Welcome to the autumn edition of SpeakOut. It has been a very busy summer with events being held centrally, but also in the southeast and southwest, as local branches are being developed around the UK.

Reg. Charity no. 1087615 1 Voice-Communicating Together, PO Box 559, Halifax, HX1 2XT

Tel 0845 330 7862 www.1voice.info email: info@1voice.info

Network and support for children and families who use communication aids

SpeakOutSpeakOut

Autumn 2008

CONTENTS

Grapevine: News, links & groups

~ page 2 ~~~~~~~~ Celebrations/ Research

~page 3 ~~~~~~~~ “Lost in Transition” - Teenage Project & Family Network Day.

~page 4

~~~~~~~~ Teenager progress Blackpool 2008

~page 5

~~~~~~~~ Developments and Local Groups / Committee

~page 6 & 7 ~~~~~~~~ Member News

~page 8

T h e 1 V o i c e N e w s l e t t e r

Reg. Charity 1087615

THAI ORPHANAGE By Kate McCallum

As many of you will know I have been collecting all your used and no longer needed special needs equipment. We have collected so much stuff and it is going to make such a massive difference to so many of the children in the orphanage. A lot of the smaller equipment, shoes, splints and second skins, have now arrived and the children are using them. One little boy has had some surgery on his feet and now is able to begin to walk because he has the splints and boots to go into. The second skins have enabled some of the children to sit up better and to sit in a buggy and go outside. SO THANK YOU all for everything you have donated. A special thank you has to go to Valance School who donated lots of large equipment and that will be arriving with the children soon.

It takes about 3 months to ship the container to Thailand from here and there has been and still is a lot of planning and behind the scenes things going on. We are going to continue to collect equipment so if you have things cluttering up your cupboards that you would like to give to a new home please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thanks again Kate McCallum

BERCOW REVIEW Thank you to everyone who took part in John Bercow’s review of services for children with speech, language and communication needs. The review highlighted the need for early identification and assessment of

communication needs so that appropriate support can be put into place. John Bercow also stressed the importance of those needing communication aids having access to the systems they need. He has recommended the appointment of an AAC Champion to evaluate the effectiveness of AAC provision and report to the Communication Council.

UNIQUE Reg charity no. 1110661

Unique is a source of information and support to families and individuals affected by any rare chromosome disorder and to the professionals who work with them.

They have a comprehensive website with a wealth of information. They are holding an international conference on 1st November.

Find out more at www.rarechromo.org

AAC AWARENESS

Communication Matters is organising a very special reading in Downing Street - during the ISAAC AAC Awareness Month in October - of the three UK winning stories entered in the ISAAC 'Many Stories, One Voice' competition. The UK stories can be read (with symbol and speech support) at www.symbolworld.org, and you can read all 100 stories entered from 13 countries at www.aacawareness.org/collections.html

1VOICE SOUTHEAST

1Voice SE have recently held their American themed day and we look forward to hearing all about it in the Spring Newsletter. If you would like to be involved in activities in the southeast, please mail info@1voice.info

1VOICE

SOUTHWEST

1Voice SW held its first family day on 13th September at Vranch House School in Exeter. The theme was Under the Water and families took part in games, activities and workshops. We will include photos in our next newsletter. Read more about our local branches on pages 6-7.

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The Grapevine… Raising awareness, supporting each other and information about related organisations.

The views expressed in articles in SpeakOut are not necessarily those of 1Voice. 1Voice cannot be held responsible for the content of any websites other than www.1voice.info

GUY BABER Well done to Guy, who has added to his exam successes. He got a B grade for English Language GCSE which he took in June, making his total number of GCSEs so far 4, all of them Grade B. He also sat his Geography AS level, getting 100% for one of the papers and an overall grade of A.

JODIE TURNER Jodie has been crowned Harvest Queen 2008. In her role as Harvest Queen, Jodie will raise money for charity, and has chosen to support 1Voice.—Thank you Jodie. We look forward to hearing all about your Harvest role.

