I was so glad to see the interview by Kadish Morris with New York artist and stutterer JJJJJerome Ellis (‘So much pain comes from not feeling fully human’, 10 November). As Morris says, “Ellis was made for speaking.” The pain of this talented artist is real – speech disorders are largely ignored. Parliamentarians here in the UK acknowledged this during a debate in July 2018 on speech, language and communication support for children, when it was stated that “not enough progress has been made” for the “Cinderella sector” involving 1.4 million children. Rebecca Pow MP said: “If communication was given the priority it deserves, the 1 million-plus children in England who are suffering with communication problems could be helped.”
My son has verbal dyspraxia and I was astonished that the government does not know how many children have this condition in the UK. I submitted a FOI request earlier this year, and officials struggled to answer my questions about the state of support given to families, admitting: “The DfE does not hold figures on the number of children diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia.”
JJJJJerome Ellis is an inspiration for families who struggle, fighting to get the best support for their son or daughter with speaking difficulties, faced with indifference by political leaders.
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