochlear implants

(CI) and should be acquired by CI

teams for reference. Although the

title indicates that the target

caseload is adult, there is also

background information for a

paediatric population.

The editors document the ‘taken

for granted’ clearly and methodically, and

expand into new territory. There is an

excellent series of appendices, which support

the text and guide the clinician. The intention

is to make hearing rehabilitation with CI

recipients transparent, logical and coherent

with programmes that have a clear beginning,

a robust middle and a sensitive end. They

have introduced some innovative procedures

suited to the needs of adult CI recipients.

Using the materials in this book should

enable clinicians, whatever their level of

experience, to work out where each client

needs to start in their programme of

rehabilitation, and to set goals. This book

covers every step of the CI process in an

orderly fashion, from assessment through

‘switch-on’, to the traditional components of

aural rehabilitation and the less traditional

and vitally important area of psychosocial

support.

ALISON PEASGOOD

RCSLT Adviser, deafness and cochlear implants

In a Strange LandROBIN J REID

Athena Press, 2004

£10.99

ISBN: 1-84401-203-4

This book is a painstaking account of the

author’s experience of cancer from symptom

presentation, through diagnosis to

rehabilitation. No detail is omitted

as he tells his story interlaced with

his professional, medical and

social background against a

backdrop of his increasing faith.

Denial is initially

replaced by shock

and subsequent

acceptance of the cancer

diagnosis, followed by

increasing awareness of what

this will mean in terms of

treatment and future quality of

life.

The emotional cost of

encounters with individual

members of the multidisciplinary

team and other hospital employees makes

telling reading. Determined to be totally

honest, he spares no punches in telling it as it

was. Our profession, as well as Macmillan

Cancer Relief professionals and the National

Association of Laryngectomy Clubs emerge

This book provides a comprehensive

overview of pervasive developmental

disorders (PDD), which include autism and

Asperger syndrome. It then discusses

mental health issues related to this

population group in terms of possible

causes, incidence where known, symptoms,

current treatments and possible outcomes.

References support each chapter and there

are short case studies throughout.

The author stresses the need to tease out

the core features of PDD presenting in a

person and what behaviours are due to an

additional mental health issue. He also

supports the use of a multidisciplinary

approach both in assessment and

treatment.

The book is an overview and the author

highlights the areas where more research is

with credit; unfortunately the

same cannot be said for all.

Anyone coming into contact

with cancer patients: managers,

consultants, receptionists, would

benefit from reading this book,

though the author does not fit

the usual profile. While those

touched by this disease may draw comfort

from reading pre-selected passages, the

detailed account may be overly explicit for

others. Nonetheless, speech and language

therapy departments offering a specialist

service to laryngectomy patients might like to

have a copy available as a useful resource.

YVONNE EDELS

Macmillan consultant SLT - surgical voice

restoration,

Charing Cross

Hospital

needed. One area most involving SLTs is

supporting people with learning disabilities

who are at an increased risk of experiencing

mental health problems. A high proportion

of individuals with classic autism also have

learning disability, hence the importance of

this book.

The book is clearly laid out and easy to

read. It is a text one can dip into and

should be read by all professionals and

carers working with this population.

KATE EVANS

Specialist SLT, Adults with learning difficulties

with behaviours that challenge services

RCSLT adviser, ALD and challenging behaviour

R E A D A B I L I T Y:*****

VA L U E :

***** C O N T E N T S :

*****

R E A D A B I L I T Y:*****

VA L U E :

***** C O N T E N T S :

*****

R E A D A B I L I T Y:*****

VA L U E :

*****C O N T E N T S :

*****

Question- Book reviews Feb 06 19/1/06 10:00 am Page 20

bulletin February 2006 www.rcslt.org22

Opinion p iece

I must begin by saying I am by no means

experienced in the area of dyslexia and bow

to superior knowledge in an instant. So, it is

with caution I write this discussion piece.

It started as a letter to the editor in the

hope that other therapists were disgruntled

or inspired by Channel 4’s ‘The dyslexia

myth’ programme, aired in September 2005.

I really wanted to know what other people

think, get some answers to questions the

programme didn’t answer and to try and

fully understand the proposed notions.

