CSU Writing for Publication Program

I am both an invited speaker and mentor for the CSU Writing For Publication Program run by the Research Office. There are 22 participants who meet every 3-weeks on Fridays. Their goal is to write a journal article during the program. I am mentoring Dr Carolyn Gregoric to write the paper about Children Draw Playing in Mongolia. This morning focused on writing the introduction, conclusion and literature review.

United Nations presentation: Congratulations A/Prof Kathy Cologon and Tim Cologon

The Children's Voices Centre is so proud to have supported our associate director A/Prof Kathy Cologon to present at the United Nations in New York with her co-researcher Tim Cologon.

They were invited to present at World Down Syndrome Day. Their presentation was powerful - describing their research with children who experience disability - and their insights about belonging.

They have just returned to Australia and it has been wonderful to hear about their impact, experiences and all of the people they met. Congratulations.

 

Catholic Education Tasmania workshop: Speech Difficulties in EALD Leamers: The role of speech pathology

Today I presented a workshop run by Catholic Education Tasmania titled "Speech Difficulties in EALD Leamers: The role of speech pathology"  (11am - 5pm). It was wonderful to share our research and the rich and informative resources that we have made available on the Multilingual Children's Speech website to speech pathologists from across Tasmania. The food was delicious too!

Invited Presentation - Conference of the Italian Society of Phoniatrics and Speech Therapy

Dr Kate Margetson, Dr Helen Blake and I have been invited to present at the Conference of the Italian Society of Phoniatrics and Speech Therapy in March. We were invited to speak about our invited chapter that was published last year.

Margetson, K., McLeod, S., & Blake, H. L. (2025). Gli Speech Sound Disorders nei bambini plurilingue [Speech sound disorders in multilingual children]. In S. Piazzalunga, R. Salvadorini, N. Pizzorni, F. Todaro, & A. Schindler (Eds.). Speech sound disorders: Evidenze scientifiche e buone prassi riabilitative [Scientific evidence and best rehabilitative practices] (pp. 415-432). Erickson University & Research. https://www.erickson.it/it/speech-sound-disorders

 

Professor Antonio Schindler and Professor Silvia Piazzalunga wrote:

The afternoon of 5 March will be dedicated to the 'Official Report', the new book on SSDs. Due to time constraints, it will not be possible to discuss the entire book; therefore, as editors, we have identified eight topics that represent the different contents of the work. We would be honoured if you could present the topic of bilingualism.

Here is my presentation:

https://charlessturt.zoom.us/rec/share/Co96F2XtYqPmdSxWMxz3FOy7Ur7Oq_t2bbSZ5o0hqldaXxs22QPLlPAImhpDIIM.SbeW8JYKbMx7szSn

Kathy's presentations at AARE

Congratulations to A/Prof Kathy Cologon who presented three papers at the recent AARE conference - https://www.aareconference.com.au/ in Newcastle, NSW: 

• Beyond Words: Anti Ableist Pedagogies and Children's Participation Through Inclusive Arts - Olivia Karaolis and Kathy Cologon
• From Lived Experience to Systemic Change: Children’s Perspectives as the Foundation for Equity Education - Kathy Cologon, Zinnia Mevawalla, Timothy Cologon, Jackie Fulton, Jane Catlin

She was invited to present the Sue Grieshaber Commemorative Lecture (2/12/25) 
Anti-ableist pedagogy: A necessary foundation for inclusion

Abstract: Despite national and international commitments, legislative requirements, policy, human rights, and a deep moral imperative, inclusion remains an elusive phenomenon for most children. In this commemorative lecture I argue that realising inclusion requires an explicitly anti-ableist pedagogy built with, and accountable to, children. I invite us to reflect on where we have come from and explore what inclusion, disability, and exclusion mean from the perspectives of young children. This includes considering:

• Ontological inclusion recognising disability as a valuable and fundamental aspect of human diversity.
• Epistemic justice valuing diverse ways of knowing and communicating as legitimate sources of educational knowledge and decision-making.
• Design justice treating access as essential to design, across spaces, routines, assessment, and policy.
• Relational accountability centring children’s agency and interdependence, and moving from “voice” to influence in everyday practice and governance.
• Structural responsibility shifting inclusion from personal “goodwill” to enforceable, and resourced obligations.

Drawing on research exploring individual, family, and collective experiences, we learn from children the necessity of anti-ableist pedagogy as the foundation of all educational experiences – from the early years onwards. In conversation with AARE’s 2025 theme of New Connections and Directions for Educational Research, how can we connect and collaborate with children in generative ways to address individual, systemic and structural barriers and create a more inclusive future for every child?

