Wikitongues

Today I learned about Wikitongues from my son. What an amazing site:

• Wikitongues: http://wikitongues.org/about/
• YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/WikiTongues/featured

It commenced in 2012 and so far contains many video examples of people using different spoken and signed languages.
The entire video of Christine speaking Shetlandic is compelling. She describes her bilingual childhood, reads some of her poems, and discusses the "politics of language and dialects" (at 5:20) suggesting we shouldn't "let bairns (children) think that their mother tongue is somehow debased language" we should "lift them up and encourage them in bilingualism where they're comfortable." Her comments led me to find more about her: Christine De Luca is currently Edinburgh Makar - poet laureate for the City of Edinburgh who aims to "make people feel good about their mother tongue".
The potential for learning from the people who have donated their voices to Wikitongues is endless.

PhD scholars day in Perth with Professor Pam Enderby

Today my students spent the day together discussing their research. We all live in different cities so it is always a pleasure to spend time with one another. Today was extra-special as we were joined by Emeritus Professor Pam Enderby from the University of Sheffield, UK. Our meeting was held by the Swan River, watching the swans and having high tea. Thank you Pam for your your encouraging words, remarkable stories, and for generously spending time with our team.

L-R: Ben Pham, Charlotte Howland, Kate Crowe, Helen Blake, Pam Enderby,
Sharynne McLeod, Janine Whitfield, Sarah Masso

Best Student Paper Award!

Congratulations (again) to Charlotte Howland who won the best student paper award ($100) at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference! Charlotte's paper was titled "Sound Start Study: Realization of grammatical morphemes by children with speech sound disorders". 
 Charlotte's honours was supervised by Elise Baker and Natalie Munro and myself. See here for Charlotte's other award at the conference.
In addition, Ellie Sugden, Elise and Natalie's PhD, student won one of the best poster awards ($50).

Natalie Munro, Sarah Masso, Charlotte Howland, Kate Crowe, Sharynne McLeod

Sound Start Study symposium at Speech Pathology Australia 2016

The Sound Start Study, our Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (DP1030102545) is coming to a close, so it was a privilege to present five papers within a symposium session to share some of our findings.

• 

  L-R: Elise Baker, Sarah Masso, Pam Enderby (keynote speaker at the conference),
  Kate Crowe, Charlotte Howland, Sharynne McLeod

Here is the abstract from the first paper in the symposium

Speech sound disorders (SSD) affect many Australian preschoolers and if it persists into the school years between 30% to 77% will have reading difficulties. Without support services, these children face increased risk of life-long social, educational, occupational limitations; however, demand for speech pathology services exceeds supply. The Sound Start Study was designed to determine if the Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter (PFSS) (Wren & Roulstone, 2013) computer software can be used enhance preschoolers' speech and pre-literacy skills. The Sound Start Study was conducted in 6 stages per year, repeated over 3 years. In stage 1, 1205 children were screened via parent and teacher questionnaire. In stage 2, children whose parents and teachers had concerns about speech were assessed (n = 275). In stage 3, children who had a phonological impairment with no known cause (n = 133) underwent additional assessment of their speech, pre-literacy and phonological processing skills. In stage 4, 123 children were eligible and randomized into a control group or intervention group. The intervention group received PFSS administered by preschool staff over 9 weeks. This innovative computer program was designed using a psycholinguistic framework to target children's perception and representations of their phonological patterns via phonemic awareness tasks. In stages 5 and 6, children were re-assessed by speech pathologists blinded to the first assessment and intervention condition. These immediate and 3-month post-intervention assessments were undertaken to determine whether the intervention improved the children’s speech and pre-literacy skills.  

Here are the titles of our presentations:

• Randomised controlled trial of software to enhance preschoolers' speech and pre-literacy skills (Presenter - Sharynne McLeod)
• Implementation of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders in Australian preschools (Presenter - Kate Crowe)
• The print knowledge of preschool children with speech sound disorders before and after intervention targetting speech and pre-literacy abilities (Presenter - Elise Baker)
• The relationship between polysyllable production and emergent literacy in preschool-aged children with speech sound disorders (Presenter - Sarah Masso) 
• Realization of grammatical morphemes by children with speech sound disorders (Presenter - Charlotte Howland)

We were very pleased with the large number of people in the audience and the number of people who have commented, asked questions, and contacted us about our work after the presentation. More information about all of our presentations at SPA 2016 is here and information about Charlotte's award is here.

