Caregivers’ insights into supporting their late talkers using a Hanen® parent program

Congratulations to Sarah Bartlett on her published paper from her Graduate Certificate that set the stage for her PhD research

Bartlett, S., & McLeod, S. (2025). Caregivers’ insights into supporting their late talkers using a Hanen® parent program. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2024.2438103

Here is the abstract

Purpose
To explore caregivers’ experiences and engagement during the 16-week Target Word™ Hanen® program for parents designed to support late talkers.

Method
Qualitative interpretative description methodology was used to understand the experience of five caregivers who had completed Target Word™ to support their children (aged 18-36 months). Caregivers attended a focus group to share their perspectives. Transcripts of these focus groups were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Result
Two themes were identified regarding caregiver engagement during Target Word™ intervention. Firstly, caregivers described explicit support roles for speech-language pathologists: (a) Beginning phase (clarify expectations), (b) middle phase (enable caregiver to link changes in their behaviour to positive child outcomes), and (c) final phase (empowered caregivers). Secondly, caregiver engagement is influenced by: (a) Individual needs and expectations, (b) active engagement during key learning moments, and (c) influence of the broader environment.

Conclusion
Each caregiver participating in Target Word™ experienced unique engagement journeys over the course of the program. Speech-language pathologists can explicitly facilitate engagement at each phase of Target Word™ to promote active engagement for learning and ultimately caregiver empowerment to support their children’s language growth.

Our VietSpeech team is writing a lot of chapters

The work of our VietSpeech team (https://www.csu.edu.au/research/vietspeech/overview) continues to have impact across the world. We have been invited to write a number of different book chapters based on our research. We are currently working on these chapters:

• Tran, V. H., Margetson, K., Pham, B., Verdon, S., McLeod, S., Blake, H. L., & Faulks, S. (in preparation). Vietnamese English. In Y. Holt, K. N. Washington, & E. Babatsouli (Eds.) Linguistic varieties in North America: A primer for speech and language practitioners. Multilingual Matters.
• Margetson, K., McLeod, S., & Verdon, S. (in preparation). Diagnosing speech sound disorders in multilingual children who speak Vietnamese and English. In K. N. Washington, K. Crowe, T Másdóttir (Eds.). Diagnosing speech sound disorders in multilingual children. Routledge.

These chapters have just been accepted for publication:

• Margetson, K., McLeod, S., Verdon, S., Tran, V. H., & Phạm, B. (2025). English + Vietnamese speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.
• Phạm, B. & Margetson, K., McLeod, S. + Tran, V. H. & Verdon, S. (2025). Vietnamese speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Dr Van Tran, Prof Sharynne McLeod, Dr Helen Blake,
Dr Ben Phạm, Dr Kate Margetson, A/Prof Sarah Verdon

These chapters have been published in 2024:

• Tran, V. H., McLeod, S., Verdon, S., Margetson, K., & Phạm, B. (2024). Vietnamese-Australian families: Children’s language competence and home language maintenance. In L. Mahony, S. McLeod, A. Salamon, & J. Dwyer (Eds.), Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals (pp. 135-150). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0_1015 
• Margetson, K., McLeod, S., & Verdon, S. (2024). Diagnosing speech sound disorder in bilingual Vietnamese-English-speaking children: Are English-only assessments sufficient? In E. Babatsouli (Ed.). Multilingual acquisition and learning: A ecosystemic view to diversity. (pp. 217-245). John Benjamins Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.67.08mar

Honours research - the last month before submission

Sarah Faulks has been working with A/Prof Sarah Verdon and myself on her honours research. She has one month before submission and is completely on track. Congratulations Sarah and best wishes for the final stretch before you finish your degree.

Learning about Persian/Farsi

Over the past few days I have had fascinating conversations with colleagues in Tehran, Iran who are contributing a chapter on Persian/Farsi to The [Oxford] Handbook on Speech Development in Languages of the World. This Handbook will be an updated version of the International Guide to Speech Acquisition published in 2007. Persian was not included in the IGSA, so I'm glad it will be in this book. I love learning about languages.

