“John Bercow MP requests the pleasure of your company at I CAN’s Parliamentary Reception on Tuesday 30 June 2009”
Now, I am sure that Mr Bercow hadn’t actually said, “Make sure you invite The Dad”, but I still took this as quite an honour, and I went along to hear about the next steps following the publication of his ground breaking report, and also I CAN’s plans following the three year Make Chatter Matter campaign. There is so much to say, but to avoid rambling, I have concentrated on the speeches.
Michael Buerk, Diana Johnson (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools) and Hilary Armstrong MP all spoke about the importance of communication skills. It seems fairly obvious (particularly when you have a child who finds language difficult) but as Michael commented communication is one of the “fundamental skills for life”. Diana went on to explain that we need language to “make friends, share experiences and express ourselves.” If you aren’t sure about just how basic this skill is, trying spending a couple of hours in a social occasion without communicating verbally in any way. Children like M have spent an age not being able to express their own thoughts, not understanding other people’s, and having no idea when this might change. Hilary put it succinctly – “Thousands of children don’t have a particular label…but don’t develop what you and I take for granted.”
Beth Hopkin, Head of a Somerset primary school. She explained that if a child can’t communicate, they can’t access the curriculum. She spoke of one child who arrived with no communication skills but can no access a curriculum. He had previously been described as having behavioural problems, but the truth was he was frustrated as he understood nothing about what was going on, and couldn’t explain how he felt. The school invested in some training so that the teaching staff could ‘spot the signs’ early on and thus identify that help was needed. And this is the crux of it. Teachers are, in my opinion fantastic people, but can we seriously expect them to manage very complex conditions without the necessary training? Can we really expect them to highlight that a child has a language disorder, rather than is autistic or has a behavioural problem unless they are given the training to do so?
Then came the most moving speech of the evening, and I don’t mind admitting it left me with tears in my eyes. The mother of a child who attends the Meath School (the wonderful people responsible for identifying M’s needs, etc) spoke about her and her daughter’s situation (at the end of the day it is practically impossible to separate the lives of our children and ourselves). “Life with a child with special needs has been a journey.” “L should be valued for being the wonderful person she is.” “L can learn, just more slowly and in a different way.” “It’s not about a getting a special education, it’s about the education she needs”. This wonderful mother then spoke of the struggle, not with L’s condition, but with the authorities; the need to go to tribunals to get a Statement of L’s needs, and the placement in a school that can make a difference. Horrifyingly, she spoke of the fact that 4 years on she is back at square one trying to ensure that L receives the help she needs – no, the help she deserves. Apparently large chunks of her Statement have been ‘erased’ so she is back to attending tribunals to ensure L is not further disadvantaged by the State.
Diana Johnson commented that much had been done, but confirmed there was much to do. Never was a truer word said. I am a guy whose glass is always half full – for me it has to be, life would be too difficult if it became half empty. But here I am totally reliant on people like I CAN. These guys lobby tirelessly, work in a field that is still not appreciated despite its fundamental significance and do so simply to give children a better chance of contributing. I hope they go home each night and realise that, “today I changed a life.” So thank you I CAN, and thank you to people like L’s mum. Keep fighting for children who can’t say, “Please help”.
Now, I am sure that Mr Bercow hadn’t actually said, “Make sure you invite The Dad”, but I still took this as quite an honour, and I went along to hear about the next steps following the publication of his ground breaking report, and also I CAN’s plans following the three year Make Chatter Matter campaign. There is so much to say, but to avoid rambling, I have concentrated on the speeches.
Michael Buerk, Diana Johnson (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools) and Hilary Armstrong MP all spoke about the importance of communication skills. It seems fairly obvious (particularly when you have a child who finds language difficult) but as Michael commented communication is one of the “fundamental skills for life”. Diana went on to explain that we need language to “make friends, share experiences and express ourselves.” If you aren’t sure about just how basic this skill is, trying spending a couple of hours in a social occasion without communicating verbally in any way. Children like M have spent an age not being able to express their own thoughts, not understanding other people’s, and having no idea when this might change. Hilary put it succinctly – “Thousands of children don’t have a particular label…but don’t develop what you and I take for granted.”
Beth Hopkin, Head of a Somerset primary school. She explained that if a child can’t communicate, they can’t access the curriculum. She spoke of one child who arrived with no communication skills but can no access a curriculum. He had previously been described as having behavioural problems, but the truth was he was frustrated as he understood nothing about what was going on, and couldn’t explain how he felt. The school invested in some training so that the teaching staff could ‘spot the signs’ early on and thus identify that help was needed. And this is the crux of it. Teachers are, in my opinion fantastic people, but can we seriously expect them to manage very complex conditions without the necessary training? Can we really expect them to highlight that a child has a language disorder, rather than is autistic or has a behavioural problem unless they are given the training to do so?
Then came the most moving speech of the evening, and I don’t mind admitting it left me with tears in my eyes. The mother of a child who attends the Meath School (the wonderful people responsible for identifying M’s needs, etc) spoke about her and her daughter’s situation (at the end of the day it is practically impossible to separate the lives of our children and ourselves). “Life with a child with special needs has been a journey.” “L should be valued for being the wonderful person she is.” “L can learn, just more slowly and in a different way.” “It’s not about a getting a special education, it’s about the education she needs”. This wonderful mother then spoke of the struggle, not with L’s condition, but with the authorities; the need to go to tribunals to get a Statement of L’s needs, and the placement in a school that can make a difference. Horrifyingly, she spoke of the fact that 4 years on she is back at square one trying to ensure that L receives the help she needs – no, the help she deserves. Apparently large chunks of her Statement have been ‘erased’ so she is back to attending tribunals to ensure L is not further disadvantaged by the State.
Diana Johnson commented that much had been done, but confirmed there was much to do. Never was a truer word said. I am a guy whose glass is always half full – for me it has to be, life would be too difficult if it became half empty. But here I am totally reliant on people like I CAN. These guys lobby tirelessly, work in a field that is still not appreciated despite its fundamental significance and do so simply to give children a better chance of contributing. I hope they go home each night and realise that, “today I changed a life.” So thank you I CAN, and thank you to people like L’s mum. Keep fighting for children who can’t say, “Please help”.