As the title suggests, recent research has

called the very concept of dyslexia into

question. The first problem I encountered

with the programme was that it seemed to

define dyslexia solely as a reading difficulty,

and did not include the other symptoms that

children with dyslexia frequently have, such

as spelling and writing difficulties.

It has always been my belief that dyslexia is

generally accepted as difficulties with reading

and writing skills. A child may not be able to

recognise letters and the sounds they

represent, be able to reproduce them in their

writing, or work out what sounds go where

in simple words that follow phonemic rules.

A collection of identifiable symptoms lead

to the diagnosis of dyslexia and, with luck, a

child will receive additional help to improve

their skills in this area. Currently,

phonological awareness skills are believed to

underpin such difficulties and that

remediating weaknesses here will help to

improve literacy development.

Another criteria used to mark out a child

with dyslexia, is that all other skills in the

child are developing within or above the

average range. It is solely the area of literacy

development that is peppered with some, or

Putting the ‘dyslexiamyth’ under thespotlight

all, of the associated problems.

The programme, however, suggested a

child with an average or high IQ with reading

difficulties has exactly the same type of

difficulties as a child with a low IQ and

reading difficulties. Therefore, IQ should not

be used to separate out these two sets of

children or to categorise reading difficulties.

However, by simultaneously widening (all

reading difficulties) and restricting (ignoring

writing and spelling etc) the definition,

various subtleties in presentation are lost and

what might be considered atypical learning is

instead grouped with slower learning

patterns.

If a child with a lower than average IQ has

reading difficulties compared to the age

average, but which are in line with their

overall skills, is this a reading difficulty? If a

child with a lower than average IQ has

reading skills significantly lower than their

ability, then is this the same reading

difficulty?

And what about a child of average ability

who has a reading age above their

chronological age, if asked to spell ‘flight’, can

easily say the letters to spell this word but, if

asked to write them down, writes ‘fhlgt’. This

child may make similar mistakes when

reading simple words, and struggles from

time to time ‘sounding out’ simple words.

This is not a reading difficulty according to

the programme, since this child performs at

an above average rate. So what is it then?

For me, it is impossible to separate reading

ability from all other aspects of literacy

development. Atypical skills are the key to

identifying recognisable patterns of

difficulties and this is the difference between

delay and disorder.

For children identified with reading

difficulties by the researchers a

comprehensive and intensive, programme

was devised and all the children were

reported as making significant progress in

their reading skills. However, writing and

spelling were ignored in the discussion.

Perhaps we are to assume these will improve

automatically?

In my opinion, all children benefit from

additional intensive one-to-one input in any

area of weakness. The fact that two sets of

children (one set with low IQ and the other

with average or above) improved in their

reading ability should not be used as a means

to redefine or disregard the term dyslexia.

It is right and proper to challenge our

beliefs and understandings about dyslexia,

but by ignoring all the other aspects that

feature in the profile of dyslexia, the

programme makers have failed to provide a

rounded argument to support their idea that

dyslexia doesn’t exist.

The consequences of such a programme

are potentially damaging to people who have

had to fight for their very obvious difficulties

to be recognised and to the resources which

have been allocated to help address their

problems in education, etc. The positive

outcome is to highlight the benefits of

teaching literacy skills properly and the

difference funding can make to all children in

schools, where resources can be deployed

effectively.

Laura Seeley voices her opinion about a recent TV programme on the ‘dyslexia myth’

Laura Seeleyemail: laura597@btinternet.comVisit: www.channel4.com/news/microsites/D/dyslexia_myth/dyslexia.html

Opinion 19/1/06 7:56 am Page 22

Speci f i c Interest Group not ices

National SIG Bilingualism (UKRI7)

23 February, 10.30am – 3.30pm (rescheduled

conference)

Working with and valuing diversity – A conference

exploring diversity, culture, religion and language

and exploring good practice. Key note speakers:

Ali Jan Haider, Head of Equality and Diversity,

Bradford City PCT and Mohammed Arshad,

Muslim Chaplain, Bradford Hospitals.

