Speech and language jobs crisis ‘devastating’ for Galway parents

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Written by Avril Horan

Wednesday, 22 August 2007

The lack of jobs for up to 100 speech and language therapy graduates is “devastating for Galway parents”. That’s according to Monica McAnenna, Secretary of Voices for Galway, which is fighting for speech and language services for children and adults with Down Syndrome in the city and county.

A new four-year course was set up at NUI, Galway and University College Cork in 2003 to tackle the shortage of speech and language therapists in Ireland. A two-year masters course was also set up at the University of Limerick. Those graduates are now facing a jobless future in Ireland despite a four and a half year waiting list for speech and language services in Galway. The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists has confirmed that graduates are struggling to find work as funding is not available for new posts.

“It’s devastating for parents,” said Monica, who has an eight-year-old son David with Down Syndrome. “It doesn’t make any sense. There was a light of hope when the speech and language courses were set up in 2003. We hoped the climate would change, as there would no longer be a shortage of therapists in Galway. Now we find out they are not going to be employed. It is soul destroying. The graduates from NUIG are very familiar with Down Syndrome patients. We have allowed them access to our children to give them hands on experience under the supervision of a senior speech therapist. They will now have to go abroad to continue their training, to the UK or the States. There are no opportunities here,” she said.

Monica has been living in Galway for two years and told the Galway Independent that, during that time, she has been contacted once regarding therapy for her son David. She was offered a once-off assessment for her son but said there was “no guarantee of continuous therapy”. Voices for Galway, a sub-group of the Galway branch of Down Syndrome Ireland, was set up because the situation in the West was “so desperate”, according to Monica.

“The project started because the speech and language services were very limited,” she explained. “Parents of children and adults with Down Syndrome decided to get together to hire their own speech therapists as a direct result of this situation. My own son is eight and will be nine in September. He can’t wait for the disability bill to roll out. He is promised an assessment but what is that going to guarantee? It would be fool hardy of me to wait if we can do something as parents. The window of opportunity for learning is passing. It’s not rocket science. If he has consistent therapy throughout his life it’s a win-win situation. He will become a more independent person, which makes more sense for the government. If that investment is not made, David would have to go into a day-care facility, at a greater cost to the state.”

This year, the Making Galway Proud Initiative has chosen Voices for Galway as their elected charity. Co-ordinator of Making Galway Proud, James Harris, said the current situation regarding speech and language services in the city and county is “disgraceful”.

"Speech and language therapy is paramount in the development of children with special needs and it is an absolute disgrace that parents have to campaign for funding for this service. I hope that our efforts in 2007 for the fantastic Voices For Galway will not only make people aware of all the shortfalls in this system but will also give this group a huge boost in funding. Something has to be done about this disgraceful situation. Down Syndrome is becoming increasingly evident in today's communities and the waiting lists will get longer and longer," he said.

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