Oxford University Press blog post about our book

Late last year, Oxford University Press published our book titled Introduction to Speech, Language and Literacy. Jane McCormack has written an interesting blog post about the philosophy underpinning our book here.

Professor David McKinnon's contributions to understanding children's learning needs

While in Perth, Kate Crowe and I had the pleasure of catching up with our colleague Professor David McKinnon. David is currently the Director of the Edith Cowan Institute for Education Research. He has been an important collaborator in our studies to understand the prevalence and nature of children's learning needs. Here is a list of papers we have published together (so far):

1. Crowe, K., McKinnon, D. H., McLeod, S., & Ching, T. Y. (2013). Multilingual children with hearing loss: Factors contributing to language use at home and in early education. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 29(1), 111-129. doi: 10.1177/0265659012467640
2. Crowe, K., McLeod, S., McKinnon, D. H., & Ching, T. Y. C. (2014). Speech, sign, or multilingualism for children with hearing loss: Quantitative insights into caregivers’ decision-making. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 45(3), 234-247. doi: 10.1044/2014_lshss-12-0106
3. Crowe, K., McLeod, S., McKinnon, D. H., & Ching, T. Y. C. (2015). Attitudes toward the capabilities of deaf and hard of hearing adults: Insights from the parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. American Annals of the Deaf, 160(1), 24–35. 
4. McKinnon, D. H., McLeod, S., & Reilly, S. (2007). The prevalence of stuttering, voice and speech-sound disorders in primary school students in Australia. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38(1), 5-15.     
5. McLeod, S., & McKinnon, D. H. (2007). The prevalence of communication disorders compared with other learning needs in 14,500 primary and secondary school students. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 42(S1), 37-59. doi: 10.1080/13682820601173262
6. McLeod, S., & McKinnon, D. H. (2010). Required support for primary and secondary students with communication disorders and/or other learning needs. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 26(2), 123-143.       
7. Watts Pappas, N., McLeod, S., McAllister, L., & McKinnon, D. H. (2008). Parental involvement in speech intervention: A national survey. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 22(4), 335-344.

David, Renee, Sharynne, and Kate in Perth

Congratulations Charlotte: Speech Pathology Australia Outstanding Student Award

Last night at the Speech Pathology Australia Annual General Meeting and Awards Night Charlotte Howland was congratulated by SPA President Gaenor Dixon for receiving the SPA Student Award for being the most outstanding academically and clinically within the Bachelor of Applied Science (Sp Path) program at The University of Sydney. While undertaking her studies Charlotte was our research assistant on the Sound Start Study and completed her honours program using some of the data from the study. Congratulations Charlotte!

SPA President Gaenor Dixon and Charlotte Howland

While at the conference, Charlotte presented a paper based on her honours research to a large and receptive audience:
Howland, C., Baker, E., McLeod, S., & Munro, N. - Sound Start Study: Realization of grammatical morphemes by children with speech sound disorders. 

Charlotte presenting her honours research during the Sound Start Study symposium

Speech Pathology Australia National Conference in Perth

Sound Start Study symposium:

• McLeod, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S., Crowe, K., & Masso, S. - Sound Start Study: Randomised controlled trial of software to enhance preschoolers' speech and pre-literacy skills.
• McCormack, J., Baker, E., Masso, S., McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Wren, Y., & Roulstone, S. - Sound Start Study: Implementation of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders in Australian preschools.
• Baker, E., McLeod, S., Masso, S., Crowe, K., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., & Roulstone, S. - Sound Start Study: The print knowledge of preschool children with speech sound disorders before and after intervention targetting speech and pre-literacy abilities.
• Masso, S., Baker, E., Wang, A., McLeod, S., McCormack, J., & Crowe, K. - Sound Start Study: The relationship between polysyllable production and emergent literacy in preschool-aged children with speech sound disorders.
• Howland, C., Baker, E., McLeod, S., & Munro, N. - Sound Start Study: Realization of grammatical morphemes by children with speech sound disorders.

