Health Board To Promote Communication Support Services

Speech and language therapists from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are staging a two day event at Glyndwr University 21st and 22nd September to celebrate and promote the services available for children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs in North Wales.

The event is being run in partnership with Afasic, a national organisation which provides advice and support for children with these needs and their families), to tie in with the Communication Trust’s national Hello Campaign.

It will feature activities for children and young people, thirty workshops and seminars for parents and professionals and an exhibition with over 70 stands.

Difficulties with communicating can affect children and young people severely and for life and in areas of poverty, over 50% of children start school with delayed language skills.

This puts them at a huge disadvantage to their peers as they struggle to learn and make friends and, in later life, build successful relationships both socially and in the workplace.

The event at Glyndwr will showcase the wide range of support and help that is available and the way that modern techniques can help overcome a wide range of speech and communication difficulties.


Stephen Jones, Speech & Language Therapy Manager said:


“In the 21st century the ability to communicate, to say what you want to say and to understand what other people are saying, is fundamental.

“Speech, language and communication under pins everything we do in life. Babbling babies do not become talkative toddlers by chance. Communication is a skill that we learn and develop and is something we can all improve.

“Yet in the UK today over 1 million children and young people have some form of speech, language and communication need – that’s two or three children in every classroom, and they are just the ones we know about.”