February 09, 2026 - 46 views
A Welsh Government minister has visited North Wales to see how a scheme designed to help children and young people communicate is being used in everyday community settings.
Dawn Bowden, the Minister for Children and Social Care, visited Pentre Mawr Park in Abergele to see inclusive communication boards in use as part of a wider programme being delivered locally by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
The boards form part of the all-Wales “Talk With Me” project, with speech and language therapy teams from Betsi Cadwaladr playing a key role in rolling the scheme out across North Wales. More than 300 boards have now been installed in parks across the region, with a further 50 placed in leisure centres and libraries.
Each board displays simple visual symbols alongside words in Welsh and English. They are designed to help children who are non-verbal, or who find spoken communication difficult, to interact with others through pointing and shared play. Research shows that improving opportunities for communication can help children build social relationships and improve their overall wellbeing.
Clinical speech and language therapist Sarah Hill, who has been leading the work for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said the boards encourage children and adults to communicate together and help make public play spaces more inclusive.
Feedback from families and professionals across North Wales has been positive, with more than 90 per cent of survey respondents saying the boards are useful.
The scheme has been delivered in partnership with local authorities. Pentre Mawr Park is owned and maintained by Conwy County Borough Council, one of several councils working with the health board to install boards in parks and public buildings across the region.
The project was first piloted by Hywel Dda University Health Board before being expanded across Wales. More than 1,100 communication boards have now been installed nationwide through Welsh Government funding, with Betsi Cadwaladr leading delivery across North Wales.
