- 28/09/2018
- Posted by: Hillingdon Labour
- Category: News
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Ward budget funding put forward by Hayes Town Labour Councillors has enabled the creation of a public health video titled ‘Talk To Me’ which is targeted towards parents and carers of young children, promoting early communication with children from birth to help develop their speech and language development.
The CNWL Hillingdon Speech and Language Therapy service had met with local Councillors to raise concerns over evidence that children in Hayes are twice as likely to be referred to the service than their counterparts in Ruislip and Northwood. As a result, local Councillors used some of their ward budget allocation to provide the funds needed to create a public health which is intended to encourage parents to talk to their children even before they can speak themselves as a means to promote speech development.
How well a child is talking at the age of two can be a strong indicator of how they will be able to communicate when they are four years old and about to start school. Delays in their development in the early years of a child can cause life-long development problems.
The Hillingdon Speech and Language Therapy service worked with parents and early years professionals to support the delivery of key messages.
Speaking after the premiere of the video, Labour Group Leader and Townfield Councillor Peter Curling said:
“This is a great example of our ward budgets going to good use. Healthcare professionals had identified a real problem that needed to be tackled, and the hope is that now more parents will put down their phones or other modern distractions, and talk directly to their child, even if the child can’t yet talk themselves.“It’s so important that children are stimulated and engaging with the world around them – it is important for their development – and it is parents and carers that are in the best position to help them with this by talking to them and promoting speech and language.”
The video called “Talk to me” is available on the CNWL Hillingdon Speech and Language Therapy website “Hillingdon Talks”.www.cnwl.nhs.uk/
The video is available with English, Tamil, Somali and Punjabi subtitles.