Midland Hotel, Bradford, West Yorkshire

Cost: assistants £30/SLT SIG Bilingualism

members £45/SLT non-members £55 (includes

two course buffet lunch)

Contact Christina Quinn, tel: 01274 877372,

email: Christina.quinn@nkpct.nhs.uk

Oxford Voice and Laryngectomy SIG (E31)

1 March 9.30am - 4pm

Transsexual voice therapy. Presentations on Pitch

surgery and pre and post SLT involvement; A

personal perspective of voice therapy and Policies

and guidelines.

Horton Lecture Theatre, Horton Hospital,

Banbury OX16 9AL

Cost: members free/non-members £15

Contact Penny Taylor or Elaine Coker, tel: 01604

545737, email:

elaine.coker@northamptonpct.nhs.uk

The Yorkshire Region Aphasiology Group

(YRAG) (N37)

6 March, 2pm - 5pm

The Comprehensive Aphasia Test (CAT), Dr David

Howard, University of Newcastle.

The Psychology Department, University of York

Contact Tess Ackerman, tel: 0113 3921538, email:

Tessa.Ackerman@leedsth.nhs.uk

Speech Disorders SIG - London (L27)

9 March, 3pm - 5pm

Second meeting, includes presentation on

PROMPT by SIG members.

The Nuffield Hearing and Speech Centre, Royal

National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, Grays Inn

Road, London, WC1X 8DA

Cost: £10 annual subscription

Contact Shula Burrows, tel: 020 7915 1534, email:

shulaburrows@royalfree.nhs.uk

SIG Disorders of Fluency – Affiliated to the

National SIG in Dysfluency (UKRI6)

10 March, 9.30am - 12.30pm

Listening Activities, Karen Lawrie. General

discussions on: Care pathways and discharge

criteria and Quantitative and qualitative measures.

PM: planning for the 2006 residential week.

Tadacaster Health Centre, North Yorkshire

Cost: Free

Contact Eileen Hope, tel: 01756 792233 ext 208,

email: eileen.hope@anhst.nhs.uk

Medico Legal SIG (UKRI13)

17 March, 10am - 4pm

Medico Legal issues related to SENDIST, Robert

Love, expert solicitor in education law from

Langley Wellington Solicitors.

The Palace Hotel, Buxton, Derbyshire

Cost: members £40/non members

£70/membership for the year £25

Contact Alison Hodson, tel: 07834 486488 or

email: alisonspeech@yahoo.co.uk

SIG Working with Offenders (UKRI11)

17 March, 9.30am - 3.30pm

Study day and AGM. Consent - legal issues and

general aspects, two speakers, case studies and

workshop discussion.

Brooklands, Marston Green, Coleshill

Cost: members free/non-members £10 for the

day, or £12 for the day and membership

Contact Samantha Hill, tel: 07816 837016,

email: samantha.j.hill@btopenworld.com

London Special Interest Group in ASD

22 March, 1pm - 4.30pm

Novel sociocognitive assessments as predictors of later

communication disorders and Promoting research in

SLT, Penny Roy, Shula Chiat and others.

Mary Sheridan Centre for Child Health,

5 Duggard Way, off Renfrew Road,

London SE11 4TH

Cost: members free/non-members £7.50/£15 to

join (optional)

Contact Penny Williams, tel: 020 7414 1431, email:

penny.williams@lambethpct.nhs.uk

Trent Voice SIG (C10)

23 March, 9am - 4.30pm

New to voice study day - ideal for recently qualified

therapists or those new to voice work.

Patient and Friend’s Lounge, Tickhill Road

Hospital, Doncaster

Cost: members £20/non-members £30

Contact Kerry Healy/Anna White, tel: 01302

553178, email: annahanson80@hotmail.com

SIG Aphasia Therapy (E24)

24 March, 10am - 4pm

Sentence processing, Jane Marshall.

RCSLT, 2 White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX

Cost: members £30/non-members £40

(includes lunch)

Contact Debbie Stanton, tel: 01245 514190,

email: debbie.stanton@meht.nhs.uk

Managers SIG (C22)

30 March, 9.30am - 4pm

Speech and language therapy managers and the law

Room B702, Baker Building, University Central

England, Perry Barr, Birmingham

Cost: £20 includes membership. Cheques payable

to “Speech and Language Therapy Managers SIG”

Contact Helen Anderson, SLT Dept, Residence III,

North Staffs Maternity Hospital, Hilton Road,

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs ST4 6SD, tel: 01782

552485/6, email: helenj.anderson@nsch-

tr.wmids.nhs.uk

SIG Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies

(National) (UKRI1)

5 April, 10am - 4pm

Study day and AGM. Reports on early intervention

with cleft palate and craniofacial children, Kathy

Chapman, Associate Professor of S&L Pathology,

University of Utah.

