Visiting colleagues at The University of Hong Kong

I had a wonderful day today re-connecting with my long-term colleague Prof Carol Kit Sum To in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong. Carol and I first began collaborating around 2010 - and since then have had grants and published a number of papers together and have further collaborations planned:

1. To, C. K. S., Cheung, P. S. P., & McLeod, S. (2013a). A population study of children's acquisition of Hong Kong Cantonese consonants, vowels, and tones. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56(1), 103–122. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0080)
2. To, C. K. S., Cheung, P. S. P., & McLeod, S. (2013b). The impact of extrinsic demographic factors on Cantonese speech acquisition. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 27(5), 323–338. https://doi.org/10.3109/02699206.2013.763385
3. To, C. K. S., McLeod, S., & Cheung, P. S. P. (2015). Phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong Kong Cantonese: Diachronic review, synchronic study and implications for speech sound assessment. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 29(5), 333–353. https://doi.org/10.3109/02699206.2014.1003329
4. To, C. K. S., McLeod, S., Sam, K. L., & Law, T. (2022). Predicting which children will normalize without intervention for speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(5), 1724-1741. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00444 
5. To, C. K. S., Cheung, P. S. P., & McLeod, S. (2025). English + Cantonese speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press. 
   

Prof Carol To at her speech lab

Sharynne and Carol at HKU

Carol is an Adjunct Research Professor at Charles Sturt University. 

I also met Dr Saira Ambreen, who completed her PhD with Carol in 2023 - and now is a postdoc at HKU. Saira's research has described children's acquisition of Urdu - and I have cited her work a number of times already. Saira and Carol have written a chapter on Urdu speech development in The Oxford Handbook of Speech Development in Languages of the World. It was inspiring to spend the day with Carol and Saira. Thank you for your hospitality.

Sharynne, Carol and Dr Saira Ambreen

Enhancing children’s speech using international evidence-based resources

The following invited article has just been published: 

McLeod, S., Blake, H. L., & Margetson, K. (2024). Enhancing children’s speech using international evidence-based resources. Revista Portuguesa de Terapia da Fala [Portuguese Journal of Speech and Language Therapy], 17, 9-13. https://doi.org/17.21281/rptf.2024.08.03

Available here: https://www.aptf-rptf.com/c%C3%B3pia-carta-ao-editor-16-1
 

 

Farewell to Dr Graham Daniel

This morning we had a farewell to Dr Graham Daniel. He was my office next-door-neighbour for 20 years. Over this time I was his PhD supervisor, colleague, and research collaborator. We co-supervised honours and PhD students and wrote research together. He was the Associate Head of School. His contributions will be missed but his legacy will continue. Thanks Graham.

Here are some of our joint publications:

• Barr, J., McLeod, S., & Daniel, G. (2008). Siblings of children with speech impairment: Cavalry on the hill. Language, Speech, and Hearing Service in Schools, 39(1), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2008/003)
• Daniel, G., & McLeod, S. (2011). ‘I can’t say words much’: Listening to school-aged children’s experiences of speech impairment. In S. Roulstone & S. McLeod (Eds.), Listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. (pp. 195–202). J&R Press. http://www.jr-press.co.uk/communication-needs.html
• McLeod, S., Daniel, G., & Barr, J. (2013). “When he's around his brothers … he's not so quiet”: The private and public worlds of school-aged children with speech sound disorder. Journal of Communication Disorders, 46(1), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2012.08.006
•  Daniel, G. R., & McLeod, S. (2017). Children with speech sound disorders at school: Challenges for children, parents and teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(2), 81–101. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n2.6

ECV2024 - presentations and planning

This week is the due date for ECV2024 conference presentations. We have had a number of meetings today to coordinate the launch and the quality checking of the submitted presentations by the Scientific Review Committee. We also now have the Multilingual Children's Speech stream of the ECV2024 conference available for early viewing. There is a lot to do - and a lot of great research to share.

ECV2024 conference secretary and chairs: Carolyn Gregoric, Sharynne, Belinda Downey

ECV2024 Launch (aka "fun") committee: Carolyn Gregoric, Sharynne, Van Tran, Sarah Bartlett, Belinda Downey

ECV2024 Scientific Review Committee chairs: Kate Crowe, Sharynne, Suzanne Hopf, Leanne Gibbs

Presentation to the FoAE Internal Grant Writing Program 2024

Today I was invited to speak to participants in the FoAE Internal Grant Writing Program 2024 in the session titled Submitting your grant focusing on Tips & Tricks for Creating an Academic CV. The FoAE Internal Grant Writing Program includes practical guidance, expert mentoring and strategic advice to write a full draft internal grant proposal for the Faculty Early Career Research (ECR) Scheme (or a similar small grant). Here are the topics that have been covered: 

1. Introduction & Research Significance 
2. Aligning your research impact 
3. Refining your research design 
4. Costing a Budget 
5. Submitting your grant 

Thanks Dr Emmaline Lear and A/Prof Matt Winslade for organising the session.

