accessibility | search our site
News and events
Here's a selection of recent news stories about Afasic and its work in the world of speech and language impairments.
For older stories please see our News Archive.
There are also news sections on the Afasic Cymru site, the Afasic Scotland site and the Afasic Northern Ireland site.
If you would like to receive regular news snippets via email then please join our online updates mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Afasic Charity Golf Day 2008 - The Shire London, Barnet
After a nail-biting countdown to our first ever Golf Day, we are very happy to report that the event was a real success, including glorious sunshine.
We had a fantastic bunch of people turn up to play their round of golf and bid generously at our silent auction and we raised a total of £6600!
A huge thank you goes to all that helped make the day a success, especially Rob Healey and Chris Hammond from Rabobank as well as our sponsors, Tradition UK, Bloomberg and of course the team at The Shire golf course.
We hope to be able to build on this year’s success and organise a second Golf Day in 2009 and we are happy to hear from anybody who would be interested to participate. Please watch this space for further details. Thank you.
posted October 2008 [top of page]
Mouth to Mouth and Coast to Coast
Saturday 19 July to Wednesday 23 July 2008
Following the success of our first ever sponsored bike ride last year
(over £20k was raised) we organised
another event this year. The ride was 5 days in total, travelling from
Avonmouth on the Bristol Channel to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, via
Bristol, Bath, Devizes, Pewsey, Stonehenge, Salisbury, the New Forest
and Lymington.
We hope to have raised £4,000 from this event. Further details, a diary and gallery are available here.
posted August 2008 [top of page]
Young People or Adults with SLI wanted for media campaign
Afasic is looking for teenagers and adults with ongoing SLI willing to appear in the media, to talk about their difficulties. This is to help make more people aware that, in some cases, SLI can be lifelong disability. We must stress that, for this project, volunteers must have a specific speech and language impairment as their only, or principal, disability.
Anyone who would like to volunteer is asked to contact Afasic head office, or ask someone else to contact us on their behalf, by any appropriate means: phone, email, letter.
posted July 2008 [top of page]
Calling all parents and professionals in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Are you aware that there is currently a consultation about the future of provision in your area for children with difficulties in communication and interaction? It covers the existing units and provision for children in mainstream schools. To read the consultation, click here.
Please contact the Afasic head office if you make a response, would like help to make a response, or would like to be put in touch with other people interested in forming a lobbying group.
posted July 2008 [top of page]
The Bercow Review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs is published today (Tuesday 8 July).
The independent cross government review, led by John Bercow, MP, himself the parent of a child with a speech and language impairment, highlights the significant numbers of children and young people with SLCN and how this radically affects their life chances. (Read more in our press release).
Read the full review here (pdf - 1020kb)
Executive Summary (pdf - 361kb)
Government response press release
Afasic position statement
Parliamentary debate - 21 July
posted July 2008 [top of page]
The highlight of our 40th Anniversary celebrations will be a champagne reception at the Innholders Hall in the City of London on the evening of Wednesday 26th November. This will be an evening of celebration for members, supporters, vice presidents, trustees past and present and guests. We hope that our patron, HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, will be in attendance.
As well as champagne, there will be wine, canapés, a celebratory cake and entertainment; there will also be a charity auction. The event will take place from 6.30pm till 9.30pm. Tickets are available at a cost of £30 per head (and to members at a discounted cost of £20 per head).
We very much hope that you will be able to join us for this very special occasion. Please contact central office for tickets or you can order on our secure website.
posted June 2008 [top of page]
Sponsored Silence and Guinness World Record Attempt
As a way of raising awareness, and some income for the organisation, we are asking people to get involved with a sponsored silence during the week commencing the 20th October 2008.
We want to encourage as many members, schools, children, parents, businesses etc to take part and so help to raise the profile of children and young people with speech, language and communication impairments.
We are also attempting to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for “the most people simultaneously performing sign language to a song at different venues”. We very much hope that you will want to join in with this, and you can incorporate it as part of your sponsored silence. The record attempt will be on the 22nd October at 9.30am.
For more information about either or both of these events, sponsor forms, posters, stickers, and support please contact Mark Thompson at central office (phone 020 7490 9410, email markt@afasic.org.uk).
Please take part in this event for us and help to make a real difference for those affected by this disability.
Download the sign language song here.
If anyone wants to see a video of the song with the signs then click here to see what Woodsetton School in Dudley have done.
posted June 2008 [top of page]
Parents Needed for Press/Media Interviews
Afasic would like to hear from parents willing to be interviewed by the press or on radio/TV programmes about their experiences, good or bad, of speech and language therapy and/or accessing appropriate education for children with speech and language difficulties. We are expecting significant levels of media interest in July when the Bercow Review publishes its final report, so are particularly looking for parents likely to be available then. However we do get approached at other times, often by journalists wanting to speak to a parent at short notice, so it would be helpful to have a ‘bank’ of parents that we can call on.
If you are willing to help, or would like to discuss what might be involved, please contact Afasic central office.
posted April 2008 [top of page]
Bercow Review of Speech, Language and Communication Provision - Interim Report
John Bercow MP (pictured left) is leading a Government review (England specific) into services for children and young people with SLCN. John Bercow is the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Speech and Language Difficulties and a vice-president of Afasic.
Parent participation in the review has now concluded and an interim report [pdf 928kb] and executive summary [pdf 167kb] have been published on 20 March.
Various national newspapers have published articles about the interim report findings. A selection can be viewed below:
The Times
Daily Mail
The Guardian
For more information, read the press release from RCSLT, Afasic and I CAN.
John Bercow has also spoken in a Sunday Times interview about his son's condition and his commitment to providing SLI services for all affected children.
posted March 2008 [top of page]
Wellcome Language and Reading Project
The Department of Psychology at the University of York is conducting a language and reading project funded by the Wellcome Trust.
The Department is planning a longitudinal study of the relationships between dyslexia and language impairment. It is hoping to recruit to the study, 175 three year-old children who are 'at risk' for literacy problems, either because they have a spoken language impairment, or because there is a history of reading problems in the family. It will follow the progress of these children through the pre-school and early school years.
The project is seeking to recruit volunteers from the north of England. For more information about the project please see the University's website.
posted March 2008 [top of page]
For older stories please see our News Archive.
© Afasic, 1st Floor, 20 Bowling Green Lane, London
EC1R 0BD
Registered charity no. 1045617
Copies may be made provided the source and date are quoted and the content
is unchanged.