Forugh Shushtaryzadeh and Sharynne

Talieh Zarifian and Sharynne

James Law's contributions to IJLCD

A virtual issue of all of James Law's publications to IJLCD has just been published. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1460-6984.James-Law-Tribute 

It contains 29 articles:

1. Adams, C., Lockton, E., Freed, J., Gaile, J., Earl, G., McBean, K., Nash, M., Green, J., Vail, A., & Law, J. (2012). The Social Communication Intervention Project: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of speech and language therapy for school-age children who have pragmatic and social communication problems with or without autism spectrum disorder. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(3), 233-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00146.x 
2. Beecham, J., Law, J., Zeng, B., & Lindsay, G. (2012). Costing children's speech, language and communication interventions. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(5), 477-486. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2012.00157.x 
3. Buckeridge, K., Clarke, C., & Sellers, D. (2020). Adolescents’ experiences of communication following acquired brain injury. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 55(1), 97-109. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12506 
4. Cronin, P., Reeve, R., McCabe, P., Viney, R., & Goodall, S. (2020). Academic achievement and productivity losses associated with speech, language and communication needs. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 55(5), 734-750. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12558 
5. De Barbieri, Z., Fernández, M. A., Newbury, D. F., & Villanueva, P. (2018). Family aggregation of language impairment in an isolated Chilean population from Robinson Crusoe Island. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 53(3), 643-655. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12377 
6. Dockrell, J., Lindsay, G., Roulstone, S., & Law, J. (2014). Supporting children with speech, language and communication needs: an overview of the results of the Better Communication Research Programme. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 49(5), 543-557. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12089 
7. Ellis Weismer, S., Tomblin, J. B., Durkin, M. S., Bolt, D., & Palta, M. (2021). A preliminary epidemiologic study of social (pragmatic) communication disorder in the context of developmental language disorder. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(6), 1235-1248. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12664 
8. Gallagher, A. L., & Chiat, S. (2009). Evaluation of speech and language therapy interventions for pre-school children with specific language impairment: a comparison of outcomes following specialist intensive, nursery-based and no intervention. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 44(5), 616-638. https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820802276658 
9. Hopkins, T., Clegg, J., & Stackhouse, J. (2018). Examining the association between language, expository discourse and offending behaviour: an investigation of direction, strength and independence. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 53(1), 113-129. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12330 
10. Kouba Hreich, E., Moitel Messarra, C., Martinez-Perez, T., Richa, S., & Maillart, C. (2020). Supporting language development in Lebanese preschools: SLT and pre-KT practice and perception of roles. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 55(6), 988-1004. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12576 
11. Law, J. (1995). Efficacy of speech and language therapy with children. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 30(S1), 484-484. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.1995.tb01738.x 
12. Law, J. (1997). Evaluating intervention for language impaired children: A review of the literature. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 32(2s), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.1997.tb01621.x 
13. Law, J., Clegg, J., Rush, R., Roulstone, S., & Peters, T. J. (2019). Association of proximal elements of social disadvantage with children's language development at 2 years: an analysis of data from the Children in Focus (CiF) sample from the ALSPAC birth cohort. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 54(3), 362-376. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12442 
14. Law, J., Dornstauder, M., Charlton, J., & Gréaux, M. (2021). Tele-practice for children and young people with communication disabilities: Employing the COM-B model to review the intervention literature and inform guidance for practitioners. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(2), 415-434. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12592 
