Listening to Children with Speech, Language, and Communication Needs and other topics

While in the UK I have enjoyed visiting my colleague Emeritus Professor Sue Roulstone (https://www.nbt.nhs.uk/bristol-speech-language-therapy-research-unit/bsltru-team/professor-sue-roulstone). We have worked together over many years including her roles as:

• chair of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist advocating for children with speech, language and communication needs with the Bercow Review (https://speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com/2013/07/speaker-of-house-of-commons-draws.html)
  
• director of the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit (where I visited in 2010 and 2013)
  
• visiting professor at Charles Sturt University
• partner investigator on the Sound Start Study (ARC Discovery Grant) https://www.csu.edu.au/research/sound-start/
• co-editor of Listening to Children with Speech, Language, and Communication Needs https://www.jr-press.co.uk/product/communication-needs.

While visiting Sue we planned the second edition of our book and discussed lots of other topics. It is wonderful to have long-term friendships with colleagues across the world.

Sue Roulstone and Sharynne

Our view for discussing the second edition of the book

Sound Effects Study and Sound Start Study teams

Our ARC Discovery Sound Effects Study and Sound Start Study teams met today to consider re-contacting the participants to learn from them about their lives and experiences. It was such a pleasure to see Kate Crowe, Sarah Masso and Jane McCormack together on the same zoom session again after so many years.

Kate Crowe, Sharynne, Sarah Masso, Jane McCormack

Supporting children with speech sound disorders during COVID-19 restrictions: Technological solutions

Our manuscript has been published online:

McLeod, S., Ballard, K. J., Ahmed, B., McGill, N., & Brown, M. I. (2020). Supporting children with speech sound disorders during COVID-19 restrictions: Technological solutions. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/doi:10.1044/2020_PERSP-20-00128

Here is the abstract:

“Children are the hidden victims of the COVID-19 pandemic” (United Nations Children's Fund, 2020). Timely and effective speech intervention is important to reduce the impact on children's school achievement, ability to make friends, mental health, future life opportunities, and government resources. Prior to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many Australian children did not receive sufficient speech-language pathology (SLP) services due to long waiting lists in the public health system. COVID-19 restrictions exacerbated this issue, as even children who were at the top of lengthy SLP waiting lists often received limited services, particularly in rural areas. To facilitate children receiving speech intervention remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence from randomized controlled trials regarding three technological solutions are examined: (a) Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter (Sound Start Study), (b) Waiting for Speech Pathology website, and (c) Apraxia World. 

Conclusions For the first two technological solutions, there were similar gains in speech production between the intervention and control groups, whereas, for the third solution, the average magnitude of treatment effect was comparable to face-to-face SLP therapy. Automated therapy management systems may be able to accelerate speech development and support communication resilience to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on children with speech sound disorders. Technology-based strategies may also provide a potential solution to the chronic shortage of SLP services in rural areas into the future.

What do children with speech sound disorders think about their talking?

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication
McCormack, J., McLeod, S., & Crowe, K. (in press). What do children with speech sound disorders think about their talking? Seminars in Speech and Language.
Here is the abstract:

Investigating children’s feelings and attitudes toward talking assists speech–language pathologists (SLPs) to understand experiences of communication and the impact of speech sound disorders (SSD). This, in turn, can assist SLPs in identifying appropriate intervention for children with SSD that addresses the needs of children, and their communication partners. This paper draws on data from the Sound Start Study in Australia to explore the attitudes toward talking of 132 preschool-aged children with SSD and the relationship between children’s attitudes, speech accuracy, and parent-reported intelligibility and participation. Most of these children with SSD had a positive attitude toward talking. There was a significant relationship between children’s attitudes toward talking and speech accuracy. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between speech accuracy and parents’ perceptions of intelligibility and participation. However, there was no significant relationship between children’s attitudes and parents’ perceptions. These results highlight similarities and differences between attitudes and experiences of preschool-aged children, their performance on clinical measures, and their parents’ perspectives, indicating the need for SLPs to consider each of these areas during assessment and intervention.

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

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention in Boston, MA

My PhD students, Helen Blake and Nicole McGill, at the ASHA convention in Boston

 The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention in Boston, MA was held from 15-17 November. Over 19,000 people registered to attend.

