Discussing the SACHL with Prof Lynn WIlliams

Prof Lynn Williams has spent 1.5 days with with Dr Kate Margetson discussing the Speech Assessment in Children's Home Languages (SACHL). Last week they met at the Charles Sturt University North Sydney campus and this week online. Her insights have been invaluable.

Welcome Prof Lynn Williams - Visiting Scholar to CVC

Today we welcomed Prof Lynn Williams our Visiting Scholar to the Children's Voices Centre. She will be based at The Treehouse in Bathurst during September. Today she met the CVC staff and students, discussed future grants and research, and noticed the arrival of spring on campus with the blossoms.  We look forward to a very productive month of collaboration.

Welcome to the Bathurst campus of CSU

Welcome to the CVC!

 

 

 At the end of Lynn's first day on the Bathurst campus she was welcomed by a local kangaroo! 

 

Conversations with Prof Lynn Williams

This morning I enjoyed meeting with Prof Lynn Williams from East Tennessee State University (ETSU). She introduced me to her intern, Anna Hill, who will be applying for grad school soon. Anna has been working with Lynn on some of our current research projects.

We also discussed Lynn's visit to Charles Sturt University later this year. It will be wonderful to welcome Lynn back to Bathurst after she was here in 2007. 

Future collaborations

This morning I met with my wonderful colleague from the US - Professor Lynn Williams - to discuss future collaborations. Lynn and I have a rich past of very productive and impactful collaborations. It is exciting to now discuss new areas of work. 

 Here are some of the things we have published together: 

• Williams, A. L., McLeod, S., & McCauley, R. J. (Eds.). (2010). Interventions for speech sound disorders in children. Paul H. Brookes Publishing. 
• Williams, A. L., McLeod, S., & McCauley, R. J. (Eds.). (2021). Interventions for speech sound disorders in children (2nd ed.). Paul H. Brookes Publishing. 
• Baker, E., McCauley, R. J., Williams, A. L., & McLeod, S. (2020). Elements in phonological intervention: A comparison of three approaches using the Phonological Intervention Taxonomy. In E. Babatsouli & M. J. Ball (Eds.), On under-reported monolingual child phonology (pp. 375-399). Multilingual Matters. http://www.multilingual-matters.com/display.asp?isb=9781788928946 
• Baker, E., Williams, A. L., McLeod, S., & McCauley, R. (2018). Elements of phonological interventions for children with speech sound disorders: The development of a taxonomy. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 27(3), 906–935. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0127 

Visiting the University of Bristol

The University of Bristol in the UK reflects a very different time and place to Charles Sturt University in Australia. I have enjoyed my 5-week visit as the Bristol Benjamin Meaker Visiting Distinguished Professor. I have loved living in the midst of the city and the buildings of the university - and also traveling to the campuses and buildings associated with the university with Prof Yvonne Wren.

Sir Winston Churchill was a long-serving chancellor.

Invited lecture at Bristol Dental School: Speech, Language and Communication: An Overview for Dentists

Today, as part of my role as the Bristol Benjamin Meaker Visiting Distinguished Professor, I presented a guest lecture to the School of Dentistry titled "Speech, Language and Communication: An Overview for Dentists" https://www.bristol.ac.uk/international-research-development/diary/2024/dental-school-talk-by-professor-sharynne-mcleod.html. The lecture was held at the Bristol Dental School, Temple Quay Room

Here is the abstract: 

Most speech, language and communication is produced using the mouth. Dentists are frequently asked about the association between oral structures and communication. This presentation will describe how speech is produced using ultrasound and electropalatography images and will demonstrate the impact of oral structural alterations (e.g., tongue tie and cleft palate) on speech. Recent evidence-based techniques will be described to enable dentists to be better equipped to work with individuals with speech, language and communication needs.

Prof Sharynne McLeod and Prof Yvonne Wren

 

Day 2: Presentations and meetings at Manchester Metropolitan University

Today Prof Julie Marshall and I gave a MMU Communication Disability and Participation research webinar. We presented a hybrid seminar (online and face-to-face) titled "Using the Sustainable Development Goals to advocate for communication and swallowing disability services: Evidence from a special edition of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology"

Here is the abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs https://sdgs.un.org/goals) consist of 17 Goals aimed at planet and people and cover many aspects of life on earth. McLeod and Marshall guest edited a Special Issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, focused on the SDGs and Communication/ Swallowing Disability. Thirty-six papers, by authors from 36 countries, between them addressed all of the SDGs, demonstrating the importance of communication and swallowing to their achievement (open access - https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/25/1). In this presentation and workshop the presenters will summarise the SDGs and key learning from this special edition. Participants will be invited to consider the application of the SDGs to their personal and professional lives

Prof Sharynne McLeod and Prof Julie Marshall at MMU

Manchester Metropolitan University

Day 1: Presentations and meetings at Manchester Metropolitan University

I am a Visiting Professor with Manchester Metropolitan University from March 2022 to March 2024. Today was the first time I actually visited the university, with previous work being undertaken online across timezones between Australia and UK.

Today, I presented a 2.5 hour session titled "Maximising the impact of your communication research using a Research Wellness Checklist" that was  aimed at early and mid career researchers. It was great to have people with a range of research experience and knowledge to share their wisdom and insights.

Next I met Dr Julie Wright, Head of Department, Health Professions and discussed MMU's Good to Great Program. A number of years ago I had been invited to be an international mentor/collaborator for Prof Julie Marshall and the outcome from this collaboration was our special issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology that addressed the Sustainable Development Goals. We are presenting a seminar on this tomorrow. We discussed how the SDGs are important to all universities, including CSU and MMU.

Later this afternoon we met with Professor Saul Becker (new PVC of the Faculty of Health and Education at MMU) https://www.mmu.ac.uk/individual-profile/professor-saul-becker He is establishing a new Institute for Children’s Futures and has had a long-standing relationship with Australia – including discussing policy issues about children as carers with Julia Gillard when she was PM. At the end of the meeting he shared that a new banner was put up in the Faculty building with the following six words: Research | Education | Training | Policy | Practice | Impact I thought that we were well aligned throughout the conversation – but these six words nailed it! I look forward to further conversations with people at MMU.

Faculty of Health and Education's new banner

Walking in the rain with Prof Julie Marshall to MMU

Prof Julie Marshall, PVC Prof Saul Becker, Prof Sharynne McLeod

Prof Julie Marshall, HOD Dr Julie Wright, Prof Sharynne McLeod

Some of the MMU staff who attended today's research seminar

University of Bristol Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professorship

In 2020 I was supposed to have undertaken a University of Bristol Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professorship (BBMDVP); however, it was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

I was really pleased to be invited to attend a University of Bristol Festival of International Research and Partnerships event this evening titled: "Welcome and Introduction to the BBMDVP Showcase". The showcase was launched by Provost Judith Squires. The BBMDVP Showcase has a range of fascinating presentations demonstrating the richness and diversity of this award: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/international-research-partnerships/irp-festival/bristol-benjamin-meaker-distinguished-visiting-professorships-showcase/

I look forward to visiting the University of Bristol to take up my BBMDVP when I am able.