What a team! Our Children's Voices Centre team meets every week and achieves so much. Today we focused on our upcoming CVC conference, email compliance, newsletter, rebuilding our kitchen, visit to UoW last week etc.
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| Sharynne McLeod, Emma Hayes, Carolyn Gregoric, Kathy Cologon, Amy Whitfield, Tamara Cumming |
Working with colleagues from across the world on World Health Organization committees means that there are a number of meetings at inconvenient times of the day.
Early this morning we had the first meeting of Workstream 4, Subcommittee 3 of the World Health Organization Disability Health Equity Network. We discussed our plans for advancing disability health equity research and dissemination/translation.
I mentioned that I am working on developing a new special issue for advancing disability health equity research.
I also learned from my colleagues about some great work that they are doing with people with disabilities.
I have been involved in guest editing a number of special issues including:
This afternoon I had a great exploratory conversation with Dr Evangelia Kyritsi, a colleague in Greece, who contacted us about undertaking research together to support children with diverse communication abilities during wildfires/bushfires. CVC affiliates have undertaken a number of projects that are relevant
Relevant research by CVC affiliates:
Speech Pathology Australia has featured us on their website! https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/
Today we were able to celebrate over 1,000 CVC2026 registrations
1,041 registrations across 58 countries (6 August 2026)
(June 2026 Registrations = 666 from 40 countries)
Countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macao, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam
Abstract acceptances = 145 from 35 countries (Abstract submissions = 174)
Countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Fiji, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam
Today we had our last CVC Scientific Review Committee meeting where we are looking at the quality of the videos that are submitted before we upload them onto the CSU YouTube channel for the CVC2026 conference
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| CVC2026 Scientific Review Committee - 6 Aug 2026 |
Amy Whitfield is our new CVC Digital Media Curator - and is working hard to ensure all quality reviewed CVC2026 presentation videos are captioned and online.
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| Amy Whitfield in The Treehouse |
This week A/Prof Tamara Cumming and I were able to visit Early Start at University of Wollongong and spend 3 hours with their fantastic staff
Tonight I attended the editorial board meeting for the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (IJSLP).
IJSLP's acceptance rate is 26% and they received 346 submissions in 2025.
Here is the 2025 impact factor for speech-language pathology journals:
Chapter 1 of The Oxford Handbook of Speech Development in Languages of the World is free until 28th August 2026
https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/62951/chapter-abstract/564582292?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Congratulations to Dr Kate Margetson and Fiona Baybrooks who are working so well on the implementation science research for the Speech Assessments in Children's Home Languages (SACHL). Last week, Kate applied the SACHL to the assessment of a child who spoke English, Swahili, French and two other languages - and it worked!
Today I attended the CSU Vice Chancellor's All-staff Session on the Bathurst. It was advertised as "This is a chance for me to update you on the university’s direction and priorities and to hear directly from you with any questions or views." The VC asked for news and updates, so I was able to provide a shout out to A/Prof Kathy Cologon, Dr Belinda Downey, Dr Goutam Roy, Dr Shukla Siker, their children and the Communications Team (Kevin Ng and Dom Lindsay) for their research that lead to the World Health Organization profiling our CVC children's advisory group 7-minute video in their presentation at the United Nations in June.
There is a significant moment in writing a PhD - and that is when you print what you have written for the first time and start to read it as a book. Congratulations Holly McAlister for ticking off this important milestone.
Child Language Teaching and Therapy Special Issue (2026)
Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities
Guest editors: Sharynne McLeod and Holly McAlister, Children’s Voices Centre, Charles Sturt University, Australia
CLTT Editors: Judy Clegg and Victoria Joffe
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| Holly and Sharynne celebrating the achievement |
We calculated today that the CVC2026 papers cover all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) apart from 2, 6, and 7. What a comprehensive program!
Screening was attempted with the 1203 Kinder student cohort using the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS), a parent and educator (ICSE) report tool. Speech pathologists also screened speech using the International Speech Screener (ISS). The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) was administered as a benchmark. Speech Pathology contractors completed diagnostic assessments as usual practice. Data collection was embedded within existing school processes, modified collaboratively with teaching colleagues. Ethics approval was granted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Human Research Ethics Committee (approval 25025).
Speech was screened with the ICS with 929 students and with 895 of these using the ISS also. Some students were identified for additional assessment using ICS and/or teacher “worry” about students’ ability to pronounce speech sounds (n = 526). The DEAP Diagnostic Screen was completed on 219 students and the Phonology subtest on 119 students. Diagnostic speech assessments were completed on 497 students who did not pass screening.
Emma Scanlon has entered 529 ISS forms into Phon still a few hundred to go - but this is a big number. Thanks Emma and Felicity
The following article has just been accepted for publication after peer review:
McLeod, S. (2026, in press). Large listening ears are not enough: How can we mature in our practices to listen to children? Child Language Teaching and Therapy.
Here is the abstract:
Communication is a human right for all; including children with speech, language, and communication needs and those who speak/sign non-dominant languages. Communication specialists enhance the “voice” of children in two ways. We support children’s physical and cognitive abilities to talk as well as enabling children the “right to freedom of expression… regardless of frontiers” (Article 13 Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations, 1989). We have creatively engaged in child-friendly methods to provide children space and voice – and children frequently depict their supportive communicative partners with “large listening ears”. As communication specialists, we also have the power to assist others to listen, giving children audience and influence (Lundy, 2007). This paper provides examples of listening to children with diverse communication abilities, is based on the Child Language Teaching and Therapy (CLTT) 2024 Summer Lecture, and has been updated by integrating papers from the CLTT special issue published in 2026. As we become accustomed to including children’s perspectives in our professional practice, this paper encourages us to reflect on whether we listen to children superficially or use our large listening ears to provide children the opportunity for action based on their insights. How can we mature in our practices to enhance all children’s participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society? Our challenge is to have large listening ears; employ a variety of sources (Mosaic approach); involve children’s participation throughout the research process, and facilitate their capacity to influence the world.
The manuscript was written based on my invited lecture and forms the first article of the special issue of CLTT titled "Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities".
You can watch the Child Language Teaching and Therapy Summer Lecture 2024 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iajSaUyEuOw
Summer Lecture Abstract:
Communication is a human right for all; and ALL includes children with speech, language, and communication needs, including those who speak/sign non-dominant languages (McLeod, 2018). Aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989) we have given attention to the “voice” of children. For example, we have creatively engaged in child-friendly arts-based methods to provide children with the “right to freedom of expression… regardless of frontiers” as outlined in Article 13. However, do we REALLY listen to children? As we become more accustomed to including children’s perspectives in our professional practices, it is time to reflect on whether some of our inclusion of children’s voices could be perceived as “tokenistic” (Hart, 1992). As communication specialists, we have the power to support children’s voice and to assist others to listen. How can we mature in our practices to enhance children’s participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society?
Two Emmas worked with me at the Children's Voices Centre today :)
Emma Hayes: CVC Senior Adminstration Officer
Emma Scanlon: CeTasSSD Research Assistant
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| Sharynne, Emma H and Emma S |
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| Emma S working in The Nest |
