Publish date: 22 September 2023
Ealing Community Partners will host a special Makaton flash mob in Ealing Broadway shopping centre to celebrate Speech and Language Therapy Awareness Month.
The event will be taking place on Wednesday 27September at 12.30pm in Town Square outside Primark/Waterstones.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the Ealing Speech and Language Therapy Services, particularly services for children under five-years-old.
It comes after the charity Speech and Language UK reported the highest number of children and language challenges ever.
According to the charity, 1.9million children in the UK are currently experiencing speech and language difficulties and one in five primary and secondary aged children are estimated to be behind with their talking and understanding of words.
This means it’s more important than ever that children and their families are able to access our services.
Every year, the Speech and Language Therapy Team sees thousands of children and young people aged up to 18-years-old, some have learning disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, autism, Developmental Language Disorder or may be are deaf or hard of hearing. Many have a stammer, struggle to feed and swallow, and have issues talking and understanding language.
Hannah Howell-Day, Clinical Lead for Early Years Speechand Language Therapy at Ealing Community Partners, said: “All are welcome to join us in Ealing Broadway shopping centre for an exciting Makaton flash mob. Let's shine a spotlight on the importance of Speech and Language Therapy Services and raise awareness for the 1.9 million UK children facing speech and language challenges. Every child deserves a voice—let's make it happen!"
The flash mob event will be an opportunity to highlight our services and the great work of Ealing Speech and Language Therapists.
It will also be attended by local councillors from Ealing Council as well as the Mayor of Ealing.