Article about the Intelligibility in Context Scale wins JSLHR editor's award!

Congratulations to the team from Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Waisman Center,  University of Wisconsin–Madison who have won the Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing - Speech Editor's Award for the following paper:

Soriano, J. U., Mahr, T. J., Rathouz, P. J., & Hustad, K. C. (2025). Characterizing the relationship between the Intelligibility in Context Scale and transcription intelligibility in typically developing English-speaking children between ages 2;6 and 9;11.  American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 34(5), 2877-2892. https://doi.org/doi:10.1044/2025_AJSLP-24-00530  

The award was announced here: https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2026/07/2026-asha-journals-awards/

We are thrilled to see the rigor of our Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) being applied in such a robust way.

• ICS: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/speech-assessments/ics
• Original manuscript: McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2012). Intelligibility in Context Scale: Validity and reliability of a subjective rating measure. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55, 648–656. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0130) 

 

Multilingual speech acquisition by Vietnamese-English-speaking children and adult family members

We are excited to announce that the following manuscript has been accepted for publication: 

McLeod, S., Verdon, S., Tran, V. H., Margetson, K., Wang, C., Phạm, B., To, L., & Huynh, K. (2023, in press March). Multilingual speech acquisition by Vietnamese-English-speaking children and adult family members. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.

The final manuscript is 110 pages long (including supplemental appendices). It has been a huge effort. This is our most comprehensive paper written as part of the 4-year VietSpeech study funded by the prestigious Australian Research Council Discovery Award: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/vietspeech/overview We believe that this paper will change how SLPs undertake multilingual assessments and analyses across the world – and provides the evidence and process (in Appendix A) for how to do this using theVietSpeech Multilingual Assessment Protocol

Here is the abstract

Purpose: This paper presents a large-scale example of culturally-responsive assessment and analysis of multilingual Vietnamese-English-speaking children and their family members using the VietSpeech Protocol involving: (a) examining all spoken languages, (b) comparing ambient phonology produced by family members, (c) including dialectal variants in the definition of accuracy, and (d) clustering participants with similar language experience. 

Method: The VietSpeech sample (N=154) consisted of 69 children (2;0–8;10yrs) and 85 adult family members with Vietnamese heritage living in Australia. Speech was sampled using the Vietnamese Speech Assessment (Vietnamese) and Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (English). 

Results: Children’s Vietnamese consonant accuracy was significantly higher when dialectal variants were accepted (PCC-D M=87.76, SD=8.18), compared to when only Standard Vietnamese was accepted as the correct production (PCC-S M=70.34 SD=8.78), Cohen’s d=3.55 (large effect). Vietnamese voiced plosives, nasals, semivowels, vowels and tones were more often correct than voiceless plosives and fricatives. Children’s Standard Australian English consonant accuracy (PCC-S) was 82.51 (SD=15.57). English plosives, nasals, glides and vowels were more often correct than fricatives and affricates. Vietnamese word-initial consonants had lower accuracy than word-final consonants; whereas, English consonant accuracy was rarely influenced by word position. Consonant accuracy and intelligibility was highest for children with high proficiency in both Vietnamese and English. Children’s consonant productions were most similar to their mothers’, than other adults or siblings’ productions. Adults’ Vietnamese consonants, vowels and tones were more likely to match Vietnamese targets than their children’s productions. Adults’ pronunciation was influenced by dialectal and cross-linguistic factors. 

Conclusion: Children’s speech acquisition was influenced by cross-linguistic, dialectal, maturational, language experience, and environmental (ambient phonology) factors. This study highlights the importance of including all spoken languages, adult family members, dialectal variants, and language proficiency to inform differential diagnosis of speech sound disorders and identify clinical markers in multilingual populations.

2023-Editorial Board Member for Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

I have been accepted as an Editorial Board Member (EBM) for the Speech section of the Q1 Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research https://pubs.asha.org/jslhr/edboard and my term has just begun with the arrival of an EBM Welcome Pack of information. The role of EBMs is here https://academy.pubs.asha.org/erc/editorial-board-members/.

