Please support this wonderful effort by sponsoring him at at the JustGiving fundraising site.  He is updating his page with progress during the year (he has already done 2 marathons!) so that supporters can see how he is doing.

If you are the parent or carer of someone with a learning disability, or have a learning disability yourself, Mencap would like to know your views about how the Government could make life better for disabled people. Please complete the appropriate short survey.

Complete this survey if you have a learning disability OR

Complete this survey if you are a parent, carer or friend of someone with a learning disability

The report Two Years On: report of the Communication Champion for children details recommendations to Government, local authorities and the voluntary sector for the future of speech, language and communication services for children. It has been published to coincide with the end of the National Year of Communication (known as the Hello campaign).

Linda Lascelles, Afasic CEO, said: “Jean Gross’s work as Communication Champion has been timely.

“Too many of our children do not receive the specialist support they need and provision being made available is a postcode lottery. Parents of children with a specific language impairment (SLI) should be vigilant.

“In a time of cuts and threats to services such as speech and language therapy and advisory teaching, they need to make sure their children are getting all the help they need.

She added, “The barriers identified in the Champion’s report are concerning and in the current climate parents need to be proactive in securing the help their children and young people need. We are hopeful that the Government will take forwards the recommendations laid out in this report as protecting children’s ability to communicate is vital.”

Further information can be viewed on the Hello website and the report can be dowloaded below:Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Outgoing Communication Champion warns of widespread cuts to speech and language therapy services – read the article in Private Eye.

Linda Lascelles, Afasic Chief Executive said: “This is very good news and we are delighted to hear that Jean Gross has been honoured with a CBE.  As an advisor on the Bercow Review, Afasic campaigned for the role of Communication Champion.  Jean has highlighted the continuing difficulties faced by families to secure services for their children and we hope this work continues into the future.”

To read more about the award and Jean Gross’ career please see the Communication Trust document below.

The events will feature seminars and workshops run by local service providers, Afasic England and other members of The Communication Trust. There will be an exhibition for organisations and agencies to display their resources, and a range of exciting learning activities for local children with SLCN.

Further details are available on our Courses and Conferences page.

The debate can be read here. (Scroll down to find the “dyslexia” title).

The Duchess kindly gave a reading, as did jazz singer Elaine Delmar, while Afasic President John Bercow gave the main address. Young person Kelly White (pictured below left) gave a moving account of her ultimately successful struggle to find employment and the wonderful music was provided by the Brighton & Hove Youth String Ensemble and the Brighton Singers, conducted by Andy Sherwood.

The service was led by Colin Midlane and we are very grateful to Colin for once again leading our bi-annual celebration and setting a relaxed tone for the evening.

The wine and mince pies on offer were well received and from the amount of applause during the evening everyone seemed to have a really enjoyable time. Our sincere thanks go to all the speakers and performers, and we are very grateful to all the staff at St Andrew for their hard work in hosting the event, and to Lynne Smith for organising it.

There is a gallery of photographs from the evening – images courtesy of Greg Keeling.

Due to a computer error, the original responses were deleted .

Shine a Light – a flagship event of the Hello campaign – was designed to honour individuals, teams, projects, communication friendly settings and communities that have demonstrated excellence in supporting the needs of all children and young people’s communication, including those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Well done to the Afasic Youth Project!

More about the Shine a Light Awards – background and winners.