ECIR's policy impact is in SCOPUS

ECIR's policy impact is in SCOPUS!

https://www.scival.com/impact/policy/summary?uri=Customer/201004/ResearcherGroup/1141309

 

Are public funding models for speech-language pathology reflecting recommended evidence?

I enjoyed speaking with Tristan Nickless at the IALP conference in Auckland about his research into policies and practices impacting speech pathology services in Australia. He has just informed me about the publication of this important article: 

Nickless, T., Davidson, B., Finch, S., Gold, L., & Dowell, R. (2024). Aligned or misaligned: Are public funding models for speech-language pathology reflecting recommended evidence? An exploratory survey of Australian speech-language pathologists. Health Policy OPEN, 100117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpopen.2024.100117

Acknowledgments: The authors wish to thank all participants who shared their experiences and time for this study. In addition, the authors would also like to acknowledge the following colleagues for their assistance with identifying differential treatment intensity studies: Associate Professor Suze Leitao and Dr Samuel Calder (language); Professor Tanya Serry, Professor Pamela Snow and Dr Lisa Furlong (literacy); Dr Katherine Sanchez and Ms Carly Veness (infant feeding); Professor Sharynne McLeod (speech); and Associate Professor Debra Phyland (voice).

Children on campus: Policy and literature review

Our review of policies, procedures and literature about children on university campuses continued today. It is great working with Carolyn Gregoric, Suzanne Hopf and Claudio Dionigi to develop our background understanding of children on campus and how we can use this knowledge to inform the creation of The Treehouse and our space for children's communication and research. 

Word cloud of auto-generated themes from university policy and procedures

NVivo analysis of policies and procedures

EndNote review of 1,223 articles (229 duplicates) = 994 papers to review

Policy/advocacy discussion with Speech Pathology Australia

This afternoon I had a long discussion with Dr Nicole McGill, from Speech Pathology Australia about policy/advocacy to support children's communication and solutions for long waiting lists and fragmented services across health/education/disability/private practice. 

Here is some of the evidence that we discussed:

• McLeod, S., Davis, E., Rohr, K., McGill, N., Miller, K., Roberts, A., Thornton, S., Ahio, N., & Ivory, N. (2020). Waiting for speech-language pathology services: A randomised controlled trial comparing therapy, advice and device. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(3), 372–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2020.1731600 
• McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Wang, C. (2019). A longitudinal population study of literacy and numeracy outcomes for children identified with speech, language, and communication needs in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 507–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.07.004 
• Rvachew, S., & Rafaat, S. (2014). Report on benchmark wait times for pediatric speech sound disorders [Rapport sur les temps d’attente repères pour l’orthophonie pédiatrique]. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 38, 82–96. 
• CSU Provocations Blog: https://provocations.csu.edu.au/communication-is-a-human-right-but-not-everyone-can-communicate-effectively/ 
• CSU Provocations Public Lecture: https://research.csu.edu.au/engage-with-us/provocations; https://youtu.be/pnMRyU5BSOQ?feature=shared
• McLeod, S. (2018). Communication rights: Fundamental human rights for all. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1428687 
• McLeod, S., & Marshall, J. (2023). Communication for all and the Sustainable Development Goals. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2022.2160494

Provocations blog post

I have been invited to write a Provocations Blog post following on from my CSU Public Lecture. 

 Here is the link to my post: https://provocationsqa.csu.edu.au/communication-is-a-human-right-but-not-everyone-can-communicate-effectively/   

 

Provocations https://provocationsqa.csu.edu.au/ and information about the blog:

Provocations is a series of blogs written by prominent thinkers that seek to address the grand challenges confronting regional Australia and the world. How can we mitigate climate change and build climate proof, safe and sustainable communities? Can First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing guide sustainable development? How can we reinforce Australia’s supply chains and sovereign manufacturing capability in a post-Covid world? Is it possible to achieve productive and circular agriculture? How can we reduce income inequality between urban and regional Australia and build more inclusive communities? Does liberal democracy need to be redefined in a post-Covid world? How can we build a knowledgeable, inclusive and resilient citizenry prepared for the challenges of the future? Does Australia’s relationship with China require a radical rethink? Is there a role for faith in contemporary democratic thought? Provocations will challenge orthodoxy through new thinking but will also revive policy ideas and political thought from the past for one more encore.

 

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

Contributing to policy discussions about early childhood education and early intervention

Over the past week I have had a number of opportunities to contribute to policy discussions about early childhood education and early intervention.

I was invited to contribute to the submission by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) to Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care: https://socialsciences.org.au/publications/submission-productivity-commission-inquiry-into-early-childhood-education-and-care/

Here is a key recommendation that I was involved in crafting:

"Recommendation 6: Ensure universal access to early intervention within ECEC with proper oversight, consistency and coordination to reduce inefficiencies in across sectors, reduce vulnerabilities, and support children’s life outcomes."

I also had a long conversation with Jane Delaney, Early Childhood Policy Advisor for Speech Pathology Australia while in Hobart at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference.

Both conversations included the importance of providing accessible and universal early intervention for children to enable them to thrive throughout life.

