International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health Symposium

At the IALP conference in Athens, Jane McCormack and I organised a syposium on the development of clinical tools for considering communication based around the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. This symposium was designed to complement the keynote address by Professor Travis Threats. The symposium presenters came from across the globe:

1. Assessing voice activity and participation in dysphonic children (Estella Ma et al., Hong Kong)

2. Using the ICF as a clinical framework: Parents’ and professionals’ perspectives of the impact of speech impairment in early childhood (Jane McCormack et al., Australia)

3. The development of ICF inspired assessments for adults with acute stroke, traumatic brain injury and partners of hearing impaired older people (Linda Worrall  et al., Australia)

4. Considering the ICF as a conceptual framework for understanding quality of life of adults with acquired communication disorders: Strengths and limitations (Madeline Cruice,  UK)

5. The FOCUS (Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six): A measure of communicative participation (Nancy Thomas-Stonell et al., Canada)

6. Considering context in the evaluation of intelligibility (Sharynne McLeod et al., Australia)

Karla Washington, Nancy Thomas-Stonell, Jane McCormack,
Sharynne McLeod, Linda Worrall, Madeline Cruice

Greek

Dhimotiki is the official version of Modern Greek spoken in Greece since 1976.

Greek has
• 31 consonants including allophones and affricates (allophones are not included in this list): p, t, k, b, d, g, l, n, m, n, th(+), th(-), f, v, s, z, x, , ts, dz
• 5 vowels: i, e, a, o, u

Most Greek words tend to be more than one syllable in length.

Most Greek words end in a vowel. Consonants in word-final position are restricted to /s/ and /n/, except in loanwords. Consonants in syllable-final word-within position are mainly //, /l/, and /n/.

There are many (approx 65) consonant clusters in word-initial position (e.g., /pt, kt, ps, ks/)
Stress falls on one of the last three syllables in the word.

The Greek alphabet used today was developed around the ninth century B.C. It has 24 letters plus an accent mark to indicate stressed vowels. Typically there is a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and letters; however, in some cases the same sound can be represented by different letters For example, there are five different spellings for the sound [i].

Here are some relevant Greek words:

•  Sound ήχος
• Word λέξη
• Sentence πρόταση
• Paragraph παράγραφος

Source: Mennen, I. & Okalidou, A. (2007). Greek speech acquisition. In S. McLeod (Ed). The international guide to speech acquisition. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.

International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics Conference - Athens, Greece

Between 22-26th August I have attended the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics  (IALP) in Athens, Greece. This association is auspiced by the World Health Organization, and brings together speech pathologists from around the world. There were over 700 delegates from 52 nations in attendance.

My students, colleagues and I presented the following papers:

• McCormack, J., McLeod, S., McAllister, L., &Harrison, L. J. (2010, August). Using the ICF as a clinical framework: Parents' and professionals' perspectives of the impact of speech impairment in early childhood. International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Athens.
• McCormack, J., McLeod, S., McAllister, L., & Harrison, L. J. (2010, August). The experience and impact of speech impairment in childhood through the eyes of children and their families. International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Athens.
• McLeod, S., McCormack, J., & Harrison, L. J. (2010, August). Considering context in the evaluation of intelligibility. International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Athens.
• Washington, K., N., Thomas-Stonell, N., McLeod, S., Warr-Leeper, G., Oddson, B., & Robertson, B. (2010). Parents' perceptions of speech-language therapy. International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Athens.

We also had the opportunity to explore Athens, named for Athena, the godess of wisdom:

Jane McCormack and Sharynne visiting the Greek Parliament

I am a member of the IALP Education Committee, and we had our tri-annual face-to-face meeting for the committee to discuss education of speech-langauge pathologists around the globe.

2010 IALP Education Committee with members from Japan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Belgium, Australia, Malta, Taiwan, Finland, and USA

Writing a literature review for PhD students

On Thursday 12th September I was invited to present at seminar for 37 new PhD students studying at Charles Sturt University. The seminar was titled "Writing a  Literature Review" and I based the presentation on the following book chapter:

McLeod, S. (submitted). Disseminating research: Reading, writing, and publishing. In N. Müller & M. J. Ball (Eds). The Blackwell guide to research methods in clinical linguistics and phonetics. Oxford: Blackwells.