Our team had eight presentations: 
3-hour short course

• Farquharson, K., Storkel., H., & McLeod, S. (2018). Evolution of speech sound norms: Revolutionizing assessment (invited) 

1-hour seminars

• Baker, E., Williams, A. L., McLeod, S., & McCauley, R. J. (2018). The Phonological Intervention Taxonomy: How do phonological interventions differ from one another? 
• McLeod, S., Mulcair, G., Pietranton, A., Williams, C., Wofford, M., Tibi, S., Hemsley, B., Lyons, R., Carroll, C. & Hersh, D. (2018). The right to communicate: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (invited) 

Technical research papers

• Blake, H., Verdon, S., & McLeod, S. (2018). Intelligibility in English: Multilingual speakers' perspectives
• Crowe, K., Marschark, M., & McLeod, S. (2018). Intelligibility in American Sign Language
• McGill, N. & McLeod, S. (2018). Designing a website to support children and families who are waiting for speech-language pathology services

Posters

• Blake, H., Verdon, S., & McLeod, S. (2018). English proficiency, intelligibility and participation of multilingual university students
• Deutenberg, C., Loebick, K. Wright, R., Washington, K. N., McLeod, S. (2018). Using drawings to understand Jamaican children's talking

UDHR Seminar: Bronwyn Hemsley, Claire Wofford, Deb Hersh, Rena Lyons, Arlene Pietranton

Also at the convention our Sound Start Study team received the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Editor's Award.

Additionally, Corrine Deutenberg was selected to receive a Student Research Travel Award to attend the ASHA Convention. She was selected for this award because she was the first author on our poster titled Using Drawings to Understand Jamaican Children’s Talking, which was the "highest-rated, student-authored paper in its Convention topic area”.  Congratulations Corrine!

Corrine Deutenberg, Dr Karla Washington, and co-authors on the award winning poster

Unfortunately I couldn't attend the convention, but had prepared videos for two of the sessions and am grateful to my students and colleagues for presenting the others.

Gina Olwoch (2nd from right) and the ASHA team (Ellen Shortill, Erinn Gorey, and Deena Thompson) who organize the entire convention

Australians at ASHA: Cori Williams, Kate Crowe, Helen Blake, Nicole McGill

Screening children's speech: The impact of imitated elicitation and word position

The following article has just been published:
McLeod, S., & Masso, S. (2018). Screening children's speech: The impact of imitated elicitation and word position. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, Advance online publication doi:10.1044/2018_LSHSS-17-0141
Here is the link: http://LSHSS.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?doi=10.1044/2018_LSHSS-17-0141
 Here is the abstract:

Purpose: Diagnostic decision making is influenced by the attributes of assessments. In order to propose time-efficient protocols for screening children's speech, this study aimed to determine whether eliciting imitated responses and analyzing productions in different word positions resulted in different levels of consonant accuracy.
Method: Participants were 267 English-speaking preschool-age children in the Sound Start Study whose parents were concerned about their speech. They were assessed using the International Speech Screener: Research Version (ISS; McLeod, 2013) using either imitated or spontaneous elicitation. Productions were compared with an established diagnostic assessment of speech accuracy (Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology; Dodd, Hua, Crosbie, Holm, & Ozanne, 2002).
Results: Participants' performance on the ISS was significantly correlated with performance on the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology. Eliciting imitated productions on the ISS (M = 2:18 min, SD = 0:59 min) took significantly less time than spontaneous productions (M = 6:32 min, SD = 2:34 min). There was no significant difference in accuracy of imitated versus spontaneous productions in word-initial position; however, consonants were significantly less accurate in spontaneous than imitated productions in other word positions. Overall, participants had significantly lower consonant accuracy in word-initial position than within-word or word-final positions. Examination of the influence of word position on test discrimination, using receiver operating characteristic analyses, revealed acceptable test discrimination for percentage of consonants correct across word positions.
Conclusion: This research supports using imitated elicitation and analysis of percentage of consonants correct in word-initial position as a time-efficient procedure when screening the speech of English-speaking preschool children.

