Dave Hewett is appointed an OBE for 'services to people with special educational needs and disabilities'.

Dave Hewett is appointed an OBE for 'services to people with special educational needs and disabilities' in the UK New Year's Honours List (see BBC News website article below).

Dr Dave Hewett is one of the originators  of Intensive Interaction (alongside Professor Melanie Nind). He initially published on the approach as far back as 1988, and has spent most of his working life developing, defining and tirelessly disseminating this approach extensively across learning disability and special education services. 

Indeed Dave continues to this day, despite declining health, to be the main driving force behind the broadening influence of Intensive Interaction in helping people with learning disabilities and/or autism, irrespective of age, degree of impairment and learning or living environment, to have access to genuinely 'meaningful two-way communication' (Valuing People Now, DoH, 2009). He has more recently promoted its use for those suffering from later stage dementia.

Dr Hewett’s publications and presentations, including his many articles, chapters, books, training resources and DVDs (many collaboratively undertaken) have had a enormous impact on the development and implementation of Intensive Interaction. 

Intensive Interaction is now an approach that is used by an extensive range of individuals and professionals including families and carers, teachers, nurses, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists and many residential and other care establishments or services. Indeed it is an increasingly important feature of the graduate and post-graduate curricula for many of these professional groups.

Intensive Interaction is now seen to have a wide breath of utility and is used to improve social communication outcomes for adults and children with learning disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury, late stage dementia and, indeed, any individual whose diagnosis involves a social or communication impairment. However, it is important to bear in mind that the people who truly understand the power of Intensive Interaction are those many people who have had personal experience of it, such as families, carers and, of course, service users themselves.

In summation, without Dr Hewett’s tireless and continued endeavours to define, develop and continuously promote Intensive Interaction over the last 30 years, many people would not now have a chance to enjoy and benefit from the positive, affirming, nurturing and socially inclusive engagements that this single approach has made possible.

Directly and indirectly the work of Dr Hewett has had an extraordinarily positive effect on the quality of life of many thousands of individuals with social and communication impairments, and subsequently also their families and carers. I can think of no one more deserving of such an honour.