Silozi: A Zambian language

Silozi is the language spoken by the Lozi people who primarily live in Western Province in Zambia (including in Mwandi).
Silozi consists of:

• 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u
• 20 consonants: p, t, c, k, b, d, j, g, f, s, sh, h, z, w, l, y, m, n, ny, ŋ
• 40 consonant clusters (mostly in word-initial position): mp, nt, nc, nk, mb, nd, nj, ng, ns, nz, pw, tw, cw, kw, bw, fw, sw, shw, hw, zw, mw, nw, nyw, ŋw, mpw, ntw, ncw, nkw, mbw, ndw, njw, ngw, nsw, nzw, py, by, my, mpy, mby, ly

(The symbols used above are those used in Lozi spelling, apart from ŋ. Lozi has a one-to-one correspondence with the spoken sounds.)

Syllables may consist of a consonant + vowel, consonant cluster + vowel, or a nasal consonant alone (this also occurs in Cantonese). Each syllable is differentiated by the length and tone. There are:

• 2 tones in short syllables: H, L (H = high, L = low)
• 3 tones in long syllables: HH, LL, HL

Source: Fortune, G. (2001). An outline of Silozi grammar. Lusaka, Zambia: Bookworld Publishers.

Listening to children at the Mwandi Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Project, Zambia

I was very honoured to spend a few days visiting the Mwandi Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project in Western Province of Zambia on the Zambezi River. Mwandi is a village of 10,000 people and 1,300 children have been orphaned mostly due to HIV AIDS. The Mwandi OVC project is run by an Australian, Fiona Dixon-Thompson. My family and I helped with the feeding program (feeding 270 children for lunch) and the preschool program (singing, storytelling, and sharpening pencils!). However, most of the time we played and talked with the children. The children particularly loved having their photographs taken, then seeing themselves in the camera display (we have permission to upload their photographs here). OVC has a number of buildings adjacent to the village school. There is a playground, hall (used for the daily feeding program and preschool), kitchen, garden, carpentry centre, sewing centre, administration block (including a counselling area and computer room with 4 computers), and storage. Staff housing is currently being built.

We were shown through the Mwandi village by Gertrude, and visited homes, the market, and the chief’s compound. We were greeted with enthusiasm, particularly after we said "muchwani" (how are you?), and we were thanked on behalf of the Australians who had sponsored the children in their village. The village homes were made of mud, poles and grass, and each family's compound was surrounded by a hedge. We had a chance to pump some water, and to watch as even the young children skilfully carried the water on their heads to their homes. We also got involved in a soccer game. We visited the mission hospital and school and met the Zambian teachers and students at Mwandi Basic School (grades 1-9) and High School (which opened in 2009 and will have children in grades 10-12 in the future). The children were taking their exams in history, maths, chemistry and Silozi, English when we visited.

 

This sign means friendship:
A gesture that was offered to us frequently during our visit

Children’s home environment and the impact on literacy in Africa

At the ISSBD conference (see earlier post) Damaris Ngorosho, from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania presented an invited paper titled “Phonological awareness and reading and writing ability: The importance of home environment factors in a rural community in Tanzania”.
She assessed the phonological awareness and reading skills (in Kiswahili) of 75 grade 2 children (aged 8-10 years old) in rural Tanzania and collected information on their home learning environment. Here are some of the findings that I found to be very interesting (and representative of what I saw in the villages in Zambia):

• Books in the home: 64.0% had no books, 30.7% had 1-2 books, 5.3% had 3+ books
• Pens in the home: 43.5% had no pens, 34.7% had one pen, 20.0% had 2+ pens
• Homes: most had poles/mud walls, grass/coconut roofs, and sand floors
• Water: 77% used a neighbourhood tap
• Lighting: 55% used a locally made lamp, 13% used electricity
• Fuel: 76% used firewood
• Furniture: 78% of homes had not enough beds for the number of people living there.

