Book pitch - Vaccination is under threat: Communication is key

 I am mentoring Dr Ros Cox in the writing and publication of her book "Vaccination is under threat: Communication is key". She pitches the book with the publishers today. Best wishes Ros! Can't wait to work with you on this.

 

Charles Sturt University is a member of the WHO Disability Health Equity Network

Today we received the welcome news that we have been accepted as a member of the WHO Disability Health Equity Network.

We are pleased to welcome Charles Sturt University as a member of the WHO Disability Health Equity Network. Please find attached the Disability Health Equity Network membership certificate for your entity, and a copy of the Terms of reference for the Network. 

CSU's application was focused on the work of the Children's Voices Centre. We are proud to work with WHO to change the lives of children and others with disabilities and the workforce, families and communities who support them.

We have added this partnership to our CVC website: https://www.csu.edu.au/research/childrens-voices-centre/engage-with-us 

 

Terms of Reference

The WHO Disability Health Equity Network (hereinafter referred to as the Network)
envisions health equity for all persons with disabilities in support of the implementation
of the WHA74.8 Resolution on the Highest attainable standard of health for persons with
disabilities and advance WHO’s work on closing the avoidable health gaps between
persons with disabilities and the broader population. The Network aims to advance the
GPW14 Strategic Objective 4: Improve health service coverage and financial protection to
address inequity and gender inequalities; more specifically:
• 4.1. Equity in access to quality services improved for noncommunicable diseases,
mental health conditions and communicable diseases, while addressing antimicrobial
resistance; and
• 4.2. Equity in access to sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent,
and older person health and nutrition services and immunization coverage improved.
It also advances the goal of leaving no one behind.

Cheers from our team: Sharynne, Suzanne, Holly 

 

Discussion of research outcomes with OAMS

Today Sarah Bartlett and I visited the Orange Aboriginal Medical Service (OAMS) to discuss the outcomes of the research we have undertaken with them since March 2023 (officially from 2024-June 2025). We are writing four journal articles with the team. What a warm and encouraging discussion about the findings. Jamie Newman, the CEO said "we will speak for you and you can speak for us". Thank you Jamie and congratulations on the wonderful care you and your team show for the families in our region.

 We were delighted to see that the Little Libraries were messy - and that the reception staff said they were used all the time :)

 

 

Children's Voices Centre newsletter

Our Children's Voices Centre Newsletter - Edition 1 - was released during our launch on 1st October 2025. It contains 28 pages of wonderful work of the whole CVC family.

CEO Jamie Newman, Orange Aboriginal Medical Service reading about our collaborations on pages 4 and 21

 

 

Launch of the Children's Voices Centre

Yesterday (1st October 2025) we launched the Children's Voices Centre (CVC). What a landmark moment in my life. Thank you to Associate Professors Tamara Cumming and Kathy Cologon, Dr Carolyn Gregoric, Lorraine Bennett and CVC affiliates, and everyone who has helped us build the CVC.

 Here is the LinkedIn post from our Deputy Vice Chancellor - Research, Professor Neena Mitter, who opened the Centre: 

Yesterday’s launch of the Children’s Voices Centre in Bathurst was one of those rare moments that stays with you.
To see children, families, researchers, and the community gathered together to celebrate the power of children’s voices was deeply moving. It reminded me how research is not just about data or outcomes — it is about people, connections, and creating spaces where every voice matters.
The Children’s Voices Centre is already making an extraordinary impact:

• Children from 18 countries have contributed to the Children Draw Health project, sharing their perspectives on wellbeing.
• Researchers have produced a landmark 1,000+ page Oxford Handbook with 173 authors across 49 languages, reshaping how the world understands multilingual children’s speech.
• Collaborations with the World Health Organization are ensuring children’s voices influence health equity on a global stage.
• Collaborations with families and professionals in 100+ languages and dialects.

