LinkedIN post from CSU about our CLTT special issue

Communication is a human right, including for children with speech, language and communication needs, and children who communicate in non-dominant languages.
 
How can we make sure researchers truly listen to children with diverse communication abilities?
 
A new special issue of Child Language Teaching and Therapy brings together 17 papers from researchers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK.
 
Charles Sturt University Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod and Charles Sturt PhD candidate Holly McAlister guest edited the special issue through the Children’s Voices Centre (CVC). CVC staff, affiliates, adjuncts and HDR students contributed six papers, with 19 CVC authors, two editors and eight peer reviewers involved.
 
In her open-access lead paper, Large listening ears are not enough: How can we mature in our practices to listen to children?, Sharynne asks how we can move beyond simply hearing children’s views to giving them an audience and the opportunity to influence decisions.

• Read the special issue: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/clta/42/2-3
• Read the lead paper: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02656590261477289
• Watch Sharynne’s two-minute overview: https://lnkd.in/gwR937fF
• Read Sharynne’s blog post about the Charles Sturt and CVC contributions: https://speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com/2026/08/cvc-affilates-and-adjuncts-contribute.html

 
#ChildLanguage #InclusiveResearch #ChildrensVoices #CharlesSturtResearch

PUBLISHED CLTT Special issue: Listening to children with diverse communication abilities

I'm delighted that our special issue of Child Language Teaching and Therapy (CLTT) has been published

https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/clta/42/2-3

The CLTT special issue is titled: "Listening to children with diverse communication abilities" and contains 17 papers from across the world.

Here is my lead paper that summarises the issue.

McLeod, S. (2026). Large listening ears are not enough: How can we mature in our practices to listen to children? Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42(2-3), 94-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261477289

This morning Holly McAlister and I celebrated being guest co-editors of the special issue  with A/Prof Suzanne Hopf, Holly's primary PhD supervisor. We reflected on all Holly had learned being a co-editor. 

Sharynne, Holly and Suzanne celebrating publication of the special issue

 

IJSLP Special Issue on "Global disability health equity for people with diverse communication abilities": Call to submit EOI

You are invited to Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology for a Special Issue titled: Global disability health equity for people with diverse communication abilities: Evidence on the 40 actions from the World Health Organization’s Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities

More information about the IJSLP special issue: https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/global-disability-health-equity-for-people-with-diverse-communication-abilities-evidence-on-the-40-actions-from-the-world-health-organizations-global-report-on-health-equity-for-persons-with/?

The World Health Organization Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities states:

“An estimated 1.3 billion people – or 16% of global population worldwide – experience a significant disability today. Persons with disabilities have the right to the highest attainable standard of health as those without disabilities. However, the WHO Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities demonstrates that while some progress has been made in recent years, the world is still far from realizing this right for many persons with disabilities who continue to die earlier, have poorer health, and experience more limitations in everyday functioning than others. These poor health outcomes are due to unfair conditions faced by persons with disabilities in all facets of life, including in the health system itself. Countries have an obligation under international human rights law to address the health inequities faced by persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goals and global health priorities will not progress without ensuring health for all.” 

The Report offers “40 targeted and comprehensive actions that countries can take to strengthen their health systems and reduce health inequities for persons with disabilities” (World Health Organization, 2022, p. 7)

• WHO’s 40 actions to achieve health equity for persons with disabilities https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240063624 
• World Health Organization (2022). Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/sensory-functions-disability-and-rehabilitation/global-report-on-health-equity-for-persons-with-disabilities 

This special issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology will include 2,500-3,000 word commentary articles/essays. Each article will provide evidence of outcomes from (at least one of) the 40 actions for disability inclusion from the World Health Organization’s Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities. Commentary articles must be supported by (a) new evidence and/or (b) evidence-based literature and will be peer-reviewed. Where data exists, commentary articles should provide evidence on how the action(s) have impacted the health outcomes of persons with disabilities and/or influenced one or more of the contributing factors of health inequities, including  (a) structural factors, (b) social determinants, (c) risk factors, and/or (d) health system factors impacting health equity for people who experience communication and swallowing disability. More information about the 40 actions and contributing factors to health inequities for persons with disabilities is provided below.

Commentaries can be broad ranging, describing the relevance of the 40 actions for disability inclusion from the World Health Organization’s Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities to this field, or provide an overview of work with a specific intervention, country or population.