She also found that parental education level was a strong predictor of children’s reading and writing ability.

Listening to children in Mukuni village, Zambia

Mukuni village is a traditional Zambian village close to Victoria Falls. The village represents how the Mukuni people have lived for hundreds of years and is typical of many throughout Zambia. The village earns income through tourism, and invites people to come and meet with the residents, visit their homes, take photographs, and purchase their crafts.

I enjoyed meeting the children and saying mwapona buti? (how are you?), and twalumba (thank you) in Tongan, their first language. The children were surprised that a white person was using their language, and after their first broad smiles and claps quickly transferred to English so we could continue communicating. I was particularly impressed by a young woman who was 15 and in grade 7 (the typical age for Zambian children in grade 7). She was studying for her school exams the next week, and showed me the work she had been doing.

African educational theories and practices

African educational theories and practices: A generative teacher education handbook
(Editors: Bame Nsamenang and Therese M.S.T. Tchombe, Cameroon).

This book was described at the ISSBD conference. It contains 39 chapters written by 44 different authors from 15 countries. It is the first of its kind. The book acknowledges the three influences on education in Africa: African, Eastern (Islamic/Arabic) and Western.

In supporting the underpinning rationales for the book, the editors quoted the goals of the African Union (2006) “an integrated peaceful, prosperous Africa driven by its own people” as well as the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrining the right to a cultural identity. Some of the African educational philosophies that have been included are: using oral African traditions (proverbs, tongue twisters, rhymes and folk tales), using peer group cooperation (child-to-child learning), and siblings in the learning process.

Rose Ndonka (project administrator, HDRC), Sharynne and
Gladys Ngoran (Director of , Human Development Resource CentreCameroon)

International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Lusaka, Zambia

Conference: International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Lusaka, Zambia 18-22 July, 2010.


I have been attending the ISSBD conference in Lusaka, Zambia. Some of the presentations I have enjoyed attending include:
• African educational theories and practices (Chairs: Bame Nsamenang and Therese M.S.T. Tchombe, Cameroon)
• Cultural differences in cognitive styles (Pierre Daser)
• Socially distributed caretaking (Chair: Thomas S. Weisner)
• Beyond diathesis-stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences (Jay Belsky)
• Language influences in literacy acquisition in the African context (Chair: R. Malatesha Joshi) including a presentation on the effects of orthographic opacity on reading development in Zambia by Bestern Kaani from the University of Zambia
• Growing up in a multilingual society: Developmental stages and strategies in multilingual socialization (Ajit Mohanty)

• Reading acquisition in Africa: Typical and atypical pathways (Chair: Heikki Lyytinen)
• Using longitudinal research to improve child and youth well-being through inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral collaboration (Ann Sanson)

I presented “Speech impairment in 4- to 5-year-old Australian children: Prevalence, severity and service provision” on behalf of the Sound Effects Team: Linda J. Harrison, Lindy McAllister, and Jane McCormack.

Languages in Zambia

Zambia is a country in southern Africa. There are approximately 10 million people living in Zambia and 45% are between 0-14 years old.
There are seven main/official/special languages and 73 different dialects/cultural groups. The seven main languages are: Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, Lunda, Kaonde, and Luvie. According to researchers at the University of Zambia the following provinces use these major language(s):

• Copperbelt: Bemba

• Eastern: Nyanja/Chewa

• Luapula: Bemba

• Lusaka: Nyanja/Bemba

• Southern: Tonga

• Western: Lozi

 

In 1977 the Ministry of Education standardized the writing systems of the 7 major languages. Prior to this, the languages were written in different ways based on inventions by different missionaries. In standardizing the languages there is a one-to-one correspondence between the sounds and letters of each of the languages. Zambian children learn to read one of the 7 Zambian languages in grade 1, and then switch to learning to read English in grade 2.
I have been listening to the languages of Zambia and have been learning how to say “how are you?” and “thankyou”

• Nyanja: muli bwanji? (how are you?), zikomo (thankyou)
• Bemba: muli shani? (how are you?), natotela (thankyou)
• Lozi: muchwani (how are you?), lwitomezi (thankyou)
• Tonga: mwapona buti? (how are you?), twalumba (thank you)

I have also been sampling Zambian food - Zambian style! So far I have enjoyed eating chikanda (root loaf) and stewed village chicken with nshima (maize) using my fingers.

