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Speakeasier, a totally independent charity, is the vision of Steve Brisk, who has lived with MS since 1980. He discovered that if someone with MS was unable to walk, the NHS had a duty to supply them with a wheelchair, but if they couldn't talk, there was no obligation to supply them with a speech aid. So he founded Speakeasier, to meet that need. Having come from a business background himself, Steve was keen to enlist the support of businesses. Huw Evans, a local Cheltenham based business leader, was Speakeasier's first donor and founding chairman, helping to establish Speakeasier as an effective and successful charitable organisation. Speakeasier receives referrals from Speech & Language Therapists throughout the UK. Then, on receipt of an application form completed by a registered Speech & Language Therapist, Speakeasier will endeavour to fund the purchase of an aid which will then be given to a client on permanent loan. Speakeasier is also committed to researching cost effective solutions to communication problems. Because Speakeasier is committed to reducing the barriers to the use of Speech aids, we do not means test clients. Some donors do request some financial information about our clients, but this information will never lead to a refusal to fund an aid. Please Let Us Know what you think - we aim to provide you with as much helpful and up-to-date information as possible and your comments will help us to do that. About Us Speakeasier Organisation and Personnel Profiles The Cheltenham based Speakeasier charity operates as a Limited Company, run and organised entirely by a dedicated team of unpaid volunteers. Each has particular professional expertise helping Speakeasier to work effectively in fundraising, and ensuring rapid provision of appropriate speech aids to individuals whose speech has become impaired as a result of Multiple Sclerosis. In the following listing of personnel profiles (C) denotes those who serve on Speakeasier's management committee. Jim Beaty - Chairman (C) Jim, Human Resource Director at Kraft Foods (UK), brings a wealth of experience in management to firmly steer the Speakeasier management committee in a positive and effective manner. Steve Brisk - Founder & Deputy Chairman (C) Steve, formerly a Sales Manager with Clarks Shoes, has lived with MS since 1980 and has since qualified as a counsellor. It was when he was counselling a young mother with MS, who subsequently lost her speech, that he decided to help by raising funds for a speech aid for her. Aware of the lack of NHS funding for speech aids Steve founded Speakeasier. Andrew Chapman - Legal Advisor (C) Andrew, a practicing solicitor, provides Speakeasier with essential legal advice needed by a registered charity. Dragana Hartley - Strategic Consultant : Marketing (C) Dragana comes from an advertising background. She gives invaluable help in forming policy, and with advertising, marketing and public relations matters. Andy Imrie - Company Secretary (C) Andy, who is Finance & Planning Manager of Cheltenham & Gloucester plc., brings a valuable insight to all financial discussions, as well as arranging generous help from C&G resources. Ruth Lewis - Client Liaison Coordinator Having previously established the post of Client Liaison Officer and developed many of Speakeasier's systems, Ruth now supervises a well-trained team of Client Liaison Officers to stay in touch with our clients and to keep track of the speech aids. She also assists Steve Brisk with a variety of special tasks. Ruth has had MS herself since 1981. Chloe Simpson - Events Director Chloe, whose father has MS, comes from a sales background and organises fundraising events for Speakeasier. Her sales background and networking expertise are invaluable. Nigel West - Treasurer (C) Until recent retirement, Nigel was a consultant for HM Customs. He provides a very thorough and reliable Treasurer's service, producing Speakeasier's financial accounts. Patrons Lorraine Kelly - GMTV Presenter Well known to viewers of breakfast-time TV, when she heard of Speakeasier, Lorraine kindly agreed to support our worthy cause. Alistair Hignall - BBC Radio 5 Sports Commentator Alistair, an acclaimed rugby player, was sad to retire at the peak of his game with the on-set of MS. Nevertheless, he now employs his sports' knowledge in a new way. Consequently he is very aware of the importance of speech communication. Huw Evans - Business Leader and Founder Chairman of SpeakeasierAn eminent Cheltenham-based business leader, Huw is proud to have been the founding Patron and original Chairman of Speakeasier. He ensured that Speakeasier had a successful launch. Derek Wilkinson, MBE (C) Derek, also a Speakeasier Management Committee member, is a paraplegic/wheelchair user having a natural empathy with disabled people. With a career spent as an aerospace design engineer, Derek was awarded the MBE for Services to Aircraft Engineering. New dissertation Beth Freeman, a Speech and Language Therapist, has written a dissertation, see 'Abstract' below, which is available online for you to view. Abstract: This research investigated factors that influence the decision-making processes of Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) in introducing Augmentative and Alternative Communication to clients with Multiple Sclerosis. A Literature Review discussed a selection of recent research in this area, and detailed a clear rationale for this study. Questionnaires were sent to 200 SLTs in the United Kingdom, and data from the returned 84 questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Analysis revealed that influential factors included those specific to the disease, to the client and their environment, and resources available to the SLT. Clinical implications following analysis of the data are suggested and ideas for future research proposed. Recommended reading
Recommended Links
The MS Trust
The MS Society (UK)
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