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Washington DC

This week Dr Helen Blake and I are attending and presenting at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention in Washington DC. This year ASHA is celebrating its centenary - 100 years.

Here are our presentations:

• Invited 2-Hour Short Course - Culturally Appropriate Assessment of Multilingual Children in International Contexts - Thu 10:30 am SC03 - Sharynne  McLeod, Helen L. Blake, Kate Margetson, Krisztina Zjado
• Technical Research - Community Support For Indigenous Children’s Speech, Language and Communication - Fri 9:30 am 4602L 
• Technical Research - Children’s experience and understanding of intensive speech intervention: "...made my tongue dry up" - Sat 3:00 pm 4734L  

Culturally Appropriate Assessment of Multilingual Children in International Contexts - Helen L. Blake, Sharynne  McLeod,  Krisztina Zjado

Culturally Appropriate Assessment of Multilingual Children in International Contexts

 

ASHA is always a time of catching up with friends and colleagues from across the world - and making new friends and colleagues. 

Sharynne McLeod, Gregg Lof, Rhea Paul

Sharynne  McLeod, Rebecca McCauley, Lynn Williams

Helen Blake and Sharynne  McLeod on day 1

 

Prof Karla Washington, Sharynne McLeod, Nicole Bazzocchi, Helen Blake

Current and Past ASHA staff: Brooke Hallowell, Vicki Deal-Williams (ASHA CEO) Lynn Williams, Arlene Pietrantron, Sharynne  McLeod

Invited presentation to the Canadian Speech and Stuttering Institute

 This morning Dr Kate Margetson, Dr Helen L. Blake and I were invited to present a 3-hour live session to the Canadian Speech and Stuttering Institute (SSI) (https://ssitraininghub.ca/) and speech-language pathologists across Canada and the USA (n = 25). Our presentation was titled "Multilingual Children's Speech Acquisition and Therapy".

Here is the summary

 Children learn to communicate in one or more of the world’s 7000 languages. Assessment and intervention for multilingual children’s speech can be challenging, especially if children do not speak languages that are familiar to speech-language pathologists (S-LPs). This workshop will provide a cross-linguistic account of monolingual and multilingual and children’s speech development.
Part 1 of the workshop, will begin with an overview of (mostly free) resources that are available to support children’s speech acquisition, assessment, and intervention in over 130 of the world’s languages and dialects on the Multilingual Children’s Speech website https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/home 
Part 2 of the workshop will present the Speech Assessment of Children’s Home Language(s) (SACHL), a practical evidence-based protocol for assessing children’s speech in unfamiliar languages. The step-by-step protocol includes: comparing languages with English; identifying and using SLPs’ existing skills; identifying areas requiring support from families/interpreters; locating and using assessments in a range of languages; taking a collaborative approach to transcribing and analyzing multilingual speech; considering reasons children’s speech may not match standard targets; and implications for diagnosis of speech sound disorder.

SSI organisers and presenters

Kate presenting part 2

One attendee sharing her "favourite book"

We reported on the VietSpeech research in part 2

Padlet answers

 

Bright Ideas Media - Live and online presentations

We were invited to present a Speech Sound Disorders Series for Bright Ideas Media in the US. 

 

https://www.bethebrightest.com/en/events/speech-sound-disorders-series

This morning Dr. Kelly Farquharson and I presented a live 90 minute session to over 100 speech-language pathologists across the United States. Our presentation was titled: "Clinical Use of Speech Sound Acquisition Data"

Ω

"Don't ask when should a child say /s/ - instead ask what sound is the child making instead of /s/"

Dr Helen L. Blake and Dr Kate Margetson and I were invited to present a 2-hour online session titled "Multilingual Children’s Speech Assessment: A Contemporary Global Update"

 Here is a description of the while series from the website https://www.bethebrightest.com/en/events/speech-sound-disorders-series:

Welcome to the Speech Sound Disorders Series for 2025—a fresh look at how we treat speech sound disorders, grounded in what we know now. This year, we’re placing a strong focus on updated, evidence-based practices that reflect the evolving landscape of our field.

Joining the series are international experts Drs. Kelly Farquharson and Sharynne McLeod, bringing global insights and current research to deepen our understanding. From the nuances of treating R to conducting effective multilingual assessments, they’ll guide us through practical strategies that are informed, inclusive, and responsive to today’s clinical challenges.