Madiba Nelson Mandela’s impact throughout the world

Nelson Mandela’s cross cultural influence has been obvious throughout this trip. While in Oslo, Norway, Nelson Mandela’s photograph, sayings, and memorabilia were available throughout the city acknowledging and celebrating his Nobel Peace Prize. The movie Invictus was shown on a number or planes I have travelled on. When I flew from UK to Zambia via Johannesburg I arrived in South Africa on Nelson Mandela Day (18th July), a day that celebrates his birthday and the significant impact he has had in Africa. Even the customs officer was excited, and happily told us of the importance of the day. Everyone he told broke into a smile, certainly changing the mood of the customs hall. In the airport at Johannesburg there was a large statue of Nelson Mandela created over 8 months from tiny glass beads. In the plane to Zambia, even the headrest covers celebrated Nelson Mandela Day! He certainly continues to have an impact throughout Africa as evidenced by presentations at the conference in Zambia. At the ISSBD conference a new book was described, with one chapter titled: “Managing Africa’s multiculturalism: Bringing the Madiba magic into the African school curriculum” describing the influence of Nelson Mandela’s genre of humanistic psychology on African education.

Listening to the perspectives of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs

Listening to the perspectives of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs

University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, UK

Wednesday 14th July, 2010

This day drew people from across the UK presenting many different perspectives on listening to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Participants included young people and parents of children with SLCN, social workers, policy makers, speech and language therapists, psychologists, nurses, teachers, academics, PhD students and publishers.

Invited speakers

• Sharynne McLeod (CSU) presented “The whys and hows of listening to children"

• Abigail Beverly spoke about her life as a young person with a speech and language difficulty and her current work running the girls’ group at the Afasic youth group and as an artist
• Sue Roulstone (SLTRU/UWE) spoke about The Bristol Project: A film about five teenage boys to explore the research question “What is it like to be a teenager with speech and language difficulties”. The resulting film focussed on their interests, enthusiasm, and positive contributions.
• Jane Coad (UWE) spoke presented “Using an arts based approach to elicit the views of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs
• Barry Percy-Smith (UWE) presented “Children and voice: The struggle for recognition of children’s perspectives”

Additionally, the other 19 participants provided a summary of their work and the ways that they had listened to children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs. As an outcome of the day we are writing an edited book about this important topic and aim to have it available in 2011, the UK year of the child with speech, language, and communication needs.

Developing a national inter-centre protocol for use by SLTs working with children with speech sound disorders

Developing a national inter-centre protocol for use by SLTs working with children with speech sound disorders

University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Thursday 15th July, 2010
The aim of this day was to explore the possibility of developing a national inter-centre protocol for use by speech and language therapists (SLTs) in the UK working with children with speech sound disorders. It was lead by Yvonne Wren (SLTRU/University of West of England, UWE), Anne Hesketh (University of Manchester), Joy Stackhouse (University of Sheffield), and Sue Roulstone (SLTRU/UWE). There were 10 other invited people from across the UK. Debbie Sell from Great Ormond Street Hospital London described the assessment protocol in use in the cleft palate community in the UK and Europe. I was invited to talk about holistic assessment of children with speech impairment, and the inclusion of consideration of activities and participation. Jan Broomfield spoke about how this endeavour can be assisted by/part of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). A network was established and future meetings and grants are planned.

Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, Bristol, UK

I was invited to work at the Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, located at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UK during July. The unit is affiliated with the University of the West of England (UWE) and the team is directed by Professor Sue Roulstone.