 

First Nations Resources on the Multilingual Children's Speech webpage

We have a new page on the Multilingual Children's Speech website - First Nations Resources.

https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/first-nations-resources

This has been created through our collaboration with Ebony Hay from the Orange Aboriginal Medical Service and our CSU team - Emily-Jane Woodhead, Carolyn Gregoric, Sarah Bartlett.

ECV2024 - Multilingual Children's Speech stream

The Early Childhood Voices Conference (ECV2024) offers a world first opportunity with its Multilingual Children’s Speech Development presentations. You can discover how children learn to speak more than 45 home languages by watching over 70 presentations provided by international experts in each language. The experts explain where the language is spoken, the components of the language (vowels, consonants, tones), and the assessments and interventions available to support children learning to speak that language. 

Once you have listened to the presentations in English, you can listen to the same information presented in the language being spoken about. For example, you can hear how children learn to speak Kurdish in an English presentation and then listen again in Kurdish, or you can listen to a presentation about Greek in English and in Greek. These presentations will appeal to speech-language pathologists, teachers, psychologists, and linguists, as well as others wanting to learn linguistic terminology for information about each language. They may also be of interest to parents, second language learners, and people who want to listen to professional language users speaking in the language. 

• YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXcSAl_dA7arRMrE0qdxLuzGChY1LgY2 
• Website: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/speech-acquisition/multilingual-childrens-speech-development

Panel D Committee of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA)

I have been invited to be on the Panel D Committee of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) https://socialsciences.org.au/ for a three-year term commencing from the AGM next month. What an honour. 

The Chair of the committee,  Emeritus Professor Donald Byrne wrote 

"The Committee's work is crucial to the overall functioning of the Academy in ensuring a broad voice for the disciplines of Education, Psychology and Health Sciences in all of the Academy's activities."

From the website

“The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is an elected body of over 700 leading researchers and professionals across the social science disciplines…a peak body for the social sciences and a distinguished, independent membership organisation, gathering the best and brightest social science minds from universities, research institutes and policy agencies across the country. These are the people whose research shapes government decision-making, whose advice is called on by Australia’s leaders, and whose expertise has long played a key role in shaping our nation.” (https://socialsciences.org.au/academy/)

ICPLA 2025 organisation - Patras, Greece

I am the president of the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association (ICPLA). We are currently working on preparing the ICPLA conference that will take place from June 24–27, 2025, at the University of Patras, Conference and Cultural Centre, Greece.

The conference site will be hosted on the University of Patras, Department of Speech and Language Therapy website, at the following link: https://logoth.upatras.gr/en/icpla2025/

The conference e-mail: icpla2025@upatras.gr

• Abstract Submission: Opens Tuesday, October 15, 2024, and closes Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
• Review process: send abstracts for review before Christmas holidays – 20th January
• Notification of Acceptance: Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

Keynote speakers:

• Dr Claire Timmins (Glasgow, UK) –Teaching Phonetics
• Professor Frank Guenther (Boston, USA) – The DIVA Model of Speech Production

 

Invitation - ASHA Speech Sound Disorders in Children Topic Committee

I have been invited to be part of the 2025 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention Planning Committee as a member of the Speech Sound Disorders in Children Topic Committee by Dr. Carol Koch and Dr. Amy Graham. The 2025 ASHA Convention will be held in Washington, DC. 

Here is what they wrote:

The ASHA Convention is the largest continuing education experience each year attended by over 15,000 clinicians, researchers, students, and related professionals. We are extending an invitation to you to be part of the 2025 ASHA Convention Planning Committee as a member of the Speech Sound Disorders in Children Topic Committee.  
 
Agreeing to serve in this volunteer role means that you will participate in the peer-review process for convention submissions from April 24th to May 13th, 2025. As part of this process, you will review and score approximately 10-12 narrative submissions for oral seminars, technical sessions, and poster presentations. Your review will help determine the inclusion of each submission in the 2025 ASHA Convention Program... This topic committee will also provide input on invited presentations/topics...

I have accepted their invitation. It is an honour to serve ASHA in this way. I have had the pleasure of serving on committees such as these since 2003.

Learning so much during data collection

Today Emily-Jane Woodhead and I had a fun day learning from staff and children involved in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) that have invited us to work with them. What a fun day.

Everyone loved the books (and snacks) we have bought for the ACCHO with the grant money. We will profile these on the Multilingual Children's Speech website soon. Thanks to Ebony Hay, Child Health Navigator, who partnered with us to select the books and undertake the research.

Sharynne McLeod and Adam Gollan

Ebony Hay and Emily-Jane Woodhead (CSU)

Kids Club - "I like this book - we read it at school"

 

Professors' Forum

At CSU we have regular Professors' Forum meetings. This afternoon's meeting was focused on discussion with the Vice Chancellor. Additionally, there was a discussion about a number of issues:

• "The evolving risk to academic integrity posed by generative artificial intelligence": https://www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-08/evolving-risk-to-academic-integrity-posed-by-generative-artificial-intelligence.pdf. It is a very useful forum for receiving information and providing feedback.
• CAUL has agreements with a number of quality publishers and made journal articles open access free of any transactional Article Processing Charges - https://caul.libguides.com/read-and-publish. For example, Taylor and Francis journals still have some free open access charges during October - but indicate their funds are likely to expire after that time.
  

 

Meeting with Nord University

This evening I had another meeting with Katrin Olsen and members of Nord University to advance conversations about a work plan and the Memorandum of Understanding with CSU. We are planning a range of initiatives including collaborating with the Nord team in their research supporting children who speak the Sami language, visits from Nord PhD students to CSU in 2025, and collaborative seminars. Our many synergies continue to grow: https://speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com/search/label/Nord%20University

ECIR Leadership Team

The Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group has been funded by the Sturt Scheme for the past 3 years (2022, 2023, 2024). The distributed leadership team consists of: Sharynne McLeod (administrative lead), Julian Grant, Suzanne Hopf, Libbey Murray, and Sarah Verdon. Carolyn Gregoric is the Research Officer for ECIR. There are over 50 people (staff, adjuncts, HDR students) across all three faculties of CSU who are members. We are a very supportive and productive group. Current team projects are: the ECV2024 conference, two edited books, and the Children Draw Playing Global Online Gallery. There are also a number of grants, books, and research projects that are being undertaken by the team.

We are currently working on the transition to the exciting new Children's Voices Centre. 

I am very pleased to be working with such wonderful people - and to have the support of the leadership team at our meeting today.

Carolyn, Sharynne, Suzanne, Libbey

Inspirational colleagues

I really enjoy mentoring my colleagues. I am towards the end of my year of mentoring my colleague A/Prof Belinda Cash. We had a fantastic meeting celebrating her achievements this year. Congratulations Belinda! Here are two associations she is involved with:

• International Longevity Centre Global Alliance (ILC Global Alliance) https://www.ilc-alliance.org/
• Manna Institute https://mannainstitute.au/

 

Catching up with Evelyn

Evelyn Sowter was my research assistant in 2021. I had a lovely time catching up with her today since it was a public holiday. She visited The Treehouse earlier this year - so created an image to match my description~!

Spring has sprung

 It is lovely to be in Bathurst at the moment. Springtime is gorgeous!

Cherry blossoms (sakura) at the Bathurst Courthouse

Multilingual Children's Speech website - Updates and new pages

Today the CSU webteam (Alex Moore and Lindsey Ting) launched new pages and updates on the Multilingual Children's Speech website.

Dr Helen Blake and I have been updating information and creating new pages based on research undertaken by authors of The Oxford Handbook of Speech Development in Languages of the World. There are completely new pages - and the other pages are being updated with hundreds of new entries! Here are some of the new pages that we have launched (more to come):

• Multilingual speech interventions - https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/speech-interventions (this is a completely new page)
  
• Multilingual Speech Playlist - https://research.csu.edu.au/multilingual-speech-playlist

Dr Helen L. Blake and Sharynne working on the
Multilingual Children's Speech website

 

"What's got us talking" - University of Technology Sydney podcast

Today I was interviewed by Laura Carolina Corrigan for the University of Technology Sydney podcast called "What's got us talking". She was interested in learning more about The Oxford Handbook of Speech Development in Languages of the World and the work of our team regarding multilingual children's speech. Here are some links to our research that I shared:

• Multilingual Children’s Speech YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXcSAl_dA7arRMrE0qdxLuzGChY1LgY2
• Multilingual Children’s Speech website: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech
• Key paper: McLeod, S., & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 27(4), 1546–1571. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100
• Free posters: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/speech-acquisition/learning-english-consonants

Planning an extension of Marie's research

Tonight I met with Dr Marie Ireland, A/Prof Kate Crowe, and LaVae Hoffman to plan an extension of the research undertaken during Marie's PhD where she identified nine tensions in eligibility decision-making in schools in the United States. 

It will expand on the knowledge from this paper:

Ireland, M. C., McLeod, S. L., & Verdon, S. (2024). Eligibility determinations for speech and language services in United States public schools: Experiences and tensions. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 55(1), 181-198. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_LSHSS-23-00039

Marie, Sharynne, LaVae, Kate meeting in the USA/Iceland/Australia