Congratulations to Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod Associate Professors Tamara Cumming and Kathy Cologon, and Dr Carolyn Gregoric, Lorraine Bennett and affiliates on bringing this vision to life. As the children who spoke at the launch emphasised, the Children’s Voices Centre will be a beacon for children and families, amplifying voices that too often go unheard.
I feel grateful to have witnessed this beginning and look forward to seeing the journey ahead.
Read more in the Children’s Voices Centre newsletter (link required)
#CharlesSturtResearch #ChildrensVoicesCentre #RegionalImpact #CommunicationRights

 

Here is the CSU media release before the launch:

Shaping a better world for children ─ innovative new research centre opens in Bathurst

https://news.csu.edu.au/in-brief/shaping-a-better-world-for-children-innovative-new-research-centre-opens-in-bathurst

Disability Equity in Research Expert Meeting: Invitation from the World Health Organization

I have been invited to participate in the Disability Equity in Research Expert Meeting - and attended tonight from 11pm - 1am. The invitation came from Kaloyan KAMENOV from the World Health Organization. Here is a summary from the briefing notes:

World Health Organization and Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center Guidance Checklists for Disability Equity in Research Persons with disabilities and disability health equity more broadly are often overlooked in research design, study implementation and scientific reporting, as well as in general science communication. This oversight limits the generalizability of research findings and their applicability to clinical practice.
The Disability Equity in Research guidance checklists are primarily designed to:

1. support editors to integrate assessment of disability equity in all manuscripts as an integral part of the editorial process;
2. guide authors in preparing their manuscripts and enhance disability equity in all stages of research -planning, recruitment, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination;
3. facilitate disability equity inclusion in Institutional Review Boards/Ethic Boards procedures; and
4. guide research funders to facilitate inclusion of persons with disabilities in research.

These checklists are informed by a scoping review of 120 documents conducted by the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center and the Disability Programme at the World Health Organization.

 

I have experience in including people with disabilities as authors during my role as editor of International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. An example of the inclusion of the unaltered “voice” of a person with disability is found in the following article. 

Murphy, D., Lyons, R., Carroll, C., Caulfield, M., & De Paor, G. (2018). Communication as a human right: Citizenship, politics and the role of the speech-language pathologist. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1404129  

Declan Murphy is a 29-year-old with Down Syndrome. He was invited to co-author the following article. As editor, I facilitated the invitation, writing, and publication so that his words remained and were not copyedited/changed. This required many steps to ensure his “voice” was unaltered (including sending the final text to the journal with Declan’s words in a different colour – and notes to the copyeditors not to alter the text). 

“ABSTRACT …The purpose of this paper is to elucidate communication as a human right in the life of a young man called Declan who has Down syndrome. This commentary paper is co-written by Declan, his sister who is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) with an advocacy role, his SLP, and academics. Declan discusses, in his own words, what makes communication hard, what helps communication, his experiences of speech-language pathology, and what he knows about human rights. He also discusses his passion for politics, his right to be an active citizen and participate in the political process…”

The Appendix, on page 20 included the writing and editing contract:

Appendix 
Writing and editing contract with Declan
Declan was asked to write about his experiences under the following headings: what makes communication hard, what helps communication, his experiences of SLP, and what he knows about human rights. A writing and editing contract was drawn up in advance of writing the paper. The contract was, in Declan’s own words, was “these are Declan’s ideas and words; it is Gráinne’s role to support Declan to organise his writing and his ideas; it is ok for Gráinne to correct spellings; it is not ok for Gráinne to change sentences; it is ok for Gráinne to remind Declan of the topic and Declan will make the final decision about what is in this article.” (Murphy et al., 2018, p. 20)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17549507.2018.1404129

Here is a little more from Declan - I was the person who recommended he be invited to open the IALP conference: “I was like a politician myself one time. I did the opening at the IALP [International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics] conference because the Minister for Health was busy. This was huge. My family came to see me. I think they were in shock about my speech and what I said. I have this memory now for all my life because I got a standing ovation. Rena said to me ‘‘how are you so confident up there Declan?’’ I told her and I particularly love this bit that I think about Barack Obama making a speech and then I am not nervous and I just want to do it. “(Murphy et al., 2018, p. 17-18) https://speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com/2016/08/30th-world-congress-of-international.htm

Editorial board meeting for Advances in Communication and Swallowing

Tonight (10-11pm) I attended the editorial board meeting for Advances in Communication and Swallowing (ACS). https://journals.sagepub.com/home/csw. The journal editors Dr. Ciarán Kenny and Dr. Julie Regan are based in Ireland and ACS is the official journal of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT). It is a Q2 journal with a cite score of 1.1. It is a young journal and there is a lot of good will amongst the editors and editorial board. 

 

Application submitted to WHO Disability Health Equity Network

I just submitted an application to the WHO Disability Health Equity Network  on behalf of Charles Sturt University and the Children's Voices Centre with the approval and assistance from DVCR Neena Mitter, PVCI Michael Friend, