Saqib welcomed verbal dyspraxia and apraxia advocates, Chris Kamara, and Mikey Akers to Parliament to raise awareness for verbal dyspraxia and other speech and language difficulties. The event was sponsored by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and saw over 140 verbal dyspraxia campaigners, speech and language therapists, parent advocates, representatives of speech and language charities, and parliamentarians come together to highlight the needs of those with verbal dyspraxia and other speech and language difficulties.
Verbal dyspraxia is a speech disorder caused by difficulty in placing muscles in the correct position to produce speech. Affected individuals can struggle with their speech making it difficult to understand them and, in the most severe cases, they are unable to verbally communicate at all. People of any age can be affected, although it is often caused by a stroke or other brain injury, it can occur on its own and is most associated with other speech and language disorders.
Saqib has been involved in raising awareness for verbal dyspraxia since meeting constituent Mikey Akers and offering him support with his charity Mikey’s Wish, which increases awareness for individuals with verbal dyspraxia, supports families who share his verbal dyspraxia diagnosis and raises money for special education needs.
Commenting on the event, Saqib said:
“I was honoured to host this event highlighting the needs of people with verbal dyspraxia and other speech and language difficulties. Raising awareness of these conditions is central to destigmatising speech and language conditions and improving access to the support that is available.”
“Meeting Mikey and learning about verbal dyspraxia has been an eye-opening experience for me, and I continue to be inspired by all the amazing work that he does. I remain committed to helping him raise the profile of verbal dyspraxia and other speech and language difficulties.”
Mikey Akers, said:
“This event in the Houses of Parliament and the work that my MP, Saqib Bhatti, has been doing to support me is really helping to raise the profile of Childhood Apraxia of Speech, formally known as verbal dyspraxia here in the UK. I am hoping that myself and Saqib can continue to work together and ultimately secure more funding for speech and language services in the UK. Saqib has been amazing in his support and has fulfilled every promise he has made so far."
Chris Kamara, said:
“We have to help our children who are born with CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech) & Verbal Dyspraxia. Our aim is to request more funding to recruit speech and language therapists to help the children and to also provide help in schools. We will be begging the government to provide more resources and support for families”
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ Chief Executive Steve Jamieson said:
“We were delighted to support this important event, hosted by Saqib Bhatti MP, to raise awareness of people’s communication difficulties and their need for speech and language therapy. In particular, we were able to shine a light on verbal dyspraxia – also known as childhood apraxia of speech – a rare and serious motor speech disorder which reduces the intelligibility of speech. It’s present from birth and cannot be resolved without specialist speech and language therapy intervention.
