Finding Charlie's Voice is an Irish Registered Charity (CHY22899) that supports children and young adults with speech and language communication needs in Ireland.
The charity was inspired by Charlie, now 9, but born with Verbal Dyspraxia - a rare neurological speech sound disorder, impacting about 1:1000 children worldwide.
For reasons unknown, the pathways between the brain and the mouth have not developed, which results in unintelligible speech. It is also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Children with Verbal Dyspraxia have immense difficulty planning the precise movements necessary to produce speech.
Those with verbal dyspraxia need to be taught the precise motor movements necessary to form sounds and words. They need to hear and say a single word over 1000 times before it becomes natural output, and so progress is slow and time spent in therapy is long - often years and years.
Their speech cannot be corrected without intensive, early and frequent intervention from a qualified Speech and Language Therapist.
Every child deserves the right to reach their highest communication potential. Every child deserves the right to support and intervention and to participate meaningfully in society.
We believe that children should be seen AND heard. Communication is a basic human right, but it is also a privilege.
Our Ethos
Many children and young adults with speech and language communication needs, will rely on parents/guardians/adults to advocate on their behalf
- to be their voice until they find their own.
At Finding Charlie's Voice, we use the voice of not only our parents, but of adults living with speech and language disorders. These are our ambassadors and help drive our mission and ensure our values and goals remain person centered.
Our Mission
is to ensure that no child is left behind because they cannot speak and/or understand.
Our Vision
is to ensure that every child or young adult with a speech and language communication need, is afforded every opportunity and support to reach their highest communication potential.
Our Aim
is to support children and young adults in getting the appropriate supports that they need, through advocacy, research and direct support.
Our Board of Directors
Evelyn Byrne
Co-Founder & Chair,
Fellow Chartered Accountant, Parent Advocate
Evelyn is a Fellow Chartered Accountant , but also holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and spent a year post graduate working in cancer research before moving to the world of Finance! She is passionate about research, advocacy and inclusion for those presenting with speech and language communication needs. Evelyn and her husband William, set up Finding Charlie’s Voice when their son Charlie was born with Verbal Dyspraxia, a rare neurological speech sound disorder. There was little research, knowledge, expertise and information about this disorder when they commenced their journey and no support groups for children with communication disorders that could accommodate the complex profile of their son. They were both determined that Finding Charlie’s Voice would be an inclusive space for any profile that had a communication difficulty associated with it. Evelyn is an Irish ambassador for RADLD (Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder). Finding Charlie’s Voice sits as a member of the Disability Participation and Consultation Network, and is an active voice within professional, educational and government arena’s. Evelyn has been publicly and privately advocating since 2015 and has no intention on stopping. Evelyn is the current Chair and CEO of Finding Charlie’s Voice.
Shane Moynihan
Local councillor, Peace Commissioner, Lecturer
Shane Moynihan is a Councillor on South Dublin County Council for the Palmerstown-Fonthill Local Electoral Area, representing communities in Lucan, Palmerstown, Clondalkin and Balgaddy. In his professional life, he has developed an expertise in labour market analysis and skills policy, stemming from a passion for education as a tool to achieve equity. Most recently, he served as Head of Policy Research for EMEA & APAC for Linkedin, collaborating with research organisations such as the European Central Bank, the OECD and World Economic Forum. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin. He is also a member of the Boards of Management of Coláiste Cois Life and Divine Mercy National School in Lucan, Chairperson of the Management Board for Ballyowen Community Centre, and is a Board member of ACE Enterprise Park. He regularly contributes to Irish language media. He is been a director of Finding Charlie's Voice since December 2023.
Julie Sweeney
Teacher, Parent Advocate, Press Officer
Julie is a qualified post primary teacher with a B.Ed. in Home Economics & Religious Education. She is a past National Vice President (And Acting President) of her subject association, the Association of Teachers of Home Economics. She is an active volunteer in her local community and currently sits on the Board of Management of her local primary school, is PRO for the local juvenile GAA club, along with being their Cúl Camp co-ordinator. Julie's son has a dual diagnosis of Verbal Dyspraxia and Developmental Language Disorder and she is an advocate for speech language communication needs. Julie advocates on social media under the name of the Accidental Advocate and is an Irish ambassador for RADLD (Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder), as well being an administrator for the DLD Ireland Parent Support page on Facebook.
William Byrne
Co-Founder and Finance Director, Fellow Chartered Accountant, Chartered Internal Auditor
A Fellow Certified Chartered Accountant, and member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, with 29 years finance experience, William currently holds the position of Vice President of Finance & Grants and Global Data Protection Co-Ordinator for a global charity. William also sits on the Board of Cycling Ireland and on the Board of Management of a local school. Passionate about sport, inclusion and equality for all, William is an ex national elite champion in Cycling and also participates in Triathlons, Ironman, Duathlons and athletics endurance running. William is also a very active athletic coach with a local athletic club coaching a mixture of high performance and juvenile athletes. William holds the position of Finance Director for Finding Charlie’s Voice.
Jenny Hillier, SLT
MISTI CORU
Jenny Hillier is a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist and NLA Trained Clinician. With experience as a School based Speech Pathologist in Australia, Jenny has since established a successful private practice in Naas, Co. Kildare. Due to high demand, she now also offers online AAC training to parents and school staff nationwide.
Dr Clare Carroll, PhD
SLT and Lecturer
Bríd O'Donnell
Ambassador adult living with Verbal Dyspraxia
Clare Carroll is a registered speech and language therapist and a full-time lecturer in speech and language therapy at NUI Galway since 2005. She is co-director of the MSc in Childhood Speech, Language and Communication Needs. She has a wealth of clinical experience having worked with the Irish Health Service and in private practice. Clare is interested in lifelong learning and completed a MSc in Advanced Practice in Speech and Language Therapy in 2003. Her Masters dissertation investigated parents' perceptions of speech and language therapy services. She also completed courses in counselling skills and participatory research. Clare's PhD developed a model to enhance interdisciplinary team working practices for children with disabilities in Ireland. She has expertise in supporting the engagement and participation of children with disabilities in research and practice, in qualitative research methodologies and in supporting interdisciplinary practice in the field of disabilities. Clare's research interests are in childhood disability, collaborative working, health services research, integrated care, and participatory methods. Clare is passionate about services being informed by the people who use them, in particular understanding what is important to people with disabilities. She is passionate about people with communication disabilities engaging and participating in research and in our communities.
My name is Bríd and I'm an adult with verbal dyspraxia. I was first diagnosed at age 3 over 21 years ago and even before I was formally diagnosed, I was lucky enough to be in speech therapy. It's thanks to that early intervention, the hours of speech and occupational therapy and supports from my family, friends and school that I am where I am today. Today I am pursuing a masters in computer science in Trinity College, with a bachelor's already under my belt. Despite the challenges, I am passionate about debating and public speaking. I began debated in school, and I continued in college, becoming the head of the Hist, the oldest student debating society in the world. The most important lesson I learnt from not only debating but from my dypraxia that the manner in which you speak will never be as important as what you have to say. And that's why I am delighted to be involved with Finding Charlie's Voice.