Expressions of interest are sought from authors across the world in a variety of disciplines. Commentaries are encouraged from (a) people who have lived experience of communication- and / or swallowing-related disability (e.g., co-constructed disability-inclusive research), and (b) people who live and work in Majority World countries (including low and middle-income countries and small island states).

The aim is to cover EVERY ONE OF THE 40 ACTIONS – so be creative.

Examples of previous special issues of IJSLP containing commentary articles on international issues

• Communication is a human right: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights | International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2018, 20(1) https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/20/1
• Communication, swallowing and the Sustainable Development Goals | International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2023, 25(1) https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/25/1

Expressions of interest due Monday 30 November, 2026 to ebp@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au and should include:

Proposed title (the title should include the words “disability/disabilities” and “health equity”)
The WHO Action(s) that will be the focus of the commentary (e.g., WHO Action 17 “Engage persons with disabilities in research and include them in the health research workforce”, WHO Action 23 “Strengthen models of care for children with disabilities”). Also include these numbers in Keywords.
Contact author’s name, institution, country, email address and ORCiD number
Additional author(s) names, institutions, countries, email addresses and ORCiD (if appropriate)
Proposed type of manuscript: commentary containing (a) new evidence and/or (b) evidence-based literature (2,500-3,000 words)
Proposed abstract. The structured abstract should be approximately 200 words.

Purpose:State the primary objective of the commentary; include the WHO Action(s) that will be the focus of the commentary (e.g., WHO Action 2 “Establish a human rights-based approach to health”, WHO Action 31 “Incorporate a universal design-based approach to the development or refurbishment of health facilities and services”)

Method: Describe the research design and your reasons for adopting that methodology; state the methods and procedures employed, including where appropriate tools, hardware, software, the selection and number of study areas/subjects, and the central experimental interventions; OR state the reasoning behind your literature selection; and the way you critically analyse the literature;

Result: State the main outcomes and results, including relevant data on how the action(s) impacted health outcomes of persons with disabilities and/or influenced one or more of the contributing factors of health inequities; and

Conclusion: State the conclusions that might be drawn, including their implications for further research or application/practice. Read tips on writing your abstract.

Keywords: Disability, Persons with disabilities, Health equity, Health systems

A statement to indicate that you will be able to submit the manuscript by April 30, 2027 and revisions to the manuscript (after peer review) by June 2027.
People who submit an expression of interest will hear the outcome by the end of January 2027.

Disability and Health Journal

This IJSLP special issue is aligned with another special issue titled "Global Disability Health Equity" to be published in Disability and Health Journal: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/336891/global-disability-health-equity 

CVC BOOK CELEBRATION

To begin the Children's Voices Conference 2026 (CVC2026) live events, CVC hosted a Children's Voices Centre Book Celebration to celebrate books, edited books and special issues by CVC authors.

What a feast!

 

CVC BOOKS

1. Gibbs, L. (2025). Cultivating leadership in early childhood education and care: Trouble, complexity and promise. Routledge. 
2. Cooke, M., & Gibbs, L. (2026). Transforming early childhood practices: Thinking with the theory of practice architectures. Essential Resources. 
3. Dobud, W. W. & Harper, N. J. (2025). Kids these days: Understanding and supporting youth mental health. New Society Publishers.
4. Rahman, A., Abdulla, F., & Hossain, M. M. (2025). Scientific data analysis with R: Biostatistical applications. CRC Press.
5. Hossain, M. M., Abdulla, F., & Rahman, A. (Eds.) (in press). Modelling climate change impacts: Data science, AI and machine learning approaches. John Wiley & Sons.

CVC EDITED BOOKS

1. Blake, H. L., McLeod, S. Margetson, K., & Goldstein, B. A. (2026, in press). Multilingual aspects of children’s speech sounds (2nd edition). Multilingual Matters.
2.  Cumming, T., & Saha, M. (Eds.). (2027). Emotional labour in the work of early childhood educators: International research perspectives. Routledge. 
3. McLeod, S. (Ed.). (2026). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.  https://doi.org/10.1093/9780191964909.001.0001  
4.  Sikder, S., Stevenson, E., & Van Reyk, D. (2026, in press). Sustainability in and of STEM Education: Theoretical foundations and practical applications. Springer.

 CVC SPECIAL ISSUES

1. McLeod, S. & McAlister, H. (2026).  Special issue: Listening to children with diverse communication abilities, Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42 https://journals.sagepub.com/home/clt 
2. Cologon, K.,  Mevawalla Z. & Downey, B. (2026). Special issue: Early Education for All: Celebrating Diversity and Seeking Inclusion, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 34(3), https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/recr20/34/3 

 

CVC affilates and adjuncts contribute papers to CLTT special issue

Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities

Child Language Teaching and Therapy Special Issue (2026, volume 42) - Q1 journal

Guest editors: Sharynne McLeod and Holly McAlister*, Children’s Voices Centre, Charles Sturt University, Australia
CLTT Editors: Judy Clegg and Victoria Joffe

https://journals.sagepub.com/home/clt 

The entire special issue contains 17 papers written by people from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, UK

Here is my 2-minute video summary of the special issue:  https://charlessturt.zoom.us/rec/share/M6k58N7ZaAZsqNcKTpefR9bRT62DNI-tKN-5ov_9PT6h-6bh4j1K79Knb6d1Y7IO.WKRpGEL_LBPtpYv7
View in Zoom

It has been great to mentor and include so many CVC staff/affiliates/adjuncts/HDR students in the special issue:

• 6 CVC papers
• 2 CVC editors
• 19 CVC authors
• 8 CVC peer reviewers

1. Cologon, K. (2026). From space and voice to audience and influence: Methodological approaches to inclusive co-research with young children. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42, https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261470993
2. Deehan, H., McLeod, S. & Harrison, L. J. (2026). “Oh! I forgot the voice”: Comparing drawings of talking by children with and without speech sound disorder. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42, https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261433348
3. Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., Davies, J. (2026). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42, https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102
4. McAlister, H., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2026). Ladders, trees and matrixes: Child-focused participatory action research frameworks for children with diverse communication abilities. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42, https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261455298
5. McCormack, J., Cronin, A., McLeod, S., Ireland, M., Wang, C., & Tiong, C. (2026). Children’s drawings of intervention for childhood apraxia of speech: Place, people, activity, and emotion. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42, https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251375340
6. McLeod, S. (2026). Large listening ears are not enough: How can we mature in our practices to listen to children? Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 42, https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261477289

*bolded text = CVC affiliate/adjunct/HDR student

 

Special issues

I have been involved in guest editing a number of special issues including: 

1. Communication is a human right: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights | Guest Editor: Sharynne McLeod  | International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2018, 20(1)  https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/20/1
2.  Communication, swallowing and the Sustainable Development Goals | Guest Editors: Sharynne McLeod and Julie Marshall | International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology  2023, 25(1) https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/25/1
3. Listening to children with diverse communication abilities | Guest Editors: Sharynne McLeod and Holly McAlister with Journal Editors: Judy Clegg and Victoria Joffe | Child Language Teaching and Therapy, in process to appear 2026  | https://journals.sagepub.com/home/CLT
4. ​Children’s communication and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) | Guest Editors: Sharynne McLeod, Helen L. Blake and Kathy Cologon  | Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, in process to appear 2027 |  | https://pubs.asha.org/journal/lshss

Child Language Teaching and Therapy Special Issue (2026) is finished

Child Language Teaching and Therapy Special Issue (2026)
Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities
Guest editors: Sharynne McLeod and Holly McAlister, Children’s Voices Centre, Charles Sturt University, Australia
CLTT Editors: Judy Clegg and Victoria Joffe