I am an editorial board member on a number of other journals including:

• International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
• Clincal Linguistics and Phonetics
• Child Language Teaching and Therapy
• Advances in Communication and Swallowing
  

2023 Editorial Board Member of Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR)- Speech Section

I have been invited to join the 2023 editorial board of Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR) - Speech Section as an Editorial Board Member (EBM) from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. What a great honor. I look forward to this role.

https://pubs.asha.org/jslhr/edboard

Most read/most cited articles

Our work is coming up for different journals as the most read/most cited. It is great to see that people are reading and using our work to support people with communication disability around the world.

JSLHR most read - To, McLeod, Sam, Law (2022)

IJSLP most cited in past 3 years - McGill, Crowe & McLeod (2020)

IJSLP most cited #1-McGill, Crowe & McLeod (2020)
#4 McLeod et al (2020)

IJSLP most read #3 McLeod (2018)

Impact: Review of "Predicting which children will normalize without intervention for speech sound disorders"

How exciting. The Informed SLP has reviewed: 

To, C. K. S., McLeod, S., Sam, K. L., & Law, T. (2022, in press). Predicting which children will normalize without intervention for speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00444

Here's the review: https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/the-waiting-game 

 

Predicting which children will normalize without intervention for speech sound disorders

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication:

To, C. K. S., McLeod, S., Sam, K. L & Law, T. (2022, in press). Predicting which children will normalize without intervention for speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

During peer review we received the following very positive comments:

Editor: 

• “We are all enthusiastic about this rigorously conducted work and believe that the topic has important clinical implications and will be of substantial interest to the JSLHR readership” 

Reviewers: 

• “This is one of the most clinically significant and important papers I have read in a while. My impression of this paper is highly positive…”
• “The paper was prepared … with exceptional clarity, as well as a rigorous statistical and quantitative methods.” 
  
• “...this is the nicest paper with the clearest set of impactful results that I have seen in a while. I think it has potential to "make a splash" in the field, and I hope it gets read a lot.” 
• “This is a standout study in terms of quantitative rigor and clinical usefulness and value. The study design is careful and overall very clear. The authors executed the research design carefully and prepared the paper with exceptional clarity, as well as used rigorous statistical and quantitative methods. I am pleased to endorse this paper toward publication in JSLHR.”

Here is the abstract:

Purpose: The speech of some children does not follow a typical normalization trajectory and they develop speech sound disorders (SSD). The current study investigated predictive correlates of speech sound normalization in children who were at risk of SSD. 

Method: A prospective population cohort study of 845 Cantonese-speaking preschoolers was conducted over 2.5 years to examine children (a) who resolved non-adult realizations of consonants (normalized) and (b) those who had persisting speech sound difficulties (did not normalize). From these 845, a sample of 82 participants characterized as having SSD (1.25 SD below the mean in a standardized speech assessment, with a delay in initial consonant acquisition, or with one or more atypical errors) were followed for 2 years at six-month intervals or until the completion of their initial consonant inventory. Data from 43 children who did not receive speech-language pathology services were analysed with survival analysis to model time-to-normalization while controlling for covariates. The target event (outcome) was completion of their initial consonant inventory. 

Results: Under the no-intervention condition, the estimated median time-to-normalization was 6.59 years of age. Children who were more likely to normalize or normalized in a shorter time were stimulable to all errors and more intelligible as rated by caregivers using the Intelligibility in Context Scale. Those who showed atypical error patterns did not necessarily take longer to normalize. Similarly, expressive language ability was not significantly associated with speech normalization. 

Conclusion: Stimulability and intelligibility were more useful prognostic factors of speech normalization when compared to (a)typicality of error patterns and expressive language ability. Children with low intelligibility and poor stimulability and should be prioritized for speech-language pathology services given that their speech errors are less likely to resolve naturally.

Congratulations Dr Ben Phạm on your significant publication about Vietnamese children's speech

Today Dr Ben Phạm's journal article was published in the Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing Research. The 26-page article is titled: Vietnamese-Speaking Children's Acquisition of Consonants, Semivowels, Vowels, and Tones in Northern Viet Nam. It is the most comprehensive study of Vietnamese children's speech ever undertaken, and longer than most JSLHR papers. It will influence the education and speech therapy professions in Viet Nam, as well as speech-language pathology practice throughout the world.