Management Development Centre, Aston

University, Birmingham

Cost: bookings prior to 24/2/06: Craniofacial

Society member £50/non-CFS member £60.

Booking after 24/2/06: CFS member £75/non-CFS

member £85

Contact Alison Jeremy, tel: 0121 333 9387 or

email: alison.jeremy@bch.nhs.uk

East Midlands Specific Language Impairment

SIG (C28)

6 April, 9.30am - 12.30pm (NB change of time)

Second SIG meeting: Diagnosing SLI;

Communicating about SLI; Outcome measurement.

Cecil Roberts Room, Nottingham Central Library,

Angel Row, Nottingham

Members £2/non-members £5

Contact Elaine Hirst, tel: 0115 942 8631, email:

elainehirst@broxtowehucknall-pct.nhs.uk

Acquired Brain Injury in Children and

Adolescents SIG (E32)

27 April, 9.30am - 4.30pm

The journey from acute to community: Working with

children and adolescents following acquired brain

injury. A workshop for SLTs, SENCOs and

teachers, including guest speaker: Sue Walker on

ABI in schools.

Cost: £25 (inc lunch). Closing date for bookings,

15 March 2006

The Evelina Children’s Hospital, St Thomas’

Hospital, London

Contact Yamini Burgul, tel: 0207 188 3992, email:

yamini.burgul@gstt.nhs.uk

To advertise your RCSLT-registered SIG

event for free send your notice by email

only in the following format:

Name of group and registration

number, Date and time of event,

Address of event, Title of event and

speakers, costs, contact details

Details may be edited

Send to: viv.robinson@rcslt.org by the

beginning of the month before

publication. For example, by Monday 1

February 2005 for the March Bulletin.

www.rcslt.org February 2006 bulletin 23

SIG 19/1/06 7:57 am Page 21

2006 Bulletin Supplement advertising schedule

To advertise in the Bulletin contact Katy Eggleton, tel: 0207 878 2344

Issue Date Booking and copy Expected to reach SLTs on:by midday on:

mid-Feb 2006 2 Feb 2006 15 Feb 2006

March 2006 14 Feb 2006 1 Mar 2006

mid-Mar 2006 2 Mar 2006 15 Mar 2006

April 2006 16 Mar 2006 1 Apr 2006

mid-Apr 2006 31 Mar 2006 15 Apr 2006

May 2006 19 Apr 2006 30 Apr 2006

mid-May 2006 3 May 2006 14 May 2006

June 2006 16 May 2006 1 Jun 2006

mid-Jun 2006 1 Jun 2006 15 Jun 2006

July 2006 15 Jun 2006 1 Jul 2006

mid-Jul 2006 3 Jul 2006 15 Jul 2006

August 2006 17 Jul 2006 1 Aug 2006

mid-Aug 2006 2 Aug 2006 15 Aug 2006

September 2006 14 Aug 2006 1 Sept 2006

mid-Sept 2006 4 Sept 2006 15 Sept 2006

October 2006 18 Sept 2006 1 Oct 2006

mid-Oct 2006 4 Oct 2006 15 Oct 2006

November 2006 18 Oct 2006 1 Nov 2006

mid-Nov 2006 3 Nov 2006 15 Nov 2006

December 2006 17 Nov 2006 1 Dec 2006

mid-Dec 2006 2 Dec 2006 15 Dec 2006

Please note New ad rates for 2006:Recruitment £23 per single column centimetre. Courses £21 per single column centimetreFull page discounted to £2,10010% Surcharge on all 3-column adverts. Agency Commission 10%We only accept digital copy. Bromides are not accepted

Column Sizes 1=42mm 2=90mm 3=136mm 4=188mm

To make a Supplement booking or for further information please call Sophie Duffin, tel: 020 7878 2312

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