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

Manuscripts accepted for publication and ready to be published

The following manuscripts have been accepted for publication in the past few weeks and we have been checking page proofs prior to publication:

• McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Wang, C. (2018, in press August). A longitudinal population study of literacy and numeracy outcomes for children identified with communication impairment in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.07.004 
• Howland, C., Baker, E., Munro, N. & McLeod, S. (2018, in press August). Realisation of grammatical morphemes by children with phonological impairment. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics. 
• Baker, E., Masso, S., McLeod, S., & Wren, Y. (2018, in press August). Pacifiers, thumb sucking, breastfeeding, and bottle use: Oral sucking habits of children with and without phonological impairment. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopedica. 
• McLeod, S. & Masso, S. (2018, in press July). Screening children’s speech: The impact of imitated elicitation and word position. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. 
• Blake, H. L. & McLeod, S. (2018, in press June). The ICF framework: Considering individuals from a perspective of health and wellness. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (SIG17: Global issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders). 
• McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018, in press April). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 

Additionally, the following report has just been published:

• Verdon, S., Mackenzie, N., McLeod, S., Davidson, C., Masso, S., Verdon, L., & Edwards-Groves, C. (2017). Assessment of children as effective communicators in early childhood education and care: Literature review. Melbourne, Australia: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Retrieved from: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/earlyyears/EYLitReview_Communication.pdf

Screening children’s speech: The impact of imitated elicitation and word position

This morning the following paper was accepted for publication:
McLeod, S. & Masso, S. (2018, in press July). Screening children’s speech: The impact of imitated elicitation and word position. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.
Here is the abstract

Purpose: Diagnostic decision-making is influenced by the attributes of assessments. In order to propose time-efficient protocols for screening children’s speech this study aimed to determine whether eliciting imitated responses and analyzing productions in different word positions resulted in different levels of consonant accuracy.
Method: Participants were 267 English-speaking preschool-aged children in the Sound Start Study whose parents were concerned about their speech. They were assessed using the International Speech Screener (ISS, McLeod, 2013) using either imitated or spontaneous elicitation. Productions were compared with an established diagnostic assessment of speech accuracy (Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology, DEAP-Phonology, Dodd et al., 2002).
Results: Participants’ performance on the ISS was significantly correlated with performance on the DEAP-Phonology. Eliciting imitated productions on the ISS (M = 2:18 mins, SD = 0:59) took significantly less time than spontaneous productions (M = 6:32 mins, SD = 2:34). There was no significant difference in accuracy of imitated versus spontaneous productions in word-initial position; however, consonants were significantly less accurate in spontaneous than imitated productions in other word positions. Overall, participants had significantly lower consonant accuracy in word-initial position than within word or word-final positions. Examination of the influence of word position on test discrimination, using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, revealed acceptable test discrimination for percentage of consonants correct across word positions.
Conclusions: This research supports using imitated elicitation and analysis of percentage of consonants correct in word-initial position as a time-efficient procedure when screening the speech of English-speaking preschool children.

Writing together on different sides of the world

While Dr Sarah Masso has been in Canada on her Endeavour Scholarship, we have been able to continue writing together. We have submitted a book chapter and finalised some journal articles based on data from the Sound Start Study. Here is the information about our invited book chapter:

• McLeod, S. & Masso, S. (2017, submitted). Speech sound disorders in children. In J. S. Horst & J. von Koss Torkildsen (Eds.). International handbook of language development. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Writing with Sarah Masso via Skype on different sides of the world

Also, I have been writing with Dr Kate Crowe who is now working at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State. Our most recent task has to finalise revisions of a manuscript. It is great to continue writing with these scholars and colleagues.

Kate wearing her gift from my PhD students' recent visit to ASHA in LA

Impact: Speech sound disorders in preschool and school-age children

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) have just launched a journal self-study course for their members titled "Speech Sound Disorders in Preschool and School-Age Children (WEB3250)". It contains learning based around four journal articles, and two of the four were written by our team, with a third being written by our colleagues Yvonne Wren and Sue Roulstone from the UK. It is very exciting to have had our work selected by ASHA and will increase the impact of our work across the US and the world. The selected papers in the self-study course are:

1. Stimulus Characteristics of Single-Word Tests of Children's Speech Sound Production - Toby Macrae 
2. 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 
3. Polysyllable Speech Accuracy and Predictors of Later Literacy Development in Preschool Children With Speech Sound Disorders - Sarah Masso, Elise Baker, Sharynne McLeod, and Cen Wang 
4. Prevalence and Predictors of Persistent Speech Sound Disorder at Eight Years Old: Findings From a Population Cohort Study - Yvonne Wren, Laura L. Miller, Tim J. Peters, Alan Emond, and Sue Roulstone 