1. Cologon, K. (2026). From space and voice to audience and influence: Methodological approaches to inclusive co-research with young children. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication.  
2. Deehan, H., McLeod, S., & Harrison, L. J. (2026). “Oh! I forgot the voice”: Comparing drawings of talking by children with and without speech sound disorder. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261433348
3. Devane K., O’Malley-Keighran M., & Carroll, C. (2026). ‘Irish... It’s the native language...It representes who you are in a way’: Understanding the lives of Irish-English speaking children in Ireland. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261460261
4. Doherty, G., O’Malley-Keighran, M., & Carroll, C. (2026). An exploratory study of the school experiences of multilingual children in an English monolingual primary school in Ireland. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261461427
5. Esbensen, A., Pilesjö, M. S., &., & Clausen, M. C. (2026). “I’m a man of few words”: Children’s perspectives on living with developmental language disorder. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261428941
6. Furlong, L., Clendon, S., Gillon, G. & McNeill, B. (2026). Children’s perspectives on structured literacy teaching and their emerging perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication.
7. Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., &., & Davies, J. (2026). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102
8. Harasym, J. A., Gross, D. P., MacLeod, A. A., &., & Phelan, S. K. (2026). They smirk ‘but you’re not dying’ and other (mis)understandings about communication and concussion navigated by youth: An arts-based reflexive collective case study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261424124
9. Harding, S., Burr, S., Cleland, J., Stringer, H., & Wren, Y. (2026). Understanding the experiences of children with speech sound disorder in speech and language therapy using emotional mapping. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261444674
10. McAlister, H., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2026). Ladders, trees and matrixes: Child-focused participatory action research frameworks in speech-language pathology. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261455298
11. McCormack J., Cronin A., McLeod S., Ireland M., Wang C., & Tiong C (2026). Children’s drawing of intervention for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): Place, people, activity and emotion. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251375340
12. McLeod, S. (2026). Large listening ears are not enough: How can we mature in our practices to listen to children? Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication.
13. Miletic, K., Choi, L. D., Biggs, K., Bazzocchi, N. B., & Washington, K. N. (2026). Listening to Jamaican preschoolers’ voices: Exploring relationships between child- and proxy-based measures of communication experiences. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261461429
14.  Shelton, N., Munro, N., Starling, J., Tieu, L., Sutherland, R., &., & Keep, M. (2026). Social media experiences of adolescents with communication disability: A structured interview pilot study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261432879
15. Spencer, S., Roberts, V., Schroeter, K., &., & Clegg, J. (2026). Being understood: Neurodivergent care leavers’ perspectives on their own communication skills. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251411749
16. Tiong, C., McCormack, J., & Cronin, A. (2026). What is a good outcome in speech and language therapy and how can this be achieved? Exploring the views of school-aged children and parents. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication.
17. Weir, S., Forster, S., &., & Clendon, S. (2026). Exploring voice and participatory processes for children who communicate in unconventional ways. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261422660

Holly and Sharynne  celebrating the achievement

Special issues

I am currently co-editing two special issues: 

1. Listening to children with diverse communication abilities | Guest Editors: Sharynne McLeod and Holly McAlister with Journal Editors: Judy Clegg and Victoria Joffe | Child Language Teaching and Therapy, in process to appear 2026 |  https://journals.sagepub.com/home/CLT | Call for papers: https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/CLT/CLTT-Call%20for%20Papers-ListeningTo%20Children-FINAL-1733118416.pdf
2. Children’s communication and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) | Guest Editors: Sharynne McLeod, Helen L. Blake and Kathy Cologon  | Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, in process to appear 2027 | https://pubs.asha.org/journal/lshss | Call for papers: https://academy.pubs.asha.org/call-for-papers/childrens-communication-and-the-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child-crc/

I have been guest editor of some other special issues that have had a lot of international interest:

1. Communication is a human right: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights | Guest Editor: Sharynne McLeod  | International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2018, 20(1)  | https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/20/1 | Downloads: 47,1297 Citations: 661 Altmetrics: 1,256 (July 2026)
2. Communication, swallowing and the Sustainable Development Goals | Guest Editor: Sharynne McLeod and Julie Marshall | International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology  2023, 25(1) | https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/25/1

 

Analytics: Communication rights special issue

We have just calculated the most recent analytics for the IJSLP communication rights special issue (International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1) https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl20/20/1) from the publisher's website:

• Total Views: 471,297
• Total Cross Ref Citations: 661
• Total Altmetric Score: 1256 

My lead article has had 72,615 views, 133 citations, 180 Altmetric score. 

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 

This is amazing reach. 

Ladders, trees and matrixes: Child-focused participatory action research frameworks for children with diverse communication abilities

Congratulations to our PhD student Holly McAlister who has just had the following article accepted for publication:

McAlister, H., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2026, in press April). Ladders, trees and matrixes: Child-focused participatory action research frameworks for children with diverse communication abilities. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. 