During my visit the following seminars are taking place

• Monday 12th July - Children with speech sound disorders - 1 day presentation for UK speech and language therapists
• Wednesday 14th July - 1 day with specialists and academics on the topic of listening to the perspectives of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs
• Thursday 15th July - 1 day workshop to commence development of a national inter-centre protocol for use by SLTs working with children with speech sound disorders

Some of the people from the SLTRU that I have worked with are:

• Professor Sue Roulstone
• Dr Yvonne Wren
• Dr Brian Petherham
• Dr Rosemary Hayhow
• Helen Hambly (PhD student)
• Lydia Morgan (PhD student)

Welsh

Welsh (Cymraeg in Welsh) is a Celtic language and is spoken in Wales and Patagonia (Argentina). The Welsh alphabet is: a, b, c, ch, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, ng, h, i, l, ll, m, n, o, p, ph, r, rh, s, t, th, u, w, y, with a close correspondence between the letters and spoken sounds, particularly in the north of Wales. Welsh contains a lateral fricative as a component of typical speech, that in English would be classified as a lateral lisp, or an error sound requiring speech intervention.

**An update from Martin Ball: "Welsh is not the only language to have lateral fricatives as phonemes. For example Zulu and Xhosa have both voiced and voiceless, they occur in many native American languages (e.g., Navajo), with some 30+ languages listed for the voiceless one alone on Wikipedia. There's also lateral fricatives at other places of articulation (retroflex, palatal)."

Invitation to the House of Commons, London

On Thursday 8th July at 6.30pm I was invited to a reception at Speakers House, Houses of Parliament, London hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow (of the Bercow Report fame). The reception was in honour of Afasic, the national organisation that support families of children with speech, language and communication needs (SCLN). The speaker's rooms along the bank of the Thames were filled with celebrities (including Bob Hoskins), academics, government officials, speech and language therapists, parents, and young adults, all of whom were passionate advocates for children with speech, language and communication needs. I was very impressed with the strong support these children receieved from across the community, a situation that is quite different from Australia.

In 2011/12 the UK will celebrate the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication focussing on children with speech, language and communication needs!

More information about the reception

More information about Afasic

More information about the Bercow Report

John Bercowe (photo from Afasic)

Bob Hoskins (photo from Afasic)

Multilingual Europe

While in Europe it has been reinforced to me that throughout the world bilingualism is defined differently depending on where you live. In Europe, many people define "bilingualism" as only relating to  "simultaneous bilingualism"; that is being bilingual from birth. They define "monolingualism" as only learning one language at birth, since subsequent languages are learned at school.
People in The Netherlands typically speak Dutch from birth and English from school-age, yet call themselves monolingual despite being extremely fluent in English. Similarly, people in Norway typically speak Norwegian from birth and English from school-age. People in Germany typically speak German from birth and English from school-age. People in Belgium typically learn Dutch (Flemish), or French (Wallonian), German, and English.

In English-speaking countries such as Australia, USA and UK "bilingualism" refers both to "simultaneous bilingualism" and "sequential bilingualism"; that is learning one language after another. "Monolinguals" are people who can only speak one language, and who cannot speak another language at all (a state that is almost impossible within much of Europe).

Listening to children in Germany

While in Germany I have listened to children who have moved from an English-speaking country to live in Germany. They told me how they learned to speak German, as well as some Spanish, Korean, and Italian because of their school friends from across the world.

2010 Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor's Award Recipient

Message from the CSU Vice Chancellor:

"It is with great pleasure that I announce the recipients of the 2010 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence. These awards acknowledge the commitment, dedication and contribution of both academic and general staff as they continue to excel in areas such as client service, teaching and learning, leadership, research, sustainability and innovation."

Research Excellence:

• Team Award: Associate Professor Linda Harrison, Professor Sharynne McLeod, Professor Jennifer Sumsion and Ms Frances Press

Research Supervision Excellence:

• Professor Sharynne McLeod

Thank you to those who nominated me! It is a great honour to have received these awards.