Here is the summary of the course from the ASHA website:

Children with speech sound disorders make up a large part of the caseload for many SLPs who work with preschool and school-age children. Speech sound disorders not only affect a child’s ability to communicate at a young age but also may lead to later speech and literacy difficulties. This journal self-study explores issues related to managing speech sound disorders, including assessment and treatment options. It also includes articles that identify predictors of future speech and literacy problems. Clinicians can use this information to help identify appropriate assessment tools and potential treatment options, as well as counsel parents and teachers of children who may be at risk for continuing speech and academic difficulties.

Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' (RCSLT) Conference in Glasgow

The 2017 RCSLT conference is in Glasgow over the next two days. There are over 500 attendees from 6 countries, 4 keynotes, 71 presentations, 14 workshops, and 110 posters.

I really enjoyed the presentation from  Rt Hon John Bercow MP where he said that the Bercow Review (2008) was "the most stimulating and rewarding project" he has undertaken prior to becoming Speaker of the House of Commons.

Rt Hon John Bercow MP

I am co-presenting the following papers:

1. Sound Start Study: A Community-based Randomized Controlled Trial of Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter • Yvonne Wren (Speech and Language Research Unit, Bristol) • Sharynne McLeod (Charles Sturt University) • Elise Baker (The University of Sydney) • Jane McCormack (Charles Sturt University) • Kate Crowe (Charles Sturt University) • Sarah Masso (Charles Sturt University) • Sue Roulstone (University of the West of England) 
2. The Current Practices of UK Speech and Language Therapists: Phonological Intervention Approaches and Dosages• Natalie Hegarty (Ulster University) • Jill Titterington (Ulster University) • Sharynne McLeod (Charles Sturt University) • Laurence Taggart (Ulster University)

 It has been a great opportunity for networking with colleagues from the UK and around the world.

Yvonne Wren presenting our paper on the Sound Start Study

Prof Julie Marshall (Manchester Metropolitan University), Helen Barrett (Rwanda),
Sharynne, Prof Sue Roulstone (Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit)

Natalie Hegarty, Dr Jill Titterington (University of Ulster), and Sharynne

Cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of computer-assisted intervention

The latest Sound Start Study article has just been published:

McLeod, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S. Crowe, K., Masso, S., White, P., & Howland, C. (2017). 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. Advance online publication doi:10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0385 http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2643351

Members of the Sound Start Study Team (+Yvonne Wren and Paul White)

Here are the details of our other Sound Start Study publications: 

Crowe, K., Cumming, T., McCormack, J., Baker, E., McLeod, S., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S., & Masso, S. (2017, in press). Educators’ perspectives on facilitating computer-assisted speech intervention in early childhood settings. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. doi:10.1177/0265659017717437

Masso, S., Baker, E., McLeod, S., & Wang, C. (2017). Polysyllable speech accuracy and predictors of later literacy development in preschool children with speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication doi:10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0171 http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2639744

Masso, S., McLeod, S., Baker, E., & McCormack, J. (2016). Polysyllable productions in preschool children with speech sound disorders: Error categories and the Framework of Polysyllable Maturity. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18(3), 272-287. doi:10.3109/17549507.2016.1168483 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17549507.2016.1168483?journalCode=iasl20

Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wang, A. & Baker, E., & McCormack, J. (2017). Longitudinal changes in polysyllable maturity of preschool children with speech sound disorders. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 31(6), 424-439. doi:10.1080/02699206.2017.1305450
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/hnFtnIR6iTvXn4IQNAV5/full

McCormack, J., Baker, E., Crowe, K., Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wren, Y., & Roulstone, S. (2017). Implementation fidelity of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19(3), 265-276. doi:10.1080/17549507.2017.1293160
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/JjWu9TGPwWahCX53IuMM/full

McLeod, S., Crowe, K., & Shahaeian, A. (2015). Intelligibility in Context Scale: Normative and validation data for English-speaking preschoolers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 46(3), 266-276. doi:10.1044/2015_LSHSS-14-0120 http://lshss.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2290674

McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Masso, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S., & Howland, C. (2017). Profile of Australian preschoolers with speech sound disorders at risk for literacy difficulties. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. Advance online publication doi:10.1080/19404158.2017.1287105 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404158.2017.1287105?journalCode=rald20