ALAN MARTIN AND

BETH MOULAM Well done to Alan and Beth, who won their categories in the ISAAC international story writing competition. You can read the winning stories and the other entrants at www.symbolworld.org. Alan and Beth will be taking part in a very special performance of their winning stories and we hope they will tell us more about the event.

BETH MOULAM Beth Moulam won 3 medals at the Youth Games in September!

RESEARCH Dear 1Voice Magazine Readers, My name is Alexis Egerton. I have been an Electronic Communication Aid User for approximately eighteen years. I left school in 1989 with no qualifications. 1989 to 1992; I attained a Certificate in Pre Vocational Education, a GCSE in English, and a B tec First in Business and Finance from West Cheshire College in Chester.

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“Celebrations” acknowledging all your

achievements:

1992 to 1994; I attained a B Tec National Diploma in Business and Finance with Distinction from Mid Cheshire College in Hartford Northwich.

1994 to 1996; I attained a Higher National Diploma in Business from Halton College in Runcorn. 1996 to 1998; I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and Administration, with Honours from the Manchester Metropolitan University. October 2004; I graduate with a Masters Degree in Business and Administration from the North East Wales institute. At present I am working on my studies for a PhD entitled; The Effectiveness of the Present Funding System for Electronic Communication aids. Because I fully appreciate the difference AAC equipment can make to people with communication support needs achieving their potential in life. I want to help to make sure that everyone who needs this type of equipment gets it as a right (both children and adults alike). To do this I need as many people as possible to fill in one of my survey questionnaires. My survey questionnaire involving the end users of communication aids, the parents of end users, the assessors and AAC service providers / communication aid centres. There is an individual questionnaire for each group of people to complete. Because of the scarcity of AAC users and the other participants involved this research is respondent driven, so if you have a friend that uses a communication aid or you have a colleague that is involved with the area of AAC, please pass on the news that I am doing this research and let them have the appropriate questionnaire. Remember, I want to reach as many people as possible. You can contact me via E-mail and I will send you or you can go to the 1Voice website and follow the link to my university page to download a copy of the questionnaire. Thank you for taking the time to do this! Regards Alexis Egerton E-mail: Alexis_Egerton@hotmail.com

RESEARCH Student, Nicola Robinson is a student at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is looking for people who are or have attended mainstream and who use AAC to take part in her undergraduate research. Please contact info@1voice.info for more information.

THANK YOU An enormous thank you to people who have made donations or awarded grants to 1Voice.

TEENAGE PROJECT/NATIONAL NETWORK DAY 2008 - by Jane Handley (volunteer)

Here’s to another awesome 1Voice teenage weekend!

This was my third event as a volunteer and yet again I came away having learnt so much and having been really inspired by the young people. The transition workshops were fantastic.

I used to think that leaving school or college must be quite a daunting experience for someone who uses AAC. After all, it’s a key decision-making process that will shape and define the direction of the rest of their life.

What transpired from the workshops, however, was inspirational. The teenagers showed so much positivity, excitement, courage and determination regarding their futures... a world of opportunity for the taking!

Something else I realised was the invaluable role that adult role models can play in helping young people foster such a positive and healthy attitude. It was clear that the role models’ achievements in life

had helped inspire both the young people and families alike.

Then there was the fun stuff!

The traditional dinner dance was a very dapper affair and we all had our best dancing gear on.

I was very impressed by some of the moves on the dance floor! Then the fun day was just that, a really fun day had by all. I’m already really looking forward to the next event!

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TEENAGERS UPDATE... During the workshops, teenagers identified their hopes and dreams for the future. They recognised the skills and resources they already had. Then they considered the steps they would need to take to achieve their goals.

Dave Young has already taken steps towards his dream of living in London, overlooking Stamford Bridge. He also intends to play Boccia at the 2012 Paralympics.

Dave wrote to tell us that he has already taken steps to meet his first goal. He has become a disabled Match Member of Chelsea Football Club. This means Dave can buy tickets for him and a

carer to go to games at Stamford Bridge. As Dave’s mum, Phillippa, says, “One step closer to living in London is visiting regularly.”

“I took him up to London to see his first game on Sunday 21st September. Manchester United V

Chelsea. We also went on a Stadium Tour and Dave got to hold Frank Lampard's shirt and

boots.!!