Conversations with Jane Delaney at the SPA conference

 

Meetings to plan impactful research processes that will inform policy

On Monday I had excellent meetings with DVC-RE Mark Evans, Pat McKenna, Nilima Mathai from the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor - Research and Engagement and Hazel Dalton from the Rural Health Institute (RHI) to plan impactful research processes that will inform policy. I also got to say hello to a number of people at the ACCC, including Prof Wayne Hudson who is the next speaker in the Provocations Public Lecture Series (https://research.csu.edu.au/engage-with-us/provocations).

Hazel Dalton and Sharynne

Prof Wayne Hudson, Sharynne and Nilima Mathai at ACCC in Canbera

Feedback on the Impact Framework for the James Martin Institute for Public Policy

Today I spoke with Peta Leigh, Senior Research & Policy Manager at the James Martin Institute for Public Policy to provide feedback about the draft impact framework for the Institute. JMI is an independent policy institute working in partnership with universities – including CSU – and the NSW government to deliver collaborative policy research and innovation. It was a pleasure to provide feedback on this important document.

Co-design of a new applied policy entity at CSU

Deputy Vice Chancellor - Research Mark Evans and I co-hosted a 2-day workshop in Bathurst to co-design a new applied policy research initiative at CSU. It was a fantastic time to meet with social science colleagues from across the university to plan for this exciting new venture.

CSU Provocations Lecture: "Children should be seen AND heard: the importance of communication so children can thrive"

I was invited to present Charles Sturt University's first Provocations Public Lecture on 20th April 2023.  It was a joint presentation between Charles Sturt University and the Western NSW Branch of the Royal Society of NSW

 

Video presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjaxZ97_D3Y

Royal Society of NSW blog: https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/western-nsw-branch-meeting-2023-1 

"Children should be seen AND heard: the importance of communication so children can thrive"

Professor Sharynne McLeod FRSN FASSA 

Professor of Speech and Language Acquisition, Charles Sturt University

Summary: Communication is a human right for everyone – including children. Being an effective communicator is essential for children’s belonging, being, and becoming – and their ability to thrive. The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights describes our right to freedom of opinion and expression and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. This right is echoed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, Australian health, education, and disability legislation and policies rarely mention children’s communication. 

This presentation will draw on extensive large-scale evidence regarding Australian children’s communicative competence and capacity. Children’s drawings, personal insights, and data from 10,000 children within the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) will be described and the communicative competence of multilingual and Indigenous children will be celebrated. 

Approximately a quarter of parents of Australian 4- to 5-year-olds in LSAC were concerned about how their child talked and made speech sounds. Longitudinal analyses of LSAC data demonstrated the negative impact of preschool children’s speech and language competency on their subsequent literacy, numeracy, and socialisation. While there are many evidence-based speech pathology interventions to support children’s speech and language skills, “long speech pathology waiting lists” have been identified by an Australian Government Senate Inquiry for almost a decade. Innovations (e.g., websites, computer programs) to reduce the impact of these long waiting lists have been funded by the Australian Research Council and NSW Health; however, most have demonstrated limited improvements on children’s speech and language. This presentation will conclude with a range of policy solutions for interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral change to enable Australia’s children to be seen AND heard so they can thrive. 

About the Speaker: Sharynne McLeod PhD is a speech-language pathologist and professor of speech and language acquisition at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and the Royal Society of New South Wales, was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and has received Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Life Membership of Speech Pathology Australia. She has co-authored 13 books and 250+ peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters primarily focusing on children’s speech acquisition, speech sound disorders, and multilingualism and has free resources in over 70 languages on the Multilingual Children’s Speech website. She has provided expertise to the World Health Organization and has presented at the United Nations about communication rights. The Australian Newspaper named her Australia’s Research Field Leader in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022) and Best in the World based on the “quality, volume and impact” of research in the field (2019, 2023).

There were many attendees in person in Bathurst and online. What a privilege to present this lecture. 

Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care

I was invited to be a member of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia experts who will write a submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care. The meeting was chaired by ASSA Fellow, Prof Susan Danby and included Prof Marilyn Fleer, Dr Tara Robertson, Dr Chris Hatherly (ASSA) and Dr Andi Verdich (ASSA). Prof Suzie Edwards, Prof Fiona Stanley are also on the team. We will work on this over the next month. It is a very important submission.

Planning future research

I was privileged to spend time with DVC-Research Mark Evans, Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy, and Sarah Bartlett yesterday. We spent a number of hours thinking about how to support children and families in rural and regional Australia (as well as non-metropolitan areas around the world), how to undertake high quality research, how to support future researchers (including HDR students) and how to translate research into policy and practice. What an inspiring day.

DVC(Research) Prof Mark Evans, Sarah Bartlett, Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy, Prof Sharynne McLeod

 

Analysing social media for better public policy

Today I was honoured to open the Charles Sturt University one day symposium titled "Analysing social media for better public policy". Speakers and participants came from across the country, and I was invited to open the event. Details about the symposium are here: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/events/social-media-symposium

The aims of the symposium were to:

• Share cases where social media has been used to inform or guide public policy and decisions 
• Share research highlighting the application of social media to important policy matters 
• Bring together people working and researching in this developing field 
• Explore challenges of social media data use such as ethics, geolocation, sample representativeness, access to data 
• Consider systems and processes for gathering and analysing social media for public policy and decisions.

 The symposium included discussion about kangaroos, cervical screening, obesity, e-cigarettes, sharks, carp, policymakers, ethics, and concluded with "workshopping the wicked".