McLeod, S., Crowe, K., McCormack, J., White, P., Wren, Y., Baker, E., Masso, S., Roulstone, S. (2017). Preschool children’s communication, motor and social development: What concerns parents and educators? International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Advance online publication doi:10.1080/17549507.2017.1309065 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17549507.2017.1309065?journalCode=iasl20

Wren, Y., McCormack, J., Masso, S., McLeod, S., Baker, E. & Crowe, K. (2016, in press). Digital tools to support children’s speech and language skill. In S. Danby, M. Fleer, C. Davidson & M. Hatzigianni (Eds). Digital childhoods: Technologies in children’s everyday lives. Dordrecht, Germany: Springer.

Implementation fidelity of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders

The following article based on work from the Sound Start Study has just been published:
McCormack, J., Baker, E., Crowe, K., Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wren, Y., & Roulstone, S. (2017). Implementation fidelity of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19(3), 265-276. doi:10.1080/17549507.2017.1293160

Here is the link to the free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/JjWu9TGPwWahCX53IuMM/full

Educators’ perspectives on facilitating computer-assisted speech intervention in early childhood settings

The following paper has been accepted for publication based on work from our Sound Start Study:
Crowe, K., Cumming, T., McCormack, J., Baker, E., McLeod, S., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S., & Masso, S. (2017, in press). Educators’ perspectives on facilitating computer-assisted speech intervention in early childhood settings. Child Language Teaching and Therapy.
Here is the abstract:

Early childhood educators are frequently called on to support preschool-aged children with speech sound disorders and to engage these children in activities that target their speech production. This study explored factors that acted as facilitators and/or barriers to the provision of computer-based support for children with SSD in early childhood centres. Participants were 23 early childhood educators at 13 centres who participated in the Sound Start Study, a randomised controlled trial that examined the effectiveness of the Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter® (PFSS) computer program (Wren and Roulstone, 2013). Following the trial, participants completed a telephone interview discussing their experiences implementing the program. Transcripts from the interviews were analysed and three categories emerged as factors that influenced the provision of support: (a) Personal factors that related to the children (engagement with PFSS, inclusion/exclusion experience), peers, and educators (service provision, educator engagement, and support of child PFSS use); (b) Environmental factors that related to policies and philosophies (child-centred practice, technology), the physical environment (inclusion/exclusion), and logistics (time, technology); and (c) Program factors that related specifically to PFSS (program format, specific games, game duration). In order to best meet the needs of children, parents, educators, and clinicians, these factors need to be taken into consideration in the provision of speech and language therapy services in early childhood centres.

CSU’s speech and language team’s productive year (so far)

2017 has been a productive year for the CSU speech and language team. Here are the chapters and articles that have been published or are in press so far:
BOOK: PUBLISHED

1. McLeod, S. & Baker, E. (2017). Children’s speech: An evidence-based approach to assessment and intervention. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. (ISBN: 9780132755962; 632 pages) 

BOOK CHAPTER: PUBLISHED

2. Hopf, S. C., McLeod, S., & McDonagh, S. H. (2017). Fiji school children’s multilingual language choices when talking with friends. In M. Theobald (Ed.). Friendship and peer culture in multilingual settings. Sociological studies of children and youth (Vol. 22) (pp. 55-88). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S1537-466120160000021005

JOURNAL ARTICLE: PUBLISHED

3. Daniel, G. R. & McLeod, S. (2017). Children with speech sound disorders at school: Challenges for children, parents and teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(2), 81-101. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss2/6 

JOURNAL ARTICLES: IN PRESS

4. Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wang, A. & Baker, E., & McCormack, J. (2017, in press). Longitudinal changes in polysyllable maturity of preschool children with speech sound disorders. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics.
Free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/hnFtnIR6iTvXn4IQNAV5/full

5. McLeod, S., Crowe, K., McCormack, J., White, P., Wren, Y., Baker, E., Masso, S., Roulstone, S. (2017, in press). Preschool children’s communication, motor and social development: What concerns parents and educators? International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi: 10.1080/17549507.2017.1309065.
Free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/V5IfDVBKMhkEw6dSjAQ9/full