The series includes:
* The 90-min live session, and the replay, co-presented by Drs. Sharynne McLeod and Kelly Farquharson: "Clinical Use of Speech Sound Acquisition Data"
* A 60-min on-demand course by Dr. Farquharson: "/ɹ/ you frustrated by working on /ɹ/? Try facilitative contexts!"
* An 120-min on-demand course by Drs. McLeod, Kate Margetson, and Helen Blake: "Multilingual Children’s Speech Assessment: A Contemporary Global Update"

This year's series is designed to challenge outdated assumptions and provide clear answers to common questions.

Our presenters are passionate about helping clinicians grow in confidence and competence. With their support—and expertise —you’ll walk away with sharper tools, broader perspective, and renewed clarity in how you treat speech sound disorders today.

Both on-demand courses will be available after the live event on Oct. 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET. 

 

Bright Ideas Media presentation

We have been working on our presentations for speech-language pathologists in the USA as part of the Speech Sound Disorders Series https://www.bethebrightest.com/en/events/speech-sound-disorders-series 

The series includes a 90-minute live offering, along with pre-recorded, on-demand content. This year's series is designed to challenge outdated assumptions and provide clear answers to common questions.

Here is information from the website: 

Welcome to the Speech Sound Disorders Series for 2025—a fresh look at how we treat speech sound disorders, grounded in what we know now. This year, we’re placing a strong focus on updated, evidence-based practices that reflect the evolving landscape of our field. Joining the series are international experts Drs. Kelly Farquharson and Sharynne McLeod, bringing global insights and current research to deepen our understanding. From the nuances of treating R to conducting effective multilingual assessments, they’ll guide us through practical strategies that are informed, inclusive, and responsive to today’s clinical challenges. 

The series includes: * The 90-min live session, and the replay, co-presented by Drs. Sharynne McLeod and Kelly Farquharson: "Clinical Use of Speech Sound Acquisition Data" * A 60-min on-demand course by Dr. Farquharson: "/ɹ/ you frustrated by working on /ɹ/? Try facilitative contexts!" * An 120-min on-demand course by Drs. McLeod, Kate Margetson, and Helen Blake: "Multilingual Children’s Speech Assessment: A Contemporary Global Update" 

This year's series is designed to challenge outdated assumptions and provide clear answers to common questions. Our presenters are passionate about helping clinicians grow in confidence and competence. With their support—and expertise —you’ll walk away with sharper tools, broader perspective, and renewed clarity in how you treat speech sound disorders today.  

 Here is some more information about our pre-recorded presentation

Multilingual Children’s Speech Assessment: A Contemporary Global Update Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod, Ph.D. Dr Helen L. Blake, Ph.D., Dr. Kate Margetson, Ph.D. Children’s Voices Centre, Charles Sturt University, Australia Learn how to identify multilingual children with speech sound disorders using the latest evidence from 130 languages. This course covers children’s speech development, assessment, analysis, and differential diagnosis, including practical application of the Speech Assessment of Children’s Home Language(s) (SACHL). https://www.bethebrightest.com/en/courses/multilingual-children-s-speech-assessment-a-contemporary-global-update

 

Invited presentations about multilingual children's speech

Dr Helen Blake, Dr Kate Margetson and I have had a number of invitations to present to audiences about supporting multilingual children's speech. We are working on the presentations, handout, and short videos this week.

Sharynne and Helen recording a video about their invited presentation

Invited presentation - ECR Grant Writing Program

Today I was an invited presenter at the CSU Early Career Researcher Grant Writing Program: Module 5.  I was invited by Dr Emmaline Lear to talk about Tips and Tricks on Research CVs. I received a nice email at the end of the presentation:

"Thank you for joining us today to share your wisdom, advice and tips on a writing a Research CV. While your presentation went beyond this, your creative messaging around working collaboratively for the benefit of others never ceases to be inspiring.!" 

Thanks for the opportunity!

Nation-building in the Global South

This week we have attended and presented at the Oceania and Indigenous Trans-national Methods and Practices Symposium focusing on Nation-building in the Global South. 

Nation-building in the Global South
An initiative of the Oceania and Global Indigenous Research Hub (Charles Sturt University)
 
September 11-12th, 2025
Orange, CSU Campus & Hybrid
 
The symposium brings together expert speakers on First Nations nation-building in the Global South. The program focuses on the important arms of nation-building in the areas of: Language; Inter-cultural and trans-national exchange; Education Governance; Energy and Water sovereignty; Human Rights; and Health and Wellbeing. Each of these arms requires innovative methodologies and data collection to support the diversity of sovereignties in the Global South.
 
