The story of a man who suffered from communication problems for 14 years has prompted a call for public support on a campaign to extend communication treatment and care to adults.

The Daily Mail last week published the story of Martin Pistorius, who was unable to speak or communicate in any way from the age of 12 to 26. The story has prompted the national newspaper to join forces with the Adult Communication Coalition, a parliamentary campaign group that calls upon the government to support care for people with speech, communication and language needs (SCLN).

Although professionals in speech and language jobs have seen improvements to their services over the past year - since the Review of Services for Children and Young People with SCLN in 2008, the government's commitment to support communication stops at 19 years of age.

Martin Pistorius spoke at the Coalition's parliamentary launch in the summer of 2009, when the DSCF reported on their progress in improving support for young people. The coalition advocates that the government make a similar commitment to extending services for those over 19 years of age. This commitment would involve releasing funds for additional speech and language therapy jobs at NHS trusts around the UK, funding research into better treatment methods as well as other strategies such as subsidising equipment.

Whilst 92 MP's have announced their support for a national audit of services for adults with SCLN, Phylis Campbell-Macrae, chair of the Coalition says that "we are still waiting for the government to reply to us and tell us what they will be doing to ensure that every adult has the equipment and support they need to communicate".