15. Law, J., Huby, G., Irving, A.-M., Pringle, A.-M., Conochie, D., Haworth, C., & Burston, A. (2010). Reconciling the perspective of practitioner and service user: findings from The Aphasia in Scotland study. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 45(5), 551-560. https://doi.org/10.3109/13682820903308509 
16. Law, J., McBean, K., & Rush, R. (2011). Communication skills in a population of primary school-aged children raised in an area of pronounced social disadvantage. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 46(6), 657-664. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00036.x 
17. Law, J., Reilly, S., & Snow, P. C. (2013). Child speech, language and communication need re-examined in a public health context: a new direction for the speech and language therapy profession. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 48(5), 486-496. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12027 
18. Law, J., & Riches, N. (2015). The Language Myth: Why Language is Not an Instinct Edited by Vyvyan Evans (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014) [Pp. 304.] ISBN 978-1-107-61975-3. £45.00 (hbk). £18.00 (pbk). International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 50(5), 719-719. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12168 
19. Law, J., Zeng, B., Lindsay, G., & Beecham, J. (2012). Cost-effectiveness of interventions for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN): a review using the Drummond and Jefferson (1996) ‘Referee's Checklist’. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00084.x 
20. Levickis, P., McKean, C., Wiles, A., & Law, J. (2020). Expectations and experiences of parents taking part in parent–child interaction programmes to promote child language: a qualitative interview study. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 55(4), 603-617. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12543 
21. Lindsay, G., Dockrell, J., Desforges, M., Law, J., & Peacey, N. (2010). Meeting the needs of children and young people with speech, language and communication difficulties. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 45(4), 448-460. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3109/13682820903165693 
22. Lindsay, G., Soloff, N., Law, J., Band, S., Peacey, N., Gascoigne, M., & Radford, J. (2002). Speech and language therapy services to education in England and Wales. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 37(3), 273-288. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820210137204 
23. Mackie, L., & Law, J. (2010). Pragmatic language and the child with emotional/behavioural difficulties (EBD): a pilot study exploring the interaction between behaviour and communication disability. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 45(4), 397-410. https://doi.org/10.3109/13682820903105137 
24. McKean, C., Law, J., Laing, K., Cockerill, M., Allon-Smith, J., McCartney, E., & Forbes, J. (2017). A qualitative case study in the social capital of co-professional collaborative co-practice for children with speech, language and communication needs. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 52(4), 514-527. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12296 
25. Reilly, S., Tomblin, B., Law, J., McKean, C., Mensah, F. K., Morgan, A., Goldfeld, S., Nicholson, J. M., & Wake, M. (2014). Specific language impairment: a convenient label for whom? International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 49(4), 416-451. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12102 
26. Smith, J., Levickis, P., Neilson, R., Mensah, F., Goldfeld, S., & Bryson, H. (2021). Prevalence of language and pre-literacy difficulties in an Australian cohort of 5-year-old children experiencing adversity. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(2), 389-401. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12611 
27. Snow, P. C., Sanger, D. D., Caire, L. M., Eadie, P. A., & Dinslage, T. (2015). Improving communication outcomes for young offenders: a proposed response to intervention framework. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 50(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12117 
28.  Wren, Y., Pagnamenta, E., Peters, T. J., Emond, A., Northstone, K., Miller, L. L., & Roulstone, S. (2021). Educational outcomes associated with persistent speech disorder. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(2), 299-312. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12599 
29. Zwitserlood, R., Wijnen, F., van Weerdenburg, M., & Verhoeven, L. (2015). ‘MetaTaal’: enhancing complex syntax in children with specific language impairment—a metalinguistic and multimodal approach. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 50(3), 273-297. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12131  

