Today Sarah Bartlett, Holly McAlister and I spent an hour looking at the formula for writing their final PhD chapters (then they write their first PhD chapter).
I always ask my students to print the work they have written and read it in hard copy before summarizing it in their final chapter. We were very impressed with Sarah's large pile of double-sided printing!
Our CVC team met this morning to update our progress on the CVC and WHO collaborative projects exploring children's perspectives of health. Most projects have completed the data collection phase and are currently being written up. There will be a lot of publications submitted in the next half of the year.
 |
| Tamara, Sharynne, Belinda, Kathy, Carolyn, Helen, Kate F |
Today was my first day back at work (yesterday was a public holiday). My Children's Voices Centre team has been fantastic. They have been so productive while I have been away. Thank you to A/Prof Kathy Cologon who was the acting director of CVC while I was away and Dr Helen Blake who answered many of my research emails. I also had a kangaroo hop across the lawn outside of my office and some gorgeous birds come to say hello. It is nice to be back.
Over the past 3 years, we have been undertaking research with OAMS. Today, Sarah Bartlett and I visited OAMS to finalise four journal manuscripts (submissions and revisions) based on the work we undertook with the OAMS team. We also have presented at a number of conferences as well. We had a rich discussion about the research, representing the people and work of OAMS, the importance of the research internationally, tracking research (ORCiD, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, Web of Science), authorship, and many other topics. What a special bond.
 |
| Sharynne McLeod, Janay Apps, Marie-Christine Sweeney, Sarah Bartlett |
 |
| It was exciting to see the Little Libraries, map, and posters available from our research project |
 |
| Sharynne and Sarah arriving at OAMS |
Here are the conference presentations from our research so far:
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
What a fantastically rich brainstorm we had today thinking about the best way to analyse the Children Draw Health artworks. Thanks team!
 |
| Sharynne, Carolyn, Holly, Helen, Suzanne, Kathy, Kate F |
Congratulations to Sarah Bartlett on all she has achieved during year 2 of her PhD journey during 2025. Dr Carolyn Gregoric and I had our final supervisory meeting with Sarah for the year today. Recently, Sarah has had a journal article accepted in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and she has had a paper accepted for presentation at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference. I'm looking forward to working with her in her final year of her PhD in 2026.
Congratulations to A/Prof Brendon Hyndman whose TEDx talk Reimagining Schools for Belonging has now gone live. His message connects strongly with children’s voices, agency, belonging and their experiences in school environments. He stated that students want a place for: doing, thinking, feeling, and being. When these places are created he has seen teamwork, belonging, wellbeing, when those needs are ignored he has seen bullying and disconnection. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcgnwa25xr0
Our Children's Voices Centre has collaborated to write another paper based on the informative Children Draw Talking data set - and it has just been accepted for publication. Hooray!
Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., Davies, J. (2025, in press November). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102
Here is the abstract:
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015) represent a global agenda for achieving a sustainable future for people and the planet to inform decision and policy making at all levels. Children should have a significant voice in shaping the world they will inherit; indeed, SDG 17 is focussed on partnership for the goals. The aim of the present study was to investigate which SDGs are depicted in children’s drawings of themselves talking to provide researchers and policy makers insights into their perceptions about, and solutions for, the SDGs. The Children Draw Talking Global Online Gallery (https://www.csu.edu.au/research/childrens-voices-centre/research/childrens-voices) included 200 drawings from children from 24 countries. Children aged 2–12 years responded to the online prompt “draw yourself talking” and submitted their drawing and explanation. A 15-member interdisciplinary research team analysed the drawings to determine their alignment with the seventeen SDGs. Most of the 200 drawings (n = 191, 95.5%) could be coded with at least one SDG. Overall, there were 359 representations of SDGs coded across the data set of 200 drawings. Many children highlighted access to green public spaces and housing (SDG11), education (SDG 4), and decision-making (SDG 16) while others portrayed reducing inequality (SDG 10) and addressing poverty (SDG 1). This research demonstrated that children may be implicitly aware of factors related to the Sustainable Development Goals across their lives and provides an exemplar of how children’s voices could be included by inviting them to contribute drawings.
Giitu (thank you) Camilla Porsanger for your excellent presentation to the students in the School of
Indigenous Australian Studies (SIAS) organised by Sharnie Hurford. Camilla is a visiting scholar in the Children's Voices Centre and SIAS - we have learned so much from her.
It was a pleasure to have Matt Stapleton visit CVC this week. Matt has collaborated with colleagues at CSU on an ARC project Babies in Groups and his work is centred on infants’ groups, communication, belonging and participation, and how research sits alongside day-to-day practice in his two early childhood education and care services in NSW. We look forward to ongoing conversations and collaborations.
Here are some of his publications:
Stapleton, M., Bradley, B. S. & Selby, J. (2025). Adopting a Group-Based Approach to Infant Sociability, Peer Relations and Wellbeing. In G. Quinones, A. Delaune (Eds.). Wellbeing for Infants and Toddlers in Education and Care. Springer.
Bradley, B. S., Selby, J., & Stapleton, M. (2024). Babies in Groups: Expanding Imaginations. Oxford University Press.