 Here are a series of summary tweets I just posted about Dr Phạm's work

Tweet 1:
Just published: First comprehensive study of Vietnamese-speaking children's acquisition of consonants, semivowels, vowels, and tones. Congratulations Dr Ben Phạm on your contribution to the education and speech therapy professions in Viet Nam @TrinhTFA https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-17-0405

Tweet 2:
Vietnamese-speaking 2-year-olds produce correctly: 46% consonants, 92% vowels, 91% tones; 5-year-olds: 93% consonants, 98% vowels, 96% tones. Most difficult: /ɲ, s, z, x/, tone 3 (creaky), tone 4 (dipping–rising). https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-17-0405

Tweet 3:
Vietnamese children (aged 2;0-5;11) were “usually” to “always” intelligible (4.43/5) on the Intelligibility in Context Scale. Scores differed by child age, parent speech and language concerns, occupation and education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02699206.2017.1306110 http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/ics

Tweet 4:
Western calendar age (tuổi tây) is different from Vietnamese age (tuổi ta) that is calculated by the lunar year and includes time in the womb. Children may be 1–2 years older using #Vietnamese age (Phạm & McLeod, 2019, p.6) https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-17-0405

Tweet 5:
Vietnamese pronunciation differs per dialect
Initial consonants: Standard=23, northern=20, central=23, southern=21
Final consonants: Standard=6, northern=10, central=10, southern=8
Tones: Standard=6, northern=6, central=5, southern=5
https://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2015.1101162

Here is the abstract:

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate children's acquisition of Vietnamese speech sounds.
Method Participants were 195 children aged 2;2–5;11 (years;months) living in Northern Viet Nam who spoke Vietnamese as their 1st language. Single-word samples were collected using the Vietnamese Speech Assessment (Phạm, Le, & McLeod, 2016) to measure accuracy of consonants, semivowels, vowels, and tones.  
Results Percentage of consonants correct for children aged 2;0–2;5 was 46.39 (SD = 7.95) and increased to 93.13 (SD = 6.13) for children aged 5;6–5;11. The most difficult consonants were /ɲ, s, z, x/. Percentage of semivowels correct for children aged 2;0–2;5 was 70.74 (SD = 14.38) and increased to 99.60 (SD = 1.55) for children aged 5;6–5;11. Percentage of vowels correct for children aged 2;0–2;5 was 91.93 (SD = 3.13) and increased to 98.11 (SD = 2.79) for children aged 5;6–5;11. Percentage of tones correct for children aged 2;0–2;5 was 91.05 (SD = 1.42) and increased to 96.65 (SD = 3.42) for children aged 5;6–5;11. Tones 1, 2, 5, and 6 were acquired by the youngest age group, whereas Tone 3 (creaky thanh ngã) and Tone 4 (dipping–rising thanh hỏi) did not achieve 90% accuracy by the oldest age group. Common phonological patterns (> 10%) were fronting, stopping, deaspiration, aspiration, and semivowel deletion for children aged 2;0–3;11 and were fronting and deaspiration for children aged 4;0–5;11.  
Conclusion This is the 1st comprehensive study of typically developing Northern Vietnamese children's speech acquisition and provides preliminary data to support the emerging speech-language pathology profession in Viet Nam.

Vietnamese-speaking children’s acquisition of consonants, semivowels, vowels, and tones in Northern Viet Nam

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication today:
Phạm, B. & McLeod, S. (2019, in press April). Vietnamese-speaking children’s acquisition of consonants, semivowels, vowels, and tones in Northern Viet Nam. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
It was written as part of Dr Ben Phạm's PhD and is the first research to comprehensively describe Vietnamese children's speech acquisition.
Congratulations Ben!

Here is the abstract

Purpose: To investigate children’s acquisition of Vietnamese speech sounds.
Method: Participants were 195 children aged 2;2-5;11 living in Northern Viet Nam who spoke Vietnamese as their first language. Single-word samples were collected using the Vietnamese Speech Assessment (Phạm, Le, & McLeod, 2016) to measure accuracy of consonants, semivowels, vowels, and tones.
Results: Percentage of consonants correct for children aged 2;0-2;5 was 46.39 (SD=7.95) and increased to 93.13 (SD=6.13) for children aged 5;6-5;11. The most difficult consonants were /ɲ, s, z, x/. Percentage of semivowels correct for children aged 2;0-2;5 was 70.74 (SD=14.38) and increased to 99.60 (SD=1.55) for children aged 5;6-5;11. Percentage of vowels correct for children aged 2;0-2;5 was 91.93 (SD=3.13) and increased to 98.11 (SD=2.79) for children aged 5;6-5;11. Percentage of tones correct for children aged 2;0-2;5 was 91.05 (SD=1.42) and increased to 96.65 (SD=3.42) for children aged 5;6-5;11. Tones 1, 2, 5, and 6 were acquired by the youngest age group; whereas, tone 3 (creaky thanh ngã) and tone 4 (dipping-rising thanh hỏi) did not achieve 90% accuracy by the oldest age group. Common phonological patterns (>10%) for children aged 2;0 to 3;11 were: fronting, stopping, deaspiration, aspiration, and semivowel deletion and for children aged 4;0 to 5;11 were: fronting and deaspiration.
Conclusion: This is the first comprehensive study of typically developing Northern Vietnamese children’s speech acquisition and provides preliminary data to support the emerging speech therapy profession in Viet Nam.