We are getting to know our way around London. The Chelsea staff and fans are all really helpful and friendly.”

“Shame I don't want to live in London but Dave is making choices about his future and it is my job to enable him.”

Dave is off to Stoke Manderville for the Junior games as the newsletter goes to print. That looks like another step towards his second goal...

If you have taken first steps to meeting your goals, please let us know how you are getting on. Your story could be just what others need to hear to get their ideas going.

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DEVELOPMENTS IN 1VOICE

The success of 1Voice as an

organisation has been better than

we could ever have anticipated at

our first “one off” family weekend

in 2000. Since then, we have been

able to organise 2-3 events per

year. Demand for events

accessible to those using

communication aids, and inclusive

of the whole family has always

outstripped supply. However, with

such a small committee to organise

events as well as fundraising,

producing the newsletter, website

and keeping the organisation

running on a day to day basis, we

have not had the capacity to

provide anything more. It has also

been problematic that our events

are a long distance from many of

our families, which can prevent

them from attending.

In response to this, a group of

members in London got together

to run an event nearer to home.

Members from other regions have

also contacted us about running

events in their local areas.

The Committee met in May to

discuss a way forward with

encouraging local groups to

develop, whilst not losing the

advantages of a national

organisation. It would be a shame

to split 1Voice (the Original!)

which is already a small group of

families and which can provide a

central bank of information and

resources.

We are excited to announce that

1Voice will continue to exist, with

smaller, regional branches being

developed.

How will this work?

Regional branches will be formed,

who will run events chosen and

organised by members. These

could be informal get-togethers,

day events, activities or

residential events, as appropriate

for the people in that area.

Each local branch will be

responsible for its own

fundraising.

Each branch will form its own

committee and hold its own AGM.

Each regional branch will feed

back to the 1Voice Executive

Committee.

The regional branches will commit

to following an outlined 1Voice

ethos and policies, and will be

given guidelines (and any necessary

support) about running events etc

Branches will feed into the

website and newsletter so that all

1Voice members know what is

happening around the country.

1Voice (National) will continue to

hold a single event combined with

its AGM for all members.

People will join 1Voice (National)

and then be put in touch with their

local branch so they would

continue to benefit from national

and local resources.

What are the

Benefits?

The existing committee do not

have the capacity to provide the

number of events people are

asking for. Smaller amounts of

work will be shared between more

groups of people, so there should

be less for everyone to do, yet

more services provided!

1Voice (National) can act as a

central resource, sending training

information etc to all groups.

The group of people using

communication aids is already

small. In this way, we can still

maintain contact between all

members, while offering more

events locally.

All members keep up to date with

what other 1Voicers are doing

around the country via the

newsletter and website, and

everyone contributes to this.

We won’t need a waiting list for

events any more.

More people can get involved in

1Voice because of the reduced

distances people would need to

travel. Day-events (and even

smaller events, such as a trip into

town, bowling etc) will be possible.

1Voice could be more accessible to

families it has been hard to reach

in the past.

We still have an umbrella

organisation to support minority

groups that may emerge and who

maybe want to get in contact with

others across the country, such as

children in mainstream, children

using eye-gaze.

As brnaches will sign up to

guidelines and policy, levels of

service/security etc will be equal

(or improved!)

Local branches will be affiliated to

1Voice (National) so they won’t

each have to register to become a

charity in their own right.

1Voice hopes to provide a worker

who would be able to support local

groups as needed.

If you would like to know if there

is a branch in your area, or if you

are interested in setting one up,

please call Katie Clarke on 0845

330 7862 for a chat.

The following branches are

already setting up. ...

1Voice Southeast

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1Voice South West

1Voice West Yorkshire

And 1Voice Manchester is on its way!

Executive Committee 2008-2009

Our new committee was voted on at our AGM on 19th July 2008.

Katie Clarke, Chair

Katie is one of the founders of 1 Voice. She is dedicated to its growth and continuity and takes the major role in fundraising.

Katie works voluntarily 1 day a week to organise events. Katie also chairs the Calderdale Parent and Carers’ Council and gives talks on inclusion and improving services for disabled children and their family. One of Katie's daughters, Nadia, uses a Vmax.

