October 2, 2024

Voice of Children Framework consultation

I was invited by Prof Fran Press, Dr Jenny Cartmel and colleagues at Griffith University to be part of the consultation on the Voice of Children Framework. 


It was an important meeting with key people across Australia. I was able to add insights to their analysis paper including our work about listening to children whose voices are often marginalized including:
  • Children with diverse abilities, including communication disabilities
  • Children who speak non-dominant languages, including multilingual children
  • Children who live in rural and remote locations 

Our new Children's Voices Centre will focus on listening to children and will draw on the previous work of the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group. For example

Here is a selection of the work we have published to listen to children:

Books

Communication rights for all

  • McLeod, S. (2018). Communication rights: Fundamental human rights for all. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1428687
  • Mahony, L., McLeod, S., Salamon, A., Dwyer, J. (2024). Why the voices of young children matter. In L. Mahony, S. McLeod, A. Salamon, & J. Dwyer (Eds.) Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals.  Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0_1  
  • McLeod, S., Gregoric, C., Cumming, T., Downey, B. (2024). Refusing to silence early childhood voices: The establishment of the Early Childhood Voices Conference. In L. Mahony, S. McLeod, A. Salamon, & J. Dwyer (Eds.) Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals.  Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0_18
  • Sumsion, J., Harrison, L. J., Press, F., McLeod, S., Goodfellow, J., & Bradley, B. S. (2011). Researching infants' experiences of early childhood education and care. In D. Harcourt, B. Perry, & T. Waller (Eds.), Researching Young Children's Perspectives: Debating the Ethics and Dilemmas of Educational Research with Children (pp. 113–127). Routledge. 

Children with communication disability

  • McCormack, J., McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Holliday, E. L. (2022). Drawing talking: Listening to children with speech sound disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(3), 713-731. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00140 
  • McLeod, S. (2011). Listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs: Who, why and how? In S. Roulstone & S. McLeod (Eds.), Listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. (pp. 23–40). J&R Press.
  • McCormack, J., McLeod, S., McAllister, L., & Harrison, L. J. (2010). My speech problem, your listening problem, and my frustration: The experience of living with childhood speech impairment. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 41(4), 379–392. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2009/08-0129)
  • 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/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2012.08.006 
  • McLeod, S., Kelly, G., Ahmed, B., & Ballard, K. J. (2023). Equitable access to speech practice for rural Australian children using the SayBananas! mobile game. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25(3), 388-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2023.2205057  

Children who speak languages other than English

  • McLeod, S., Verdon, S., & Theobald, M. (2015). Becoming bilingual: Children’s insights about making friends in bilingual settings. International Journal of Early Childhood, 47(3), 385–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-015-0148-7
  •  Washington, K. N., Wright Karem, R., Macaluso, C., Schwartz, C., & McLeod, S. (2024). Jamaican Children’s drawings of talking in Jamaican creole and English. In L. Mahony, S. McLeod, A. Salamon, & J. Dwyer (Eds.), Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals (pp. 117–133). Springer.

Children with disabilities and their families

  • Barr, J., & McLeod, S. (2010). They never see how hard it is to be me: Siblings' observations of strangers, peers and family. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 12(2), 162–171. https://doi.org/10.3109/17549500903434133
  • 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)

Methods of listening to children

  • The Speech Participation and Activity Assessment of Children (SPAA-C): https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/speech-assessments/spaa-c
  • Children Draw Talking: McCormack, J., McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Holliday, E. L. (2022). Drawing talking: Listening to children with speech sound disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(3), 713-731. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00140 
  • McLeod, S., McCormack, J., McAllister, L., Harrison, L. J., & Holliday, E. L. (2011). Listening to 4- to 5-year-old children with speech impairment using drawings, interviews and questionnaires. In S. Roulstone & S. McLeod (Eds.), Listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. (pp. 179–186). J&R Press. http://www.jr-press.co.uk/communication-needs.html
  • Mosaic Approach: Press, F., Bradley, B. S., Goodfellow, J., Harrison, L. J., McLeod, S., Sumsion, J., Elwick, S., & Stratigos, T. (2011). Listening to infants about what life is like in childcare: A mosaic approach. In S. Roulstone & S. McLeod (Eds.), Listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. (pp. 241–250). J&R Press. http://www.jr-press.co.uk/communication-needs.html
  • BabyCam  Sumsion, J., Bradley, B., Stratigos, T., & Elwick, S. (2014). 'Baby cam' and participatory research with infants: A case study of critical reflexivity. In M. Fleer & A. E. Ridgway (Eds.), Visual methodologies and digital tools for researching with young children: Transforming visuality (pp. 169–191). Springer-Verlag.


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