Presentation of the 2017 Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Editor's Award

Today the Sound Start Study team was presented the 2017 Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Editor's Award (Speech) at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) convention in Boston, MA. Dr Kate Crowe accepted the award during the Researcher-Academic Town Meeting (RATM) and it will be mentioned during the main awards ceremony at Convention.

"An Editor’s Award is truly a high honor, with selection limited to the most impactful works that meet the highest quality standards in research design and presentation." 

Kate receiving the award with Sharynne, Sue, Sarah and Yvonne online (Elise was online earlier)

At the ASHA Award ceremony in Boston: Bronwyn Hemsley, Helen Blake, Thora Masdottir, Karla Washington, Kate Crowe, Nicole McGill

We are able to celebrate the award in Sydney, Australia with Marc Fey, who received the 2017 Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Editor's Award (Language)

Jane McCormack, Sarah Masso, Sharynne, Sandy and Marc Fey

 Here are the details of our article:
Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Intervention Delivered by Educators for Children With Speech Sound Disorders
Sharynne McLeod, Elise Baker, Jane McCormack, Yvonne Wren, Sue Roulstone, Kathryn Crowe, Sarah Masso, Paul White, and Charlotte Howland
Free download: https://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2643351

The CSU media release is here: http://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/education/teacher-education/international-award-for-best-paper-in-top-speech-pathology-journal 

All of the award winners are listed here: https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2018/09/2018-asha-journals-awards/

Here are the other journal award winners (we know and collaborate with a number of these authors)
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (Editor-in-Chief: Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer)
Investigating the Adequacy of Intervention Descriptions in Recent Speech-Language Pathology Literature: Is Evidence From Randomized Trials Useable?
Arabella Ludemann, Emma Power, and Tammy C. Hoffmann
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research–Speech Section (Editor-in-Chief: Julie Liss)
Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Intervention Delivered by Educators for Children With Speech Sound Disorders
Sharynne McLeod, Elise Baker, Jane McCormack, Yvonne Wren, Sue Roulstone, Kathryn Crowe, Sarah Masso, Paul White, and Charlotte Howland
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research–Language Section (Editor-in-Chief: Sean Redmond)
Do the Hard Things First: A Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Effects of Exemplar Selection on Generalization Following Therapy for Grammatical Morphology
Amanda Jean Owen Van Horne, Marc Fey, and Maura Curran
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research–Hearing Section (Editor-in-Chief: Frederick Gallun)
Speech Recognition in Adults With Cochlear Implants: The Effects of Working Memory, Phonological Sensitivity, and Aging
Aaron C. Moberly, Michael S. Harris, Lauren Boyce, and Susan Nittrouer
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (Editor-in-Chief: Shelley Gray)
Interactive Book Reading to Accelerate Word Learning by Kindergarten Children With Specific Language Impairment: Identifying an Adequate Intensity and Variation in Treatment Response
Holly L. Storkel, Krista Voelmle, Veronica Fierro, Kelsey Flake, Kandace K. Fleming, and Rebecca Swinburne Romine
American Journal of Audiology (Editor-in-Chief: Sumit Dhar)
The Effects of Service-Delivery Model and Purchase Price on Hearing-Aid Outcomes in Older Adults: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
Larry E. Humes, Sara E. Rogers, Tera M. Quigley, Anna K. Main, Dana L. Kinney, and Christine Herring

WINNER: Editor's Award for Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research–Speech Section

Our Sound Start Study team has just learned we have won an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Journal Award. Here is a portion of the email we received from the ASHA:

Congratulations! The editor-in-chief of the Speech section of the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research has selected your article, “Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Intervention Delivered by Educators for Children With Speech Sound Disorders,” as the winner of the 2017 Editor’s Award.