Tamsin Crothers, Secretary

Tamsin is a Speech and Language Therapist specialising in AAC. She is one of

the founders of 1 Voice. Tamsin joint co-ordinates 1 Voice events. She manages the administrative tasks, oversees membership, produces the 6 monthly newsletter and created and maintains the website.

Toby Hewson, Role Model and Treasurer

Toby sits on several committees and brings with him experience, enthusiasm, humour, and a talent for

working with children, families and other role models. Toby has just started his own, disability awareness business, "Just Different" and he is the Deputy Chair of Communication Matters.

Terry Gibson, Member Terry has attended events since 1Voice began, as a parent and then as a volunteer. Terry's interests are computers and video.

One of Terry's sons, Michael, uses a Pathfinder.

.Katie Caryer, Role Model and 1Voice SE rep Kate has been a Role Model at 1Voice events and fronted the 2005 Role Model and

Teenager Workshops. Katie finished her degree at university and is involved in a number of innovative and inclusive drama projects. She

has taken a lead in setting up 1Voice South.

James Leigh, Volunteer Coordinator and 1Voice Manchester rep

James is a Speech and Language Therapist

and has taken over as our volunteer co-ordinator.

Faith Douthwaite, West Yorkshire rep

Faith is a parent of a child with physical & learning difficulties

using low tech aids. She has been a member of 1voice for several years now and works for her local education authority supporting both main stream and special schools with a vast range of AAC.

Co-opted Members

Jane Handley

Jane is a Speech and Language Therapy student and volunteer.

Liza Clements will be co-opted as the Southwest representative at our next committee meeting.

A big thank you to all those who sit on the committee and keep 1Voice running smoothly. If you would like to get involved, please let us know!

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No hassle! Our newsletter and information is distributed to members, supporters and anyone with an interest in AAC. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please return this completed slip to 1Voice: Please remove me/us from the 1Voice mailing list. Name Address

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WORK EXPERIENCE By Gregor Gilmour

I am in Year 11 at Woodhey High School, in Ramsbottom (no jokes please ) near Manchester.

During the fortnight of eighth to eighteenth of September I did some work experience at different schools within Greater Manchester. It was a fantastic experience and a challenge for me.

On Tuesday the ninth of September I went to Kingfisher school in Oldham, I spoke to four different classes of seven to eleven year olds. It was very well organized. I especially enjoyed talking to the class where there were three communication aid users. They were joyful, jolly, jokers. It was a very emotional visit, as well as being my old school where I started using aac there, I spoke to some staff some of them knew me when I was two years old. I enjoyed the question and answer sessions.

On Thursday I went to Wigan , I spoke to a sixth form class and then a group of communication aid users from the high school and sixth form. I found it surprising how much they were interested in aac, they asked some good questions.

On Thursday I went to Lancasterian School in south Manchester . In the morning I had a look around the School and in the afternoon I spoke to a group of ten aac users I found it was great experience and I really enjoyed news club. I did an question and answer session but I would not answer the question whether I had a girlfriend.

Overall I really enjoyed my work experience.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS By Angie McCormack

At the end of July, I celebrated a "very special birthday" (ok, 50 if you really want to know!!) with a lovely party at our local Italian restaurant with all our family and friends present.

Totally unbeknown to me, Rebecca gave a speech on her Dynavox. It had been prepared in secret with Louise, one of her helpers, and stored in the depths of her Dynavox pages. I had absolutely no idea until she gave her speech on the night.

It was very funny - she made jokes about me being old - and also very touching - as she told everyone how proud she was of me! There wasn't a dry eye in the place!! Some of the guests had not seen a communication aid before and were really impressed.

Rebecca said she was very nervous before giving the speech in front of 50 people. But her nerves certainly didn't show and afterwards she said she had enjoyed it. She would do it again if asked!

I am very, very, proud of her. She made my night, in fact, she made my birthday. By the way - I also asked for donations to 1 voice instead of presents and we raised £160 on the night

Happy birthday Angie and well done Rebecca!

Thank you for the donation!