Cambridge in spring is beautiful.
Kings College in the evening sunshine |
Mathematical Bridge |
Mathematical Bridge from Queens College |
Was this the tree inspired Newton's theory of gravity? |
Round Church |
Sharynne McLeod is Professor of Speech and Language Acquisition at Charles Sturt University, Australia. This blog records the work of her team to support multilingual children's speech acquisition throughout the world. The associated Multilingual Children's Speech website contains resources for over 60 languages: http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech
Cambridge in spring is beautiful.
Kings College in the evening sunshine |
Mathematical Bridge |
Mathematical Bridge from Queens College |
Was this the tree inspired Newton's theory of gravity? |
Round Church |
This week I have enjoyed visiting the University of Cambridge. I have been hosted by Prof Jenny Gibson and Prof Karen Forbes from the Faculty of Education and Prof Napolean Katsos from the Faculty of Linguistics. Prof Gibson is co-chair of PEDAL: Play in education learning and development. A highlight of my visit was examining the PhD thesis of Mélanie Gréaux (supervised by Prof Gibson and Prof Katsos). I have also learned about the 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge and have been able to dine in Homerton College with Prof Forbes and Trinity College with Prof Katsos.
Prof Karen Forbes at Homerton College |
Prof Sharynne McLeod, Prof Napolean Katsos, Mélanie Gréaux, Prof Jenny Gibson, Prof Karen Forbes |
A squirrel on campus! |
The dining hall at Homerton College |
Today I gave a lecture at University of Cambridge in the Faculty of Education.
Title: Communication rights and social justice: Enhancing communicative participation for children with speech, language and communication needs
Abstract:
Communication is a human right for all; including children with speech, language, and communication needs and 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. 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 all children’s participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society?
Thank you to Professor Jenny Gibson (https://www.languagesciences.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-jenny-gibson) for the invitation and the excellent and engaged audience. I announced The Treehouse and the International Children's Research and Communication Centre during the talk was delighted by the interest and potential future collaborations.
Prof Jenny Gibson and Prof Sharynne McLeod at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge |
I recently came upon this eloquent description of the impact our work we have presented to the UN:
"By virtue of linking SLT [speech and language therapy] with Human Rights and the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, McLeod and colleagues fundamentally decentred the traditional medical model. Instead, they harnessed frameworks that specifically acknowledge and seek to address issues of injustice and inequalities, hence affording greater alignment with the current reframing of the profession under social justice movements"
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
McLeod, S., & Marshall, J. (2023). Communication for all and the Sustainable Development Goals. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2022.2160494
Yesterday I gave the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit Annual Lecture at Southmead Hospital as part of my Benjamin Meaker Visiting Distinguished Professor program.
Title: All Children Should be Seen AND Heard: The Importance of Communication so Children can Thrive
Abstract: Communication is a human right for everyone – including children. Being an effective communicator is essential for children’s belonging, being, and becoming – and their ability to thrive. The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights describes our right to freedom of opinion and expression and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. This right is echoed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This presentation will draw on extensive large-scale evidence regarding children’s communicative competence and capacity. Data from thousands of children within the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) will be supplemented with insights from children’s drawings and insights. The communicative competence of multilingual children and families will be celebrated. This presentation will conclude with a range of solutions for international, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral change to enable children to be seen AND heard so they can thrive.
What a fabulous event - with people traveling from London, Worcestershire, Exeter and Cardiff to attend, including Steve Jamieson, CEO from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and Emeritus Professor Sue Roulstone.
Steve Jamieson, CEO from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) |
What a pleasure to visit the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit (BSLTRU) again. I first visited in 2010, and again in 2013. BSLTRU was founded by Prof Pam Enderby, then has been led by Prof Sue Roulstone and now by Prof Yvonne Wren. I constantly quote work from the PhD students and staff from BSLTRU. I was honoured to present their annual lecture and am enjoying my collaborative conversations during my fellowship.
Famous PhD theses from BSLTRU: including Enderby, Roulstone, Wren ... |
Today, as part of my role as the Bristol Benjamin Meaker Visiting Distinguished Professor, I presented a guest lecture to the School of Dentistry titled "Speech, Language and Communication: An Overview for Dentists" https://www.bristol.ac.uk/international-research-development/diary/2024/dental-school-talk-by-professor-sharynne-mcleod.html. The lecture was held at the Bristol Dental School, Temple Quay Room
Most speech, language and communication is produced using the mouth. Dentists are frequently asked about the association between oral structures and communication. This presentation will describe how speech is produced using ultrasound and electropalatography images and will demonstrate the impact of oral structural alterations (e.g., tongue tie and cleft palate) on speech. Recent evidence-based techniques will be described to enable dentists to be better equipped to work with individuals with speech, language and communication needs.
Prof Sharynne McLeod and Prof Yvonne Wren |
I am so sad to hear that my mentor and friend Larry Shriberg has passed away. He has had such a profound influence on my work, and on children with speech sound disorders (SSD) throughout the world. I was to be his PhD student at the University of Wisconsin Madison; however, grant funding fell through the year I was to study with him - so I was unable to move to the USA. Larry had an ongoing interest in my work and we met up at each ASHA convention.
