Nuffield Speech and Language Unit

Nuffield Speech and Language Unit was an internationally recognised centre of excellence for providing intensive therapy to children with severe speech and language disorders such as Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, dysarthria, and oral dyspraxia.[1] The centre was located in Ealing, West London and was administered by the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust in collaboration with Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital.[2][3] Nuffield specialized in helping children between ages four and seven overcome difficulties caused by dyspraxia and had a capacity for fourteen students.[1][4] Many of the students would not have succeeded in the mainstream education system.[1] Nuffield was closed in 2011 after the board of trustees decided the under-capacity centre was not financially viable.[5]

Nuffield Speech and Language Unit
Geography
Location6 Castlebar Hill
Ealing, West London, England
Organisation
Care systemNHS
TypeSpecialist
Religious affiliationNone
Services
Beds14
SpecialityDyspraxia
History
Opened1971
Closed2011

History
Dr. Edith Whetnall's house at 8 Castlebar Hill, next door to the Nuffield Unit

In 1947, Edith Whetnall established the Deafness Aid Clinic, one of the first clinics dedicated to deaf children, at the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital.[6][7] In 1963, a grant from the Nuffield Foundation made it possible to establish the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit, of which Whetnall was made the first Director.[6] This was built at a cost of £100,000 which was promised after a presentation to Lord Nuffield by Whetnall.[8] Services began in 1971, initially as a boarding unit or hostel, but became a day school in 1996.[9]

Patients could be diagnosed with dyspraxia or related disorders at the Nuffield Speech and Language Centre and referred to the Unit for care and instruction.[9] As hearing problems became diagnosed earlier through better and more sensitive screening methods, the unit's specialty or expertise expanded to include disorders of speech and language.[1] So as not to hold the children back educationally from their peers who could attend traditional schools, the unit then included an educational curriculum so as to ease the children's eventual transition into mainstream education.[10] Students typically spent two years in the programme at Nuffield.[9] Between 1998 and 2003, 41% of Nuffield's students went on to attend mainstream schools, while the other 59% attended specialist schools.[1]

Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme

In 1985, Nuffield Speech and Language Unit published the first edition of the Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme (NDP), which was meant to provide resources to therapists to diagnose and manage dispraxia and related disorders.[6] NDP is one of the few published approaches specifically for educating and therapizing children with developmental verbal dyspraxia.[11]

Closure

Nuffield faced closure starting in 2006 when the board of trustees decided that the unit, which served between ten and twelve students annually but had a capacity for fourteen, was not financially viable.[5] Services were suspended in 2007 due to the lack of referrals that resulted from the potential of closure.[9][1] Ealing PCT held a public consultation[12] on the future of the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit, which closed in April 2011.[13]

References
  1. "Nuffield Speech and Language Unit". John Bercow. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. "The Nuffield Speech & Language Unit". Medical Catalogue. n.d. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. "Memorandum submitted by Nuffield Hearing and Speech Centre, Free Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust". UK Parliament. 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. Russell, Michael (27 September 2013). "Speech problems centre in fight for survival". My London. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  5. "NUFFIELD SPEECH AND LANGUAGE UNIT". UK Parliament. 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. "A brief history of The Nuffield Hearing & Speech Centre". NDP3. n.d. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  7. Stiles, H. Dominic W. (24 February 2012), Edith Whetnall, ENT Surgeon, auralist and pioneering audiologist, UCL EAR INSTITUTE & ACTION ON HEARING LOSS LIBRARIES, retrieved 16 July 2021
  8. Beagley, HA (1978). "Edith Whetnall's contribution to British audiology". J R Soc Med. 71 (12): 870–878. doi:10.1177/014107687807101205. PMC 1436295. PMID 368335.
  9. "The future of the Nuffield Speech & Language Unit". AFASIC. n.d. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  10. Jardine, Cassandra (27 February 2006). "'I feel my son has joined the human race'". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. Eadon, Helen. Dyslexia and drama.
  12. Public consultation on the future of the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit
  13. Nuffield Speech and Language Unit - 25 Apr 2006 : Column 541
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