Posters

• Blake, H. L., McLeod, S., Fuller, G., & Verdon, S.  -  Participation in education and employment by culturally and linguistically diverse Australians.
• Phạm, B., Lê, S. T. T., & McLeod, S.  -  Development of the Vietnamese Speech Assessment.
• Hopf, S. C., McLeod, S., & McDonagh, S. H.  -  The multilingual profile of children, caregivers, and teachers in an urban Fijian school. (see here)

  

  Sharynne, Helen Blake, Kate Crowe, Charlotte Howland, Sarah Masso, Ben Pham at SPA 2016

Sarah presenting her PhD paper about children's polysyllables

Ben and Sharynne outlining the development of the Vietnamese Speech Assessment

Sharynne and Helen with her poster profiling her analysis of Australian census data

Enjoying Perth with Pam Enderby

Today we enjoyed Perth's sunshine, beaches and food in preparation for the conference. It was a privilege to spend time with Pam Enderby, as she is the first keynote speaker at the Speech Pathology Australia conference this week.

Ben Pham, Sharynne and Pam Enderby on Cottesloe Beach

How to undertake peer reviews for journals

Today my PhD and postdoc scholars discussed how to undertake peer reviews for journals. Some of the resources we used were:

• ASHA guidelines for reviewing: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/SS/ForReviewers.aspx
• Reporting guidelines for main study types http://www.equator-network.org/toolkits/teachers/key-reporting-guidelines-for-the-main-types-of-research-studies/​
• McLeod, S. (2014). Undertaking and writing research that is important, targeted, and the best you can do. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 16(2), 95-97. doi: doi:10.3109/17549507.2014.896106

ICPLA executive meeting

This evening I have participated in the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association executive meeting attended by members in Norway, USA and Australia (we had to work hard with the time zone logistics). This is ICPLA's 25th year, so we are planning ways to celebrate this important milestone at our upcoming  conference in Halifax, Canada in June.

Workshop at the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children

Yesterday Dr Kate Crowe and I presented a 4-hour workshop at the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) Renwick Centre. The workshop was titled: Multilingual speech acquisition: Strategies for working with multilingual children with hearing loss. The enthusiastic audience included teachers of the deaf, speech pathologists and a pediatrician. One participant even flew from Brisbane to attend. Here is the abstract

The cultural and linguistic diversity of Australian children, including children with hearing loss is increasing. Educators and clinicians require knowledge of typical and atypical speech acquisition across a range of languages to meet the needs of the children and families they provide services too. In this workshop Professor McLeod and Dr Crowe will: 

• summarize the multilingual diversity of Australia’s children, including of Australian children with hearing loss
• outline factors families consider when selecting languages for children with hearing loss
• provide an overview on the International Phonetic Alphabet for transcription of typical and atypical speech across a range of languages common in Australia
•  compare and contrast the phonetic inventories of English and a range of languages common in Australia
• describe phonological processes in a range of languages
• provide tools and strategies for assessing speech skills in languages other than English  

Kate Crowe, Sharynne McLeod, Sally Hewett, Ali Burdon and Sharon Hurt at RIDBC

Sharynne and Kate before the workshop at RIDBC

Congratulations Karla

Congratulations to my colleague (and previous postdoctoral scholar) Dr. Karla Washington who has just been awarded the University of Cincinnati Celebrating Black Excellence Award for Research and Service.

Kate's visit to Bathurst (via the Blue Mountains)

Kate Crowe (RIPPLE Research Fellow) is visiting me in Bathurst this week. We have a very long list of tasks to accomplish, but managed to begin her visit by enjoying the scenery in the Blue Mountains.

Kate sewed an International Phonetic Alphabet sampler as a gift to me!

Anna's visit to the US during her Churchill Fellowship

Anna Cronin's Churchill Fellowship is well underway. So far she has visited New Zealand and Brazil. This week she has been in Laramie, USA visiting Dr. Mary Hardin-Jones. Next week she heads to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit Dr. Kathy Chapman. Anna has written: "So far the trip has been going really well and I feel like I'm learning so much! Every centre has been so different and people have been so generous with their time, knowledge and expertise."

Mary and Anna in Laramie

Anna at the Delicate Arch in Moab

Early Years Connect webinar

Today I presented an Early Years Connect webinar to 256 early childhood education professionals. "Early Years Connect is a professional development package which has been designed to support Queensland early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators working with children with complex additional needs. This includes children with disability, significant development delay and complex social, emotional and behavioural needs." A list of all the planned webinars is here. My webinar is here.
Here is their description of my presentation

Title: Communication strategies for children with speech, language and communication needs

Description: Every child can benefit from high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) - if only we understand how to meet their needs. How can you support the inclusion of children with speech, language and communication needs in your early childhood education and care service? What communication strategies can you use with children to build their skills and sense of belonging?

