Giving Voice

A tweet on Twitter from @gillian_salt led me first to this delightful video of a flash mob in Birmingham, UK, singing a piece about "Giving Voice."  Intrigued, I went from that to a website of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, where things were explained to those in the UK and also to us "in the colonies:"

With the financial climate hitting all areas of the economy the RCSLT realised the services essential to people who need support with communicating and swallowing could be under threat and that the profession would be heading for a difficult period. As a result, we set in motion our Giving Voice campaign.

Giving Voice will help us and speech and language therapy services demonstrate SLTs’ unique value to national and local decision makers, while showing evidence of their efficiency and value for money. Please click on each link below to find out more.

The RCSLT believes:

• Speech and language therapists are specialists who enable people to develop or regain vital communication and swallowing skills.
• Problems with speech and language imprison the individual and severely limit their participation in family life, the community, education and the world of work.
• Tackling communication and swallowing problems reduces avoidable costs and waste in the NHS, local authorities, the criminal justice system and the wider economy.
• Urgent changes are needed to support timely access to speech and language therapy for those who need it.

I can certainly sympathize with this campaign. Speech and language therapists are often unrecognized champions of healing in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities.  I have seen the magnificent results that can be achieved through their technical skills, patience, and empathy.  I hope the RCSLT is successful in convincing the body politic in the UK to provide proper support to this mission.