Thank you to A/Prof Kathy Cologon for leading the Children's Voices Centre Submission to the Review of the Australian Disability Discrimination Act titled "Children’s Perspectives on the Disability
Discrimination Act: Barriers, Fairness and Belonging". Kathy coordinated an insightful group of children to advise on the submission.
Here is an excerpt:
Children’s Core Message and Key Principles
"The children who contributed to this submission shared a strong, consistent message that disability is not the problem, barriers are. Across ages, communication styles, and lived experiences, the children described a world that often excludes people through its design, attitudes, rules and expectations. They also described the world they want to live in as one that is fair, kind, accessible and welcoming to everyone. The children’s messages reflect a clear understanding of rights, inclusion and justice. They highlight the need for a Disability Discrimination Act that not only responds when discrimination occurs but proactively prevents it by requiring society to be designed for all people."
What a joy it is to work with A/Prof Kathy Cologon and A/Prof Tamara Cumming to prepare grant applications to fund the important work we want to do.
Congratulations to A/Prof Tamara Cumming who is an invited member of panel discussion on Culture, Educator Wellbeing and Children's Outcomes at the two-day National Workforce Forum hosted by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority.
 |
| Holly McAlister |
 |
| Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod |
 |
| Dr Helen L. Blake |
Each Wednesday in September our Children Draw Health Advisory Group are considering the 100+ drawings from 17 countries we have received in our research. This week we continued to consider themes and answers to these questions:
Photographs are shared with permission from the children and their parents
Today our Children's Voices Centre Visiting Scholar - Professor Lynn Williams - presented a whole day workshop titled "Thinking in Action: Strengthening Clinical Reasoning to Deliver High-Impact, Individualized Interventions".
We had 16 people attend in person in Bathurst, 65 people attend session 1 online, 96 people attend session 2 online, and 62 people attend session 3 online!
9:30-11:30 | Session 1: Thinking in Action: Strengthening Clinical Reasoning to Deliver High-Impact, Individualized Interventions (2 hours)
11:30-12:00 | COFFEE BREAK
12:00-1:00 | Session 2: The Evolution of the Multiple Oppositions Approach: From Theory to Global Practice (1 hour)
1:00-2:00 | LUNCH (Own expense at CSU café or BYO)
2:00-3:00 | Session 3: Thinking in Action (1 hour)
Professor A. Lynn Williams, PhD, CCC-SLP
A. Lynn Williams is Professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), USA. She was founding Dean of ETSU’s College of Health Sciences, and 2021 President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). An internationally recognized expert in speech sound disorders, she has led innovative interprofessional education initiatives and currently serves as Vice President of the National Academies of Practice, advancing collaboration to improve education, research, and patient care.
Sessions 1 and 3:
Thinking in Action: Strengthening Clinical Reasoning to Deliver High-Impact, Individualized Interventions
Clinical reasoning is the bridge between research and real-world practice that allows clinicians to honour evidence-based interventions while adapting to each client’s needs. These interactive sessions will explore how clinical reasoning guides moment-to-moment decision-making during intervention, particularly in modifying teaching moments such as cues and feedback, and how clinicians may “tailor it, mix it, or wing it.” Using case examples, we will unpack the critical differences between tailoring, hybrid methods, and eclecticism, and their impact on treatment fidelity and outcomes. Attendees will gain practical strategies to strengthen their clinical reasoning skills, maintain intervention fidelity, and elevate confidence in delivering effective, individualized care.
Session 2:
The Evolution of the Multiple Oppositions Approach: From Theory to Global Practice
First described in Williams (2000), the Multiple Oppositions approach offers a contrastive intervention for children with severe speech sound disorders. Grounded in systemic phonology, it targets multiple error sounds simultaneously to maximize change in a child’s speech system. This one-hour presentation will chart its development over 25 years from theoretical origins to adoption across languages. Participants will gain practical insights into applying the approach to improve intelligibility and participation for children.
Williams, A. L. (2000). Multiple oppositions: Theoretical foundations for an alternative contrastive intervention approach. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 9, 282–288. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360.0904.282
 |
| Some of the online audience |
 |
| Speech-language pathologists brought along their books for Lynn to sign |
Prof Lynn Williams has spent 1.5 days with with Dr Kate Margetson discussing the Speech Assessment in Children's Home Languages (SACHL). Last week they met at the Charles Sturt University North Sydney campus and this week online. Her insights have been invaluable.
Each Wednesday in September our Children Draw Health Advisory Group are considering the 100+ drawings from 17 countries we have received in our research. They are thinking about what the children of the world have shared. They analysed a sample of drawings to determine themes (food, doctors, hospitals, rainbows, friends, workout and sports), added their own ideas and came up with the following themes and answers to these questions:
Stay tuned for next weeks' analysis...
 |
| A fun way to work out which themes answered which questions |
 |
| At the beginning we considered each of the drawings and the artists' explanations |
 |
| At the beginning we considered each of the drawings and the artists' explanations |
 |
| At the end everyone demonstrated the thematic groups |
Today Dr Carolyn Gregoric and I met with Prof Jillian Marsh from SIAS to discuss synergies between CVC and her work. Welcome to CSU Prof Marsh!