6. Phạm, B, McLeod, S. & Harrison, L. J. (2017, in press). Validation and norming of the Intelligibility in Context Scale in Northern Viet Nam. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics.
Free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CcuHxvDZD5RjDApenqQF/full

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. McCormack, J., Baker, E., Crowe, K., Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wren, Y., & Roulstone, S. (2017, in press). Implementation fidelity of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi 10.1080/17549507.2017.1293160
Free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/JjWu9TGPwWahCX53IuMM/full

10. Blake, H. L., Bennetts Kneebone, L. & McLeod, S. (2017, in press). The effect of oral English proficiency on humanitarian migrants’ experiences of settling in Australia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2017.1294557

11. Hopf, S. C., McLeod, S., McDonagh, S., & Rakanace, E. (2017, in press). Communication disability in Fiji: Community cultural beliefs and attitudes. Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development

12. Harrison, L. J., McLeod, S., McAllister, L. & McCormack, J. (2017, in press). Speech sound disorders in preschool children: Correspondence between clinical diagnosis and teacher and parent report. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. doi 10.1080/19404158.2017.1289964
Free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/iPDGd535UzszBgMVkcaT/full

13. McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Masso, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S., & Howland, C. (2017, in press). Profile of Australian preschoolers with speech sound disorders at risk for literacy difficulties. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. doi: 10.1080/19404158.2017.1287105
Free download: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/nG6yIncSNjw93ivSJ6ea/full

+ 5 journal articles accepted in 2016 that have not yet been published + 6 encyclopedia entries + more articles are under review

Longitudinal changes in polysyllable maturity of preschool children with speech sound disorders

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication. It formed part of Sarah's PhD and was based on work from our Sound Start Study.
Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wang, A. & Baker, E., & McCormack, J. (2017, in press). Longitudinal changes in polysyllable maturity of preschool children with speech sound disorders. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics.
Here is the abstract:

Children’s polysyllables (words of three or more syllables) were investigated to determine changes in (1) consonant and vowel accuracy, (2) error category frequency, and (3) levels of maturity over time. Participants were 80 children (aged 4;0-5;4) with phonologically-based speech sound disorders who participated in the Sound Start Study and completed the Polysyllable Preschool Test (Baker, 2013) three times. Polysyllable errors were categorised using the Word-level Analysis of Polysyllables (WAP, Masso, 2016a) and the Framework of Polysyllable Maturity (Framework, Masso, 2016b), which represents five maturity levels (Levels A-E). Participants demonstrated a statistically significant increase in polysyllable accuracy across three time points as measured by consonant and vowel accuracy, and frequency of polysyllable errors. Children who demonstrated the lowest level of maturity (Level A) had frequent deletion errors, alterations of phonotactics, and alterations of timing. Participants in Level B were 8.62 times more likely to improve than children in Level A at Time 1. Children who present with frequent deletion errors may be less likely to improve their polysyllable accuracy.

Preschool children’s communication, motor and social development: What concerns parents and educators?

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication and is based on work from our Sound Start Study.
McLeod, S., Crowe, K., McCormack, J., White, P., Wren, Y., Baker, E., Masso, S., Roulstone, S. (2017, in press). Preschool children’s communication, motor and social development: What concerns parents and educators? International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.
Here is the abstract:

Purpose: During early childhood it is important to identify which children require intervention before they face the increased demands of school. This study aimed to: (1) compare parents’ and educators’ concerns, (2) examine inter-rater reliability between parents’ and educators’ concerns, and (3) determine the group difference between level of concern and children’s performance on clinical testing.
Method: Parents and educators of 1,205 4- to 5-year-old children in the Sound Start Study completed the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status. Children whose parents/educators were concerned about speech and language underwent direct assessment measuring speech accuracy (n = 275), receptive vocabulary (n=131), and language (n=274).
Result: More parents/educators were concerned about children’s speech and expressive language, than behaviour, social-emotional, school readiness, receptive language, self-help, fine motor, and gross motor skills. Parents’ and educators’ responses were significantly correlated (except gross motor)Parents’ and educators’ level of concern about expressive speech and language was significantly correlated with speech accuracy on direct assessment. Educators’ level of concern was significantly correlated with a screening measure of language. Scores on a test of receptive vocabulary significantly differed between those with concern and those without.
Conclusion: Children’s communication skills concerned more parents and educators than other aspects of development and these concerns generally aligned with clinical testing.

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.