Here is the abstract:

Several frameworks – including Hart’s Ladder of Participation (1992), Shier’s Models for Participation (2001, 2010, 2019), and the Lundy Model (2007) – have been developed to support children’s genuine participation as researchers. These child-focused participatory action research (C-PAR) frameworks claim to increase children’s capacity to share their thoughts and opinions to change their lives and communities. This narrative review involved systematic database searches to identify application of these key C-PAR frameworks, and the extent of child participation by children with diverse communication abilities, particularly within the field of speech and language therapy research. Thirty-three papers were identified for descriptive analysis. Children included in these studies were aged between 2-18 years. Children were from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Jamaica, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Most studies included children with speech, language, and communication needs (n = 32, 96.99%) and one paper (3.03%) included children with a swallowing disorder. Most studies (n = 26, 78.79%) consulted children at the data collection stage, often using visual supports, but fewer papers also involved children at other stages of the research process (n = 7, 21.21%). Of these 33 papers, only 4 (12.12%) directly applied one of the C-PAR frameworks. Within speech and language therapy research, we can mature in our practice of involving children with diverse communication needs in all stages of a research project, to support their genuine participation as researchers.

CLTT special issue

 Holly McAlister and I met to discuss our CLTT special issue

Special Issue: Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities 

We currently have 16 papers that are allocated to the special issue:
7 papers are published online already and a few more have been accepted. The remainder will be finalised soon.  

1.  Shelton, N., Munro, N., Starling, J., Tieu, L., Sutherland, R., & Keep, M. (2026). Social media experiences of adolescents with communication disability: A structured interview pilot study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261432879 
2. Deehan, H., McLeod, S., & Harrison, L. J. (2026). “Oh! I forgot the voice”: Comparing drawings of talking by children with and without speech sound disorder. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 02656590261433348. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261433348
3. Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., & Davies, J. (2025). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children's voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 02656590251406102. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102
4. Harasym, J. A., Gross, D. P., MacLeod, A. A., & Phelan, S. K. (2026). They smirk ‘but you're not dying’ and other (mis)understandings about communication and concussion navigated by youth: An arts-based reflexive collective case study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 02656590261424124. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261424124
5. McCormack, J., Cronin, A., McLeod, S., Ireland, M., Wang, C., & Tiong, C. (2025). Children's drawings of intervention for childhood apraxia of speech: Place, people, activity, and emotion. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 02656590251375340. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251375340
6. Spencer, S., Roberts, V., Schroeter, K., & Clegg, J. (2026). Being understood: Neurodivergent care leavers’ perspectives on their own communication skills. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 02656590251411749. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251411749
7. Weir, S., Forster, S., & Clendon, S. (2026). Exploring voice and participatory processes for children who communicate in unconventional ways. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 02656590261422660. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261422660 

CLTT special issue - first articles published early online

Holly McAlister and I are the guest editors of a special issue of Child Language Teaching and Therapy (CLTT) titled "Listening to Children with Diverse Communication Abilities".

Here are excerpts from a recent email received from the editors-in-chief of CLTT:

Dear Sharynne and Holly
 
Hi, hope you are both well. Judy and I met today to talk about CLTT and one of the agenda items was our special issue. We worked through all the papers and are happy to report that all is going to plan and progressing well...Thanks to you both for all the hard work you have invested into this special issue. It is turning out to be a fantastic collection of important papers, and I am sure will have significant impact. 
 
Best wishes 
Vicky
 
Victoria Joffe DPhil (Oxon) FRCSLT RegHCPC FHEA MBPsS
Dean of Integrated Health and Care Partnerships
Professor of Speech and Language Therapy
Office of the Vice Chancellor
University of Essex

Here are the first papers to be published (early online) for the special issue. The entire double issue will be published later in 2026.

1. Weir, S., Forster, S., & Clendon, S. (2026, in press). Exploring voice and participatory processes for children who communicate in unconventional ways. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590261422660 
2. Spencer, S., Roberts, V., Schroeter, K., & Clegg, J. (2026, in press). Being understood: Neurodivergent care leavers’ perspectives on their own communication skills. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251411749 
3. Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., & Davies, J. (2026, in press). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children's voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102 *
4. McCormack, J., Cronin, A., McLeod, S., Ireland, M., Wang, C., & Tiong, C. (2026, in press). Children's drawings of intervention for childhood apraxia of speech: Place, people, activity, and emotion. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251375340 *

(*CLTT editors-in-chief managed peer review)
 

“Oh! I forgot the voice”: Comparing drawings of talking by children with and without speech sound disorder

Congratulations to Hannah Deehan who has had her honours research accepted for publication in Child Language Teaching and Therapy

Deehan, H., McLeod, S. & Harrison, L. J. (2026, in press March). “Oh! I forgot the voice”: Comparing drawings of talking by children with and without speech sound disorder. Child Language Teaching and Therapy.

