Today for our CVC2026 face-to-face workshop, our CVC Visiting Scholar led a workshop titled:
Sticks and stones, flowers and gnomes: Generative listening and the art of provocation
Dr Zinnia Mevawalla, University of Strathclyde, UK
We not only learned about generative listening - but also practiced listening to one another using a range of artifacts as provocation. It was a valuable session. Thank you Zinnia.
The following article has just been accepted for publication after peer review:
McLeod, S. (2026, in press). Large listening ears are not enough: How can we mature in our practices to listen to children? Child Language Teaching and Therapy.
Here is the abstract:
Communication is a human right for all; including children with speech, language, and communication needs and those who speak/sign non-dominant languages. Communication specialists enhance the “voice” of children in two ways. We support children’s physical and cognitive abilities to talk as well as enabling children the “right to freedom of expression… regardless of frontiers” (Article 13 Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations, 1989). We have creatively engaged in child-friendly methods to provide children space and voice – and children frequently depict their supportive communicative partners with “large listening ears”. As communication specialists, we also have the power to assist others to listen, giving children audience and influence (Lundy, 2007). This paper provides examples of listening to children with diverse communication abilities, is based on the Child Language Teaching and Therapy (CLTT) 2024 Summer Lecture, and has been updated by integrating papers from the CLTT special issue published in 2026. As we become accustomed to including children’s perspectives in our professional practice, this paper encourages us to reflect on whether we listen to children superficially or use our large listening ears to provide children the opportunity for action based on their insights. How can we mature in our practices to enhance all children’s participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society? Our challenge is to have large listening ears; employ a variety of sources (Mosaic approach); involve children’s participation throughout the research process, and facilitate their capacity to influence the world.
The manuscript was written based on my invited lecture and forms the first article of the special issue of CLTT titled "Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities".
You can watch the Child Language Teaching and Therapy Summer Lecture 2024 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iajSaUyEuOw
Summer Lecture Abstract:
Communication is a human right for all; and ALL includes children with speech, language, and communication needs, including those who speak/sign non-dominant languages (McLeod, 2018). Aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989) we have given attention to the “voice” of children. For example, we have creatively engaged in child-friendly arts-based methods to provide children with the “right to freedom of expression… regardless of frontiers” as outlined in Article 13. However, do we REALLY listen to children? As we become more accustomed to including children’s perspectives in our professional practices, it is time to reflect on whether some of our inclusion of children’s voices could be perceived as “tokenistic” (Hart, 1992). As communication specialists, we have the power to support children’s voice and to assist others to listen. How can we mature in our practices to enhance children’s participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society?
This morning Holly McAlister and I met to go through all of the papers submitted to the special issue of Child Language Teaching and Therapy "Listening to children with diverse communication". We have received a lot of fascinating papers. We are very grateful to the reviewers who have agreed to provide advice about each of the manuscripts and have just begun making decisions about some of the manuscripts.
I was invited by Prof Fran Press, Dr Jenny Cartmel and colleagues at Griffith University to be part of the consultation on the Voice of Children Framework.
Our new Children's Voices Centre will focus on listening to children and will draw on the previous work of the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group. For example
Here is a selection of the work we have published to listen to children:
Books
Communication rights for all
Children with communication disability
Children who speak languages other than English
Children with disabilities and their families
Methods of listening to children
While at BSLTRU I had a chance to learn more about the work of Dr Kath Broomfield and her new book that she edited with Anna Volkmer: Seldom heard voices in service user involvement: The how and why of meaningful collaboration https://www.jr-press.co.uk/product/seldom-heard-voices/. Here is the description from the publisher's website:
Many communities are often excluded from research, service development and public consultations because they are considered too difficult to engage with. This list of seldom heard voices includes people with communication difficulties and/or mental health diagnoses, children and young people, minority and ethnic groups, and many more. Increasingly, there is a drive to be more inclusive and what sparse guidance there is suggests there should be engagement and communication with the relevant community, involving them in decision-making, co-design or co-produce at all levels. But how is this carried out?
Seldom Heard Voices in Service User Involvement is the first book that shares experiences and examples of service user involvement with communities of seldom heard voices. As well as being a practical resource for clinicians, it will provide a resource for future health and social care professionals and researchers. Additionally, it will bring together expertise and experience from across a range of seldom heard voices, ultimately sharing and maximizing the transfer of knowledge and resource.
There are many synergies with our new Children's Voices Centre and our book Listening to Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (https://www.jr-press.co.uk/product/communication-needs). Kath gave me a copy of her book and I have already enjoyed reading it.
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:
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.
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| Sue Roulstone and Sharynne |
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| Our view for discussing the second edition of the book |
Child Language Teaching and Therapy have just announced their Summer Lecture.
Free tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/child-language-teaching-and-therapy-annual-summer-lecture-2024-tickets-882052130667
Here are the details:
The Journal of Child Language Teaching and Therapy are thrilled to announce the details of our 2024 Summer Lecture.
Do we really listen to children?
Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod, Charles Sturt University, Australia
Communication is a human right for all; and ALL includes children with speech, language, and communication needs, including those who speak/sign non-dominant languages (McLeod, 2018). Aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989) we have given attention to the “voice” of children. For example, we have creatively engaged in child-friendly arts-based methods to provide children with the “right to freedom of expression… regardless of frontiers” as outlined in Article 13. However, do we REALLY listen to children? As we become more accustomed to including children’s perspectives in our professional practices, it is time to reflect on whether some of our inclusion of children’s voices could be perceived as “tokenistic” (Hart, 1992). As communication specialists, we have the power to support children’s voice and to assist others to listen. How can we mature in our practices to enhance children’s participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society?
Biography: Sharynne McLeod, PhD is a Distinguished Professor at Charles Sturt University, Australia specialising in speech and language acquisition. Her transformative research has reframed the profession by foregrounding communication rights and social justice, and by enhancing equitable participation for multilingual children with speech, language and communication needs. She has advocated for communication rights at the United Nations and the World Health Organization. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. She has been an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol, and Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University. She served as editor-in- chief of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, and has received Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Life Membership of Speech Pathology Australia. The Australian Newspaper named her Australia’s Research Field Leader and Best in the World in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology based on the “quality, volume and impact” of her research.
More information A recording will be made available after the lecture. The lecture will be held online via zoom and details will be shared with participants. Follow us on X: @SharynneMcLeod @CLTTJournal Connect with us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/child-language-teaching-and-therapyjournals.sagepub.com/home/clt
I am pleased to note that "patient and public involvement (PPI)" is mentioned frequently in the UK. It seems to be the acronym that has grown from the phrase that I heard frequently during my last visit to the UK: "nothing about us without us".
Here is an example of PPI from the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) in the NHS: https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/patient-and-public-involvement/
"Patient and public involvement is important to the work of the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC). We work with people and communities to ensure that the research priorities and innovations we support are developed in collaboration with people with lived experience of a particular service or health condition. We work with patients, people who access services, carers, charities, community groups and others to bring diverse perspectives into our work."Here is the NHS PPI strategy: https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/publication/accelerated-access-collaborative-patient-and-public-involvement-strategy/
"Working with our patient partners and stakeholders, we have developed The patient and public involvement strategy 2021-2026. This strategy sets out six aims:
Ensure that a diverse range of patients and the public, especially people with lived experience, are involved in influencing the direction and delivery of our work programmes.
Proactively address equality and inclusion in our work.
Work collaboratively across the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) partnership and wider system partners to embed a culture of patient involvement across AAC programmes.
Support patients and public partners to have a meaningful and positive experience while working with us.
Understand our impact and outcomes.
Communicate our impact."
I have learned from Prof Yvonne Wren about how they have PPI groups (e.g., YPAG - Young People's Advisory Group) who are consulted at various times during their research. For example, their team included a range of stakeholders to co-design in their research, then the PPI groups were consulted to provide feedback before being tested.
PPI groups can be established outside of the data collection process. PPI discussions are not included as research data unless ethics approval has been gained and signed consent has been received.
Here are some associated terms: "co-design", "co-create", "collaboration", "listening to children's voices".
Dr Anna Cronin, A/Prof Jane McCormack (ACU) and I are having exciting conversations with the Once Upon a Time Foundation about listening to children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) who are receiving speech intervention.
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| Corrine Dutenberg and Dr Karla Washington |
The Excellence in Research in the Early Years Collaborative Research Network (CRN) is an Australian government- funded initiative to support collaboration amongst early years academics and PhD candidates at Charles Sturt University, Queensland University of Technology and Monash University. The purpose of the collaboration is to build research, skills and knowledge, and to contribute to strengthening Australian evidence base about early childhood education. This symposium illustrates some of the collaborative work being undertaken by members of the CRN. The projects featured in the symposium focus on the early childhood workforce, professional learning, and children’s learning, with references to the conference themes of leadership, community and identity. Collectively, the presentations offer insights into how adults and children make sense of complex and changing contexts and circumstances.
The impact of learning a second language on children’s friendships has rarely been studied from a child’s perspective. This paper describes two monolingual school-aged children’s insights into becoming bilingual at four time points: 2 months before moving to another country (while living in an English-speaking country), as well as one, six and twelve months after moving to Germany. The participants were English-speaking siblings (male with mild speech sound disorder aged 7- to 8-years and a typically developing female aged 9- to 10-years) who subsequently learned to speak German. At each of the four time points, interviews were undertaken with each child using child-friendly drawing and questionnaire techniques. The impact of language ability on making friends was a dominant theme that arose across the four time points and was triangulated across data collection methods. The children made friends with others who had similar language competence in German, even though they were younger, and did not share the same first language. Becoming bilingual impacted the children’s friendship formation and socialization opportunities with more competent language users. Children highlighted being excluded from activities and strategies for inclusion and forming friendships in bilingual environments.
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| Sharynne, Özge, and Seyhun |
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| Karla and Sharynne |
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| A language assessment in Jamaican |
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| A speech assessment in English |
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| The children drew themselves talking |