The purpose of the symposium is to highlight existing activities of nation-building as well as new approaches with an emphasis on trans-national and inter-cultural methodologies and data collection. 

The 2-day symposium began with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Uncle Dale Carr. 

Lynn Williams, Camilla Porsanger, Sharynne  McLeod and Uncle Dale Carr

During the first morning of the symposium were invited to present the following paper

Building the present and the future: Indigenous children’s speech, language and literacy
Sharynne McLeod, Jamie Newman, Christine Sweeney, Sarah Bartlett, Emily-Jane Woodhead, Carolyn Gregoric. 

Christine Sweeney from Orange Aboriginal Medical Services, Orange and I presented the paper.

\

Camilla Porsanger, who is the Sami PhD student vising the Children's Voices centre.

 

Thinking in Action: Strengthening Clinical Reasoning to Deliver High-Impact, Individualized Interventions

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

Invited lecture - Faculty of Arts and Education 2025 seminar series "What are schools for?"

Tonight I provided a lecture for the Faculty of Arts and Education 2025 seminar series "What are schools for?". The lecture was titled "Listening to children's voices" and will be held on 13 August, 2025 7-8pm. I presented it on behalf of the Children's Voices Centre and am grateful to A/Prof Tamara Cumming and A/Prof Kathy Cologon for their support in preparing the presentation. There were 90+ people registered for the event, 39 people attended for the evening event - and the people registered will receive the recording.

 Here is the abstract

Have you ever wondered what it might look like to uphold children’s communication rights by listening to their voices about social issues? In this session, you’ll hear about some of the ground-breaking methods our multi-disciplinary researchers have used to seek and listen to children’s voices. You’ll learn about the types of issues on which children’s voices can be sought as well as ways of using arts-informed practice to empower children to share their experiences. Methods covered in this session can be used by teachers working in early childhood right through to senior school education. 

 

 

Meeting with Bright Ideas Media

This morning I met with Shontaye Glover Jones from Bright Ideas Media and Dr. Kelly Farquharson from Florida State University to plan presentations for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the USA. We are working on a 90 minute live session on children's speech sounds and then a 2-hour pre-recorded masterclass on assessing multilingual speakers.

 

Shontaye has written a children's book titled Liam's First Cut https://www.amazon.com/Liams-First-Cut-Taye-Jones-ebook/dp/B0BP9LZN39 

In debut, children's book, "Liam's First Cut," Taye Jones weaves together the beauty of fatherhood, community, and neurodiversity as Liam, a black boy with an autism spectrum disorder, approaches a day he's been anticipating for quite some time. Liam takes us on a journey towards a big rite of passage in every boy's life as he prepares to get his hair cut on his first visit to a barbershop.
 

Presentation to UNICEF UK

Today I co-presented an invited paper at the UNICEF UK  Child Rights Academic Research Network with my colleague Prof Yvonne Wren from Bristol University/Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. 

The purpose of the Network is as follows:

"From the perspective of UNICEF UK, the broad intentions of the network are to:
- Develop an understanding of the scale and scope of research and other activities being undertaken on child rights in the UK
- Provide a forum for disseminating and sharing emerging and final research findings with the network, internal teams, and other key stakeholders such as programme implementers, in other words linking theory with practice.
- Create opportunities for scaling up research on child rights in general, developing the evidence base for our three UUK programmes and other relevant aspects of our work including advocacy and youth voice."

Our presentation was titled "Ensuring all children have a voice: Upholding a child’s right to communicate in the context of speech, language and communication needs". 

Here is today's program - packed with excellent presentations:

I was able to profile the work of the Children's Voices Centre and some of the work we have done over the years including:

• Roulstone, S., & McLeod, S. (Eds.). (2011). Listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. J&R Press. http://www.jr-press.co.uk/communication-needs.html 
• Mahony, L., McLeod, S., Salamon, A., & Dwyer, J. (Eds.). (2024). Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0
• 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
•  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., Gregoric, C., Davies, J., Dealtry, L., Delli-Pizzi, L., Downey, B., Elwick, S., Hopf, S. C., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Murray, E., Sikder, S., Rahman, A., Tran, V. H., & Zischke, C. (2025). Children draw talking around the world. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. Manuscript accepted for publication.