About Us
North Surrey AFASIC is a parent and volunteer led, self-funding branch of the national charity AFASIC, formerly known as the Association For Speech Impaired Children (registered charity no. 1045617). We are run by a committee of volunteers who are mostly parents of children with speech and language needs. We started in 1984 and we support over 50 children and young adults annually.
What area do we cover?
Our area of operation covers Ashtead and Leatherhead in the Mole Valley, Epsom and Ewell, Banstead, Elmbridge and other areas of Surrey.
What do we do?
We support children and young adults who have speech and language needs. We run a fortnightly ‘Friday Club’, which are grouped by age. We also organise summer activity weeks, some residential, for the children and young adults. This means that the children can enjoy group activities in a comfortable and supportive environment, with others of a similar age.
What is ‘Speech and Language Impairment’?
Individuals with speech and language needs have a difficulty with one or more aspects of speech, language and/or communication. They may not properly process language – speaking and/or listening and/or understanding. Many people with communication difficulties have poor non-verbal communication skills, as well as difficulty with communication through language - it is estimated that three quarters of human interaction is non-verbal, involving gestures, facial expressions etc. This clearly has a knock-on impact on reading, writing and overall education. Some of these children may have physical or co-ordination problems, as well as behavioural or other personal difficulties, and social skills problems.
The national afasic website has more detailed information about these issues and a series of publications is available at www.afasic.org.uk. The Afasic helpline number is 0300 666 9410. Opening hours are (Mondays 10:30am-4:00pm and Wednesdays 10:30am-4:00pm).
Committee: Our Officers
Committee: Members
Danine Cronk
Committee Member
Julie Inglis
Senior Friday Club Leader
Julie King
Junior Friday Club Leader
Sophie Drewitt
Committee Member
Emma Spillane
Middle Friday Club Leader and Safeguarding Lead
Gary Nash
Committee Member
Join Us
You don’t need experience with children or young people who have a communication difficulty to join us. All we ask is that you want to improve the life of a child or young person who has a speech and language disorder.