Sharynne, Larry Shriberg and Helen Blake - ASHA 2017 |
Larry Shriberg, Greg Lof, Sharynne McLeod, Peter Flipsen - ASHA 2014 |
A few of his influential papers include:
Larry in his office in Madison, 2006 |
Prof Yvonne Wren acknowledging Prof Shriberg's international contributions at the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit Annual Lecture - 30 April 2024 |
During April/May, some of my research students graduate at Charles Sturt University. I am unable to celebrate with them at the graduation ceremonies, because the graduation dates changed from December 2023- so coincided with my international travel. I cheered loudly from the other side of the world - and had an opportunity to celebrate Belinda in Bathurst.
Pre-graduation celebration with Dr Belinda Downey |
Congratulations Sarah Faulks on your honours graduation in Albury in April. I am glad A/Prof Sarah Verdon was with you to celebrate |
Today (Wednesday 24th April) I presented a lecture as part of the Cardiff Metropolitan University Centre of Hearing, Language and Communication Research Lecture Series. My presentation was titled: Assessing Children's Speech in Languages Other than Welsh and English
It was great to spend time with the team at Cardiff Metropolitan University and to see Prof Robert Mayr again (we met in Sydney last June at the ISB14 conference)
The Speech, Hearing and Communication research group, led by Dr Robert Mayr, has three major strands:The latter is run in partnership with the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit (BSLTRU). Much of our work involves national and international collaborations, notably with universities in Europe, the USA, China and Japan and Australia.
- Bilingual Development, led by Dr Robert Mayr;
- Healthy and Impaired Hearing, led by Prof Fei Zhao, and
- Clinical Speech and Language Research, led by Prof Yvonne Wren.
Sharynne and Prof Yvonne Wren |
The Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group (ECIR) conducts transformative research promoting social justice for children, families and practitioners. This group brings together a critical mass of interdisciplinary early childhood researchers (academics, adjuncts, HDR students) to build research capacity, establish and expand collaborations, and support funding application success. The group cultivates a positive collegial environment to develop the full potential of researchers at all stages of their careers.
The ECIR team recently have published the Springer book: Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals https://link.springer.com/book/9783031564833. Additionally, ECIR founded the successful Early Childhood Voices Conference hosting ~ 2,000 online registrations during ECV2020 and ECV2022. The conference will be held again in 2024. The ECV2022 Children Draw Talking Global Online Gallery included drawings from 200 children from 24 countries. These children’s insights were shared with the United Nations: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/youth/hr75/submissions/subm-views-youth-led-cso-early-childhood-interdisciplinary-resear.pdf. Acknowledging these and other initiatives, ECIR won a CSU Research Excellence (RED) Award in 2023.
Reflecting this expertise, Charles Sturt University earned an ERA rating of “above world standard” for Field of Research 1301 Education Systems, which encompasses early childhood education, and 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy, which encompasses creative arts, media and communication curriculum and pedagogy, curriculum and pedagogy theory and development, mathematics and numeracy curriculum and pedagogy.
ECIR is currently funded by the Charles Sturt University Sturt Scheme and will transform into the International Children’s Research and Communication Centre in 2025. Learn more https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/organisations/early-childhood-interdisciplinary-research-group
While in Bristol I have been gathering ideas for The Treehouse - our new building for the International Children's Research and Communication Centre
While walking around the University of Bristol, there are many statues of men - but I am pleased to see women being celebrated in more recent initiatives. One initiative is the Put Her Forward project where 25 women were nominated by the community to have a 3D printed statue made of themselves https://putherforward.com/the-women/.
Sharynne McLeod is Professor of Speech and Language Acquisition at Charles Sturt University. She was awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2010-2014) titled Speaking my Languages: International Speech Acquisition in Australia. This blog was designed to archive what she learned and accomplished during the Fellowship. For details about the Fellowship see the original post. The Multilingual Children's Speech website was created as part of this Fellowship. It contains resources for over 60 languages.
The blog has continued beyond 2014 to record our continuing work to make a difference in children's lives throughout the world. Since this blog commenced Professor McLeod's Speech-Language-Multilingualism team has included:
Postdoctoral scholars: Dr Kate Crowe, Dr Sarah Verdon, Dr Sarah Masso, Dr Cen (Audrey) Wang, Dr Michelle Brown
PhD students: Nicole Watts Pappas, Jane McCormack, Jacqui Barr, Kate Crowe, Sarah Verdon, Sarah Masso, Suzanne Hopf, Ben Pham, Helen Blake, Anna Cronin, Natalie Hegarty, Anniek van Doornik, Nicole McGill, Van Tran, Belinda Downey, Marie Ireland, Kate Margetson
Masters students: Rebekah Lockart, Hang Nguyen, Vấn Phạm
Honours students: Bethany Toohill, Hannah Wilkin, Erin Holliday, Nicole Limbrick, Charlotte Howland and Holly McAlister.
Summaries:
2010, Feb-July: here
2010, Feb-Dec: here
2011, Feb-June: here
2011, July-Sept: here
2011, Oct-Dec: here
2012, Jan-Feb: here
2012, March-May: here
2012, June-July: here
2012, Aug-Sept: here
2012, Oct-2013-Feb: here
2013, March-May: here
2013, June-August: here
2013, Sept-2014, Feb: here
2014, March-June: here