Here is the abstract

Recognition that children’s views should be respected has increased since the United Nations’ publication of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This study explored whether preschool children’s drawings and descriptions of themselves “talking to someone” differed for children with speech sound disorder (SSD) compared to children with typically developing speech. Participants were 78 children matched for age and sex and divided into two groups (SSD and Typical) based on percentage of consonants correct on the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology. The SSD group was significantly more likely to self-report some difficulty talking but did not differ from the Typical group on how they felt about their talking or on developmental maturity for drawing human figures. Analyses applying a focal points approach (Furth, 2002) showed a significant difference in participants’ portrayal of “body parts” but no difference for “facial expressions”, “talking and listening”, “relationships and connections” (number of people and conversational partner/s) and “sense of self”. Children with SSD were more likely to accentuate ears in their drawings, while typically developing children were more likely to accentuate hands. In sum, drawing and describing “talking” did not differentiate SSD and typically developing children, but enabled understanding of how individual children conceptualise and represent communication with others.

CLTT special issue

 Holly McAlister and I have been working on the Child Language Teaching and Therapy special issue for about a year now. On Friday we did a stocktake:

• 5 accepted
• 5 rejected
• 5 minor revisions (awaiting reviewers/authors)
• 5 major revisions (awaiting reviewers/authors)
• 1 awaiting review 

The papers are excellent! It is going to be a great special issue focusing on children's voices.

LSHSS special issue on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The first article has been published that will form a part of our special issue "Children's Communication and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child". Congratulations to the team from Belgium.

Alighieri, C., Bettens, K., & Lierde, K. V. (2026, in press). Speaking up: Communication rights and the lived experiences of children with cleft palate. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_LSHSS-25-00131 
 

Abstract
Purpose:
A cleft palate is a congenital condition characterized by an opening in the roof of the mouth that can affect speech, feeding, hearing, dentition, aesthetics, and social integration. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of six children with cleft palate in relation to their communication rights as articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), specifically CRC Article 12 (respect for children's views), Article 13 (sharing thoughts freely), and Article 23 (children with disabilities).
Method:
Through semistructured interviews and participatory methods, six children with a cleft palate (aged 6–13 years) shared their perspectives on how speech-language therapy influences their ability to express themselves, engage socially, and participate in educational and family life. A hybrid thematic analysis approach was adopted, combining both inductive and deductive strategies.
Results:
The analyses of the data derived directly from the children revealed three overarching themes in relation to CRC Article 12 (respect for children's views), Article 13 (sharing thoughts freely), and Article 23 (children with disabilities): Theme 1: Voice, Agency, and Participation in Decisions; Theme 2: Freedom of Expression and Emotional Safety; and Theme 3: Awareness of Difference and Need for Support. These themes reflect a nuanced interplay between children's personal experiences and the realization of their communication rights in therapeutic contexts. Findings reveal both empowering aspects of intervention, enhancing confidence and social inclusion, and barriers including limited access to tailored services and communication challenges that hinder full expression.
Conclusions:
The study underscores the critical role of speech interventions in upholding children's communication rights and advocates for inclusive, child-centered approaches that prioritize children's voices and diverse communication needs. Implications for clinicians, educators, and policymakers highlight the need to address systemic inequities and foster environments where children with cleft palate can fully exercise their rights to be heard and freely express themselves.

CVC collaborative research just published - Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe

Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., & Davies, J. (2025). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102

Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe

Our Children's Voices Centre has collaborated to write another paper based on the informative Children Draw Talking data set - and it has just been accepted for publication. Hooray!