An Editor’s Award is truly a high honor, with selection limited to the most impactful works that meet the highest quality standards in research design and presentation. The award will be presented during the Researcher-Academic Town Meeting (RATM) at the 2018 ASHA Convention in Boston, MA. It will also be mentioned during the main awards ceremony at Convention. 

Here are the details of our article:
Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Intervention Delivered by Educators for Children With Speech Sound Disorders
Sharynne McLeod, Elise Baker, Jane McCormack, Yvonne Wren, Sue Roulstone, Kathryn Crowe, Sarah Masso, Paul White, and Charlotte Howland
https://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2643351 

All of the award winners are listed here:
https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2018/09/2018-asha-journals-awards/ 

The CSU media release is here:
http://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/education/teacher-education/international-award-for-best-paper-in-top-speech-pathology-journal

Cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of computer-assisted intervention delivered by educators for children with speech sound disorders

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication. It is the main outcomes paper from the Sound Start Study.
McLeod, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S. Crowe, K., Masso, S., White, P., & Howland, C. (2017, in press). Cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of computer-assisted intervention delivered by educators for children with speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

We received extremely positive feedback from the editors and reviewers. For example, the associate editor wrote “The reviewers and I enthusiastically await the publication of this important article on delivering services to children with speech sound disorders.”

Here is the abstract:

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of computer-assisted input-based intervention for children with speech sound disorders (SSD).
Method: The Sound Start Study was a cluster randomized controlled trial. Seventy-nine early childhood centers were invited to participate, 45 were recruited, and 1,205 4- to 5-year-old children’s parents/educators returned questionnaires. Children whose parents/educators had concerns about speech were assessed (n=275); 132 children who were identified with phonological impairment of unknown origin underwent additional assessment. Children with SSD and no receptive language or hearing difficulties, typical non-verbal intelligence, and English as their primary language were eligible; 123 were randomized (Intervention n=65; Control n=58); 3 withdrew. Intervention involved Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter software administered by educators over 9 weeks; Control involved typical classroom practices. Participants were re-assessed twice by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) blinded to the initial assessment and intervention conditions.
Results: For the primary outcome variable (percentage of consonants correct), the significant mean change from pre- to post-intervention for the Intervention group (mean change+6.15, p<.001) was comparable in magnitude to the significant change for the Control group (mean change+5.43, p<.001) with a small between groups effect size for change (Cohen’s d=0.08). Similar results occurred for measures of emergent literacy, phonological processing, participation, and wellbeing.
Conclusion: Computer-assisted input-based intervention administered by educators did not result in greater improvement than typical classroom practices.

Polysyllable speech accuracy and predictors of later literacy development in preschool children with speech sound disorders

The following journal article has been accepted for publication. It forms part of Sarah Masso’s PhD and uses data from the Sound Start Study.
Masso, S., Baker, E., McLeod, S., & Wang, C. (2017, in press). Polysyllable speech accuracy and predictors of later literacy development in preschool children with speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
Here is the abstract:

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if polysyllable accuracy in preschoolers with speech sound disorders (SSD) was related to known predictors of later literacy development; phonological processing, receptive vocabulary, and print knowledge. Polysyllables--words of three or more syllables--are important to consider as unlike monosyllables, polysyllables have been associated with phonological processing and literacy difficulties in school-age children. They therefore have the potential to help identify preschoolers most at risk of future literacy difficulties. Method: Participants were 93 preschool children with SSD from the Sound Start Study. Participants completed the Polysyllable Preschool Test (Baker, 2013) as well as phonological processing, receptive vocabulary, and print knowledge tasks. Results: Cluster analysis was completed and two clusters were identified: low polysyllable accuracy and moderate polysyllable accuracy. The clusters were significantly different based on two measures of phonological awareness and measures of receptive vocabulary, rapid naming, and digit span. The clusters were not significantly different on sound matching accuracy, letter/sound or print concept knowledge. Conclusions: The participants’ poor performance on print knowledge tasks suggested that as a group, they were at risk of literacy difficulties but that there was a cluster of participants at greater risk—those with both low polysyllable accuracy and poor phonological processing.