Episodes
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Kama Melly KC (Park Square Barristers) explores trauma-informed, person-centered approaches to facilitating the evidence of vulnerable witnesses and defendants.
Speaking at Communicourt's Access to Justice Conference 2023, Kama considers how we can step outside of the special measures set out in the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999), in order to support the participation of vulnerable court users, including children and people affected by trauma.
One of the six Senior Trainers who helped develop the National Training for Vulnerable Witnesses, Kama’s practice with young defendants, particularly, has been described by the Court of Appeal as ‘a model’. She is also the Bar Representative with the Ministry of Justice for the Section 28 scheme to pre-record evidence. Among her many other roles, Kama sits part-time as a Judge in the Crown and Family Courts.
In her presentation, Kama strongly recommends the Inns of Court College of Advocacy e-learning programmes, which include programmes on 'Advocacy and the Vulnerable' in criminal and family proceedings, as well advocacy for children in contact with the law.
You can watch a video recording of Kama's speech from the Access to Justice 2023 conference, as well presentations delivered by HHJ Neil Clark, Dr Katie Maras, Andi Brierley and Edmore Masendeke on Communicourt's library of resources for legal professionals: The Access Brief.
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
In this episode, intermediary Maija Siren talks to highly specialist speech & language therapist, Sarah Gibbin about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and some of the impacts the condition can have on communication. Maija brings an intermediary's perspective to the conversation, considering how the 'hidden disabilities' a person with a mild or moderate TBI may have could affect them in legal proceedings.
Sarah is a senior speech & language therapist with specialist post-graduate training in communication disorders post traumatic brain injury and acquired swallowing disorders. Sarah has worked across a range of hospital and community settings and now works part-time in the NHS, and recently completed a Masters in Research (Communication Disorders). Sarah also works as an expert witness for medico-legal cases, via Somek & Associates, providing specialist speech & language therapy assessment and reports required for court proceedings.
Resources mentioned in episode:
- Headway: Brain injury charity providing information, helplines and support groups.
- Arbor Neurorehabilitation Services: Sarah's interdisciplinary organisation, which provides private, client-centred therapy for adults with a brain injury.
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
October is Selective Mutism Awareness Month. In this episode, intermediary Demi Holden talks to Speech & Language Therapist Susannah Thomson about Selective Mutism, touching on everything from Selective Mutism myths, to how professionals can better assist court users with selective mutism in the justice system.
Susannah Thomson is a Speech and Language Therapist working online but based in Bristol. Her private caseload includes children and adults with Selective Mutism (SM). She was trained to the Advanced level by Maggie Johnson and Alison Wintgens, the authors of the SM Resource Manual, and is a member of the profession’s Clinical Excellence Network. She is a Trustee of the national SM charity SMIRA and is a regular contributor on the SMIRA Facebook group . She designed the guided process on “How to Get Help for Selective Mutism” and runs training courses on working with teens and adults with Selective Mutism. More information about Susannah's work can be found on her website: speech-freedom.co.uk
Additional resources mentioned in podcast
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Becky Clark is a speech and language therapist and founder of ClarkSLT. She co-founded the RADLD YouTube campaign to raise awareness and understanding of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
In the fifth episode of our Hidden Disabilities series, Becky talks to Communicourt intermediary, Maija Siren, about this underdiagnosed language disorder, unpacking DLD, alongside some of its potential impacts for court users.
As RADLD Editor, Becky produced many of the films, and in 2018 RADLD won a Charity Film Award for DLD 1-2-3. In 2021, Becky received a 'Giving Voice Award' and became a 'Fellow' of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the profession. Becky's research and online publications can be downloaded here.
Monday Feb 13, 2023
ADHD and Legal Proceedings with ADHD UK: Hidden Disabilities (episode 4)
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
ADHD UK hosted a panel discussion on "ADHD and the Criminal Justice System" as part of the first Global ADHD Conference.
Henry Sheldon (ADHD UK) chaired a conversation with William Scrimshire (Communicourt), Michelle White (Teesside University) and Allison Woodhead (Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), exploring topics including underdiagnosis of the condition among individuals in the criminal justice system, police questioning of individuals with ADHD and the barriers to participation a defendant with ADHD may face at court.
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Austin Willett is the CEO of Different Strokes, a charity helping younger stroke survivors and their families to achieve active recovery throughout their lives. In the third episode of our Hidden Disabilities series, Austin and Miriam John (intermediary) explore the possible impacts of stroke upon communication and the potential challenges a stroke survivor may face when participating in legal proceedings.
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Cliff Hawkins is a clinical psychologist with considerable experience working with people with learning disabilities. He has also served as an expert witness in legal proceedings. In the second episode of our Hidden Disabilities series, Cliff discusses trauma and its possible impacts on individuals involved in legal proceedings, with intermediary Carla Millington.
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Intermediary, Miriam John, woke up one morning with a psychogenic stammer, which later disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared. In the first episode of the Accessing Justice podcast series 2 (Hidden Disabilities), Miriam talks to her former Speech and Language Therapy lecturer, Dr David Ward (University of Reading) about her own experience and explores how stammering may impact an individual's participation in legal proceedings.
If you would like to contact David, please note that the email address provided in this episode has now changed. He can now be contacted at: David.ward@reading.ac.uk
For more information about stammering & legal proceedings, download our free guide from The Access Brief and explore some of the excellent work undertaken by STAMMA, including their guidance for judges.
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Communication needs and the right to a fair trial, Sanchita Hosali
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
In this podcast, we talk to the Director of the British Institute of Human Rights, Sanchita Hosali.
The Right to a Fair Trial is Article 6 of the Human Rights Act, however do we know how to use that right if we need it? Sanchita talks to us about the protection the right offers for defendants and respondents with communication difficulties in criminal and family courts.
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Communication needs and police interviews, Dr Katie Maras
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
In this episode we speak to Dr Katie Maras, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Autism Research at the University of Bath.
Her current work, funded by the ESRC, focuses on how autistic adults think and communicate differently, and what adaptations service providers can make to accommodate these differences.
Dr Maras is particularly interested in how autistic people fare when they are interviewed by the police as a witness or as a suspect of an alleged offence. We spoke to her about how communication needs can be a barrier to fair access to justice during initial police investigations, and when making statements.