21 most spoken languages in the world in 2021

Here are the 21 most spoken languages in the world in 2021 according to Ethnologue

1. English
2. Mandarin Chinese
3. Hindi
4. Spanish 
5. Standard Arabic 
6. Bengali 
7. French 
8. Russian 
9. Portuguese 
10. Urdu 
11. Indonesian 
12. Standard German 
13. Japanese 
14. Marathi 
15. Telugu 
16. Turkish 
17. Tamil 
18. Yue Chinese 
19. Wu Chinese 
20. Korean
21. Vietnamese

The Ethnologue 200 accounts for most of the world's population. Over 88% of people speak one of these languages as their native tongue, and many hundreds of millions more speak them as second languages. This ranking accounts for both, showing the total usage worldwide. https://www.ethnologue.com/guides/ethnologue200

Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (2021). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (24th ed.). SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com

DLD terminology

Recently ASHA published a special issue discussing the terminology for children with language disorders: developmental language disorders (DLD) vs. specific language impairment (SLI).

• https://pubs.asha.org/doi/full/10.1044/2019_PERSP-19-00184
• https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2020/02/latest-forum-from-perspectives-tackles-sli-dld-terminology-discussion/ 

 On the weekend, Dorothy Bishop who lead the research to standardize the term DLD wrote about errors in the definition of DLD that was used in the ASHA special issue: http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2020/02/changing-terminology-for-childrens.html

Singing in Babatana - a language from the Solomon Islands

This morning I was invited to sing in a choir in Babatana, a language spoken by over 7,000 people in the Solomon Islands and my friends who live in Bathurst.

They taught us that the vowels are pronounced in the following way: a = ah, e = eh, i = e, o = o, ö = ur, u = u

Here are some websites about Babatana:

• https://www.ethnologue.com/language/baa
• http://olac.ldc.upenn.edu/language/baa
• http://search.language-archives.org/search.html?q=Babatana
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatana_language

Functional Word Lists for Indigenous Languages of the South Pacific: QUOTA Scholarship

Congratulations Dr Suzanne Hopf who has just received a QUOTA South Pacific Area Scholarship for Work in the Fields of Speech and Hearing. Her research grant is titled "Functional Word Lists for Indigenous Languages of the South Pacific"
Here is the abstract:

Communication specialists rely on data that document children’s typical speech and language development when diagnosing and treating speech and language disorders in children. In many South Pacific nations there are no recognised communication specialists or recognised tools to assist with this process (e.g., Fiji – see Hopf, 2013; 2017). Thus, suspected diagnoses are mostly based on implicit language knowledge within communities. Tools that can assist with early diagnosis and treatment of communication disability are needed to support communication specialists working with children from language groups other than their own. In alignment with the aims of the 2019 UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages (IY2019), this ambitious project will bring together speakers of Pacific Islands indigenous languages, and communication specialists from around the world, to create consensus functional word lists for indigenous languages of the South Pacific nations of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Vanuatu. Significantly, this project will capitalise on a network of communication specialists who will work together beyond the stated languages to continue to document functional word lists in all of the indigenous and immigrant languages of the South Pacific. These word lists will be invaluable for communication specialists working both within and outside the South Pacific with people with communication disability who speak these languages.

Languages spoken in the UK

The participants in yesterday's seminar at the University of Sheffield shared two websites from the 2011 census outlining languages spoken in the UK:

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/detailedanalysisenglishlanguageproficiencyinenglandandwales/2013-08-30
• https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04

 Some key points:

"English (or Welsh in Wales) was the main language for 92% of UK residents. Of the remaining 8% who had a different main language, the majority could speak English "well" or "very well". People who couldn’t speak English "well" or "at all" had a lower proportion of "good" general health than those with English as their main language."

• The top 10 languages spoken are: Polish, Panjabi, Urdu, Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya), Gujarati, Arabic, French, All other Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish
• The top 10 languages spoken by people who are proficient in English are: Afrikaans, Welsh (in England only), Swedish, Danish, Northern European language (non EU), Shona, Finnish, German, Dutch, Tagalog/Filipino
• The top 10 languages spoken by people who are less proficient in English are: Gypsy/Traveller languages, Pakistani Pahari (with Mirpuri and Potwari), Vietnamese, Cantonese Chinese, Yiddish, Panjabi, Romani language (any), Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya), Turkish, Latvian

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-5 Australian and New Zealand version

The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Australian and New Zealand Fifth Edition (CELF-5 A&NZ) has been launched at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference. This is the first time this assessment has been normed for our countries. I was one of eight people on the CELF-5 A&NZ Review Panel (along with Liz Fairgray, NZ; Prof Gail Gillon, NZ; Liselaine Hemmingway, Dr Suze Leitao, Melissa Lovell, Barbara Lyndon and Prof Pam Snow). This assessment will be used widely across Australia.

Sharynne and Nicole McGill with the CELF-5 A&NZ

Pearson's account of the development of the CELF-5 A&NZ is here