Tag Archives: Learning difficulties

Carers tell what it is really like

‘I was in tears’: Carers tell their stories

An estimated seven million people in the UK currently provide unpaid care to a sick or disabled child or an adult who could not otherwise live independently.

Many of them are already known to GPs, but the Royal College of General Practitioners says that carers should be routinely screened by their doctors for signs of depression.

A number of carers have told the BBC News website about their experiences.

“It is a human right to be empowered to communicate”

Thousands of people in the UK may be living without access to a powered communication aid that would enable them to have a voice, according to research.

News, 3rd May 2013.

The research, Shining a Light on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, by augmentative and alternative communication (ACC) charity Communication Matters, found that 316,000 people in the UK are benefiting or may benefit from AAC support. Of those, 31,600 could be using powered communication aids yet only around 9,000 are.

The findings, which found great variation in service provision across the UK, stem from research carried out by the University of Sheffield. It highlights there is little consistency in identifying, assessing and providing AAC devices and many local areas are failing to make effective provision.

Parents and carers write to Queen over Birmingham skills centre closure threat

Outcry over city council funding threat to Forward 4 Work in Inkerman Street, Nechells

 

Karen Sawtell with her son Andrew Sawtell and Brian Herriott (left), chairman of the group
Karen Sawtell with her son Andrew Sawtell and Brian Herriott (left), chairman of the group

 

Angry parents and carers have written to the Queen in a desperate battle to save a Birmingham skills centre for adults with learning difficulties that faces the council axe.

Staff at Forward 4 Work in Inkerman Street, Nechells , have already been offered voluntary redundancy as the authority continues to slash costs across the city.

The centre, opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1981, provides vital training to help people with conditions including autism and Down syndrome into work.