Communication Matters, the charity for people with speech and language impairments, has been awarded a grant of almost £1/2m by the Big Lottery to research into augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in the UK.
The money will be used to establish how many people actually need AAC and how services are supplied in different areas of the country. The project will involve building a searchable database containing the information gathered during the three year project.
AAC includes sign language, the use of symbols to communicate and electronic voice output devices. However, decision makers have lacked hard evidence about the level of need for these products and services and information about the best way to provide them.
In addition, valuable knowledge about how to help people who have difficulties communicating is buried in specialist databases, professional journals, or simply remains unpublished, says Communication Matters.
The latest estimates are nearly 20 years’ old. In 1991, some 0.6 per cent of the population required help communicating, equivalent to over 350,000 people today, according to Communication Matters.
Manchester Metropolitan University, Sheffield University and Barnsley Hospital will work with Communication Matters on a project that will go further than any other in pinning down the need for AAC.
A key aim of the project is to end the post code lottery that results in widely varying levels of provision around the UK. At present disabled people have no statutory rights to assessments, provision of resources or continuing support.
This despite the fact that AAC is specifically mentioned in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Disabled People, which was ratified by the UK last year.
“There is an element of luck as to whether or not a person is provided with a communication aid as it is dependent upon where they live rather than what their needs are.
“This does not happen with other equipment provision. For esmaple, it is accepted that if you cannot walk you are provided with a wheelchair.
By establishing how many people actually need AAC and how each area currently provides these vital services we hope to provide crucial evidence that will lead to the eradication of the current post code lottery of provision in the UK.”
Site aims to compare communication aids
ACE Centre Advisory Trust, a charity that specialises in aided communication, is developing a web site that will provide information about communication aids.
Around 1.5 million people in the UK have a communication disability meaning that they require assistive technology to help them interact and stay in touch with people around them.
Matching an aid to the needs and abilities of an individual has become a very complex and fast-moving process, says the Ace Centre.
It is now almost impossible for parents and carers to keep pace with developments and make properly informed decisions about what aid is best for a particular individual.
The SpeechBubble project aims to provide a searchable web site through which therapists, parents, carers and users themselves can compare and contrast the key features of the wide range of speech aids available.
Unlike choosing the right camera or washing machine, getting the right aid has an immeasurable impact on quality of life, say the project organisers.
Get it wrong, and the aid will have little chance of effectively improving communication, and at costs running into thousands of pounds for some items of specialist equipment choosing the wrong technology can be an expensive mistake.
The ACE Centre's SpeechBubble project is part-funded by Nominet Trust, a charitable organisation that provides funding for projects that make a difference to people's lives, particularly in terms of education, safety and inclusion.
“SpeechBubble is an example of how technology and the internet can be used to help improve the lives of the disabled, sick and disadvantaged as well as to promote inclusion in a digital society,” says Jonathan Welfare, chair of the Nominet Trust.
“Technology developments and innovative projects such as SpeechBubble open up opportunities for vulnerable groups including social mobility, financial savings, educational attainment and improved social prospects. “