A MOTHER has won a major award after fighting to get her son the support he needs.

Lynette Webster has been given a major award from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Lynette, who lives in Malvern Wells, has been presented with the Giving Voice Award for raising public awareness of children’s communication needs through the national media. She has first-hand knowledge about the issues, as her son Patrick, aged four, has severe developmental verbal dyspraxia, a condition which affects the ability of a child to coordinate movements to produce speech.

She was interviewed live on the BBC Victoria Derbyshire television programme and Channel 5 News about her fight to get Patrick the speech and language therapy support he needs.

She said: “I was at the Nuffield in London, which is the national centre for the treatment of developmental verbal dyspraxia, with some other mums, when the people from the BBC Victoria Derbyshire show contacted us. I was just pleased that I was able to help get out the message about the condition,and the lack of resources to deal with it.” She said her family was indebted to the Worcester Early Years Learning Centre, which has provided intensive therapy to help Patrick. They did a really good job, and he can say a lot of words now, but he still can’t chat to other children, or tell me what his day at school was like. It can be quite hard sometimes.”

The annual Giving Voice Awards celebrate those who have campaigned to highlight how speech and language therapy transforms lives. They are presented to individuals and organisations that have made particularly valuable contributions to improve the lives of people with communication and/or swallowing needs.

Lynette was interviewed after the the June publication of the Children’s Commissioner for England’s report, We Need to Talk: Access to Speech and Language Therapy.

A Royal College spokesman said: “Lynette’s powerful interview shined a light on how the current postcode lottery of speech and language therapy provision for children is completely unacceptable in the 21st century.”