Join Sharynne McLeod, Professor of Speech and Language Acquisition at

Charles Sturt University, to learn how to support children with speech, language and communication needs.

The webinar will explain:

*       the critical role of communication in relationships and learning

*       common communication difficulties

*       strategies for building communication skills.

This webinar is free for all staff, approved providers and governance bodies of Queensland-based ECEC services, including long day care, kindergarten, family day care and outside school hours care.

Fulbright Senior Scholar's visit to CSU

Over the past few days we have been honoured to have Professor David Lee, Fulbright Senior Scholar, and his wife Heidi visiting Charles Sturt University. His visit was supported by the School of Teacher Education and the Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE). Professor Lee is a member of the faculty of the University of Miami and his Fulbright Scholarship is to The University of Sydney during 2016. 

While at CSU, Professor Lee presented a public lecture titled: Mindfulness: What is all the Fuss About? OR Medical and Public Health Applications of Mindfulness Practices. The lecture was simultaneously broadcasted to 4+ cities in Australia and Fiji. He also presented a session for people interested in applying for the Fulbright scheme, and met with Vice Chancellor Andy Vann.

Professor Lee and members of his public lecture audience

 Here are more details about his work:

Dr. Lee is a tenured Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences within the Miller School of Medicine. Currently, he is the Project Director of the Florida Cancer Data System Cancer Registry, the Co-Founder and Leader of the University of Miami Mind-Body Medical Workgroup (http://www.umindbody.org), and the Director of the Department of Public Health Sciences Graduate Programs.  Dr. Lee is also a member of the National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council at National Institutes of Health.  He has published book chapters and monographs, over 200 peer reviewed journal articles as well as other works and abstracts.  Dr. Lee has been involved in the mentoring of students including service on 25 dissertation committees Additionally, students are active members of his research teams contributing to the 50+ student-led publications in leading biomedical journals including the American Journal of Public Health, Preventive Medicine, Cancer, Circulation, Diabetes Care, and the American Journal of Ophthalmology. He is a chronic disease and occupational epidemiologist and has been continuously funded as Principal Investigator on various grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1993. Dr. Lee’s current research interests include: public health applications of mindfulness practices (e.g., yoga, meditation) for the prevention and management of chronic disease, enhancing the health of the US workforce, population approaches toward the reduction of eye disease, and cancer surveillance and prevention.

Child Language Teaching and Therapy editorial board meeting

This evening, I attended (via video conference) the Child Language Teaching and Therapy editorial board meeting held in London. Some interesting facts from the meeting included:

• The 2014 Impact Factor was 1.025, ranking the journal 44th out of 172 titles in the Linguistics JCR (Q2) and 20th out of 39 titles in the Education, Special JCR (Q3)
• The acceptance rate was 26% in 2015
• Maggie Vance is stepping down as co-editor of CLTT after 9 years of dedication to the journal
• Vicky Joffe will be the new co-editor from July 2016, joining Judy Clegg 
• The article downloads have increased from 2014 to 2015

More than words and signs: Vocabulary development and children with hearing loss

Yesterday Kate Crowe gave an online workshop titled "More than words and signs: Vocabulary development and children with hearing loss" to teachers of the deaf and speech pathologists who registered through the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) Renwick Centre.

ASHA online conference on intelligibility

From 6-18 April the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is hosting an online conference titled: "Improving intelligibility in children with speech sound disorders". I am one of 15 invited presenters and my pre-recorded 1-hour presentation is titled "Measuring intelligibility with different listeners: The Intelligibility in Context Scale". The attendees can download the presentations and handouts, discuss the presentations online with the attendees, and participate in live chat sessions with the presenters. There are over 600 people registered. It is going to be an exciting event.

Here is the description of my presentation

Few assessments consider children's intelligibility with different listeners. The Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) is a parent-report measure for considering children's intelligibility with seven different communicative partners. The ICS is available for free and has been translated into 60 languages. The tool has been normed on more than 800 English-speaking preschool-age children who were considered usually or always understood by parents, immediate family members, and teachers but only sometimes by strangers. This session will discuss use of the ICS within SLP practice and how it fits in with other methods for assessing intelligibility in children. The session will also explore the evidence underpinning the use of the ICS as an assessment tool for children who speak English or other languages.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
administer and score the ICS
explain the current and emerging evidence base supporting use of the ICS