Gregoric, C., McLeod, S., Hopf, S. C., Downey, B., Rahman, A., Sikder, S., Zischke, C., Tran, V. H., Murray, E., McAlister, H., Ivory, N., Delli-Pizzi, L., Elwick, S., Dealtry, L., Davies, J. (2025, in press November). Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by listening to children’s voices across the globe. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590251406102 

Here is the abstract:

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015) represent a global agenda for achieving a sustainable future for people and the planet to inform decision and policy making at all levels. Children should have a significant voice in shaping the world they will inherit; indeed, SDG 17 is focussed on partnership for the goals. The aim of the present study was to investigate which SDGs are depicted in children’s drawings of themselves talking to provide researchers and policy makers insights into their perceptions about, and solutions for, the SDGs. The Children Draw Talking Global Online Gallery (https://www.csu.edu.au/research/childrens-voices-centre/research/childrens-voices) included 200 drawings from children from 24 countries. Children aged 2–12 years responded to the online prompt “draw yourself talking” and submitted their drawing and explanation. A 15-member interdisciplinary research team analysed the drawings to determine their alignment with the seventeen SDGs. Most of the 200 drawings (n = 191, 95.5%) could be coded with at least one SDG. Overall, there were 359 representations of SDGs coded across the data set of 200 drawings. Many children highlighted access to green public spaces and housing (SDG11), education (SDG 4), and decision-making (SDG 16) while others portrayed reducing inequality (SDG 10) and addressing poverty (SDG 1). This research demonstrated that children may be implicitly aware of factors related to the Sustainable Development Goals across their lives and provides an exemplar of how children’s voices could be included by inviting them to contribute drawings.  

PhD students undertake important work

This week I have met with my PhD students - Sarah Bartlett (co-supervised with Carolyn Gregoric) and Holly McAlister (co-supervised with Suzanne Hopf who is the primary supervisor). They are both undertaking important work that changes the lives of children in Australia and Fiji. 

Sarah has just completed an intensive period of data collection over three different sites/cities where families of toddlers received 16-weeks of intervention. She is excited about the findings - including what goes unsaid, is missing, hesitant and uncomfortable data - that may be captured in a post qualitative analysis.

Sarah, Sharynne and Carolyn

 

At the moment Holly is undertaking data analysis with a team of speech pathologists from Fiji and writing an invited chapter about diagnosis of speech sound disorder in children across the world.

I am also working with Holly as guest editor of a special issue of Child Language Teaching and Therapy. We have had over 20 articles submitted for the special issue! This activity has been very valuable for the Children's Voices Centre since 17 CVC affiliates have submitted 5 papers and 8 CVC affiliates have reviewed papers. 

PhD students undertake important work.

Holly, Sharynne  and Suzanne

 

Children’s drawings of intervention for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): Place, people, activity, and emotion

The following paper just has been accepted for publication

McCormack, J., Cronin, A., McLeod, S., Ireland, M., Wang, C., & Tiong, C. (2025, accepted July). Children’s drawings of intervention for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): Place, people, activity, and emotion. Child Language Teaching and Therapy.

It is one of the outcomes from our work on our grant funded by Once Upon a Time to consider perspectives of children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) who were undertaking DTTC intervention.  

Here is the abstract:

Sourcing and including the views of children in speech and language therapy aligns with Articles 12 and 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This research explored the perspectives of 30 children (3;9 – 8;7 years) with childhood apraxia of speech regarding their experiences of Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing intervention. Children lived in the United States or Australia and had engaged in one of three intervention studies exploring: delivery by their parent or speech and language therapist (SLT); delivery in high or low dose; and delivery in massed or distributed format. Children shared their perspectives of intervention through drawing a picture of themselves during intervention, describing their drawings, and identifying emojis responding to questions about intervention. Five focal points were identified in the drawings: Place (73.33%: environment, intervention materials, and transitions), People (73.33%: body parts and facial expressions, relationships and connection, and sense of self), Activity (20.00%: words, talking, and listening), Emotion (53.33%: positive and negative), and Not Talking (6.67%). Many participants felt happy about “speech practice” ( J  62.50%) and who did speech practice with them ( J  62.50%) but were divided in how they felt about the number of times ( J  33.3%) and the length of time ( J  29.17%) of speech practice. Children’s perspectives can be considered when designing and delivering intervention.

Here are two of the insightful drawings by the children involved in the project showing their involvement in intervention. These drawings will be included in the publication. Each drawing shows the child on the left and their speech-language pathologist on the right. Note the environment (table in figure 1 and door, table, chair, stickers in figure 2).

 

Special issue of Child Language Teaching and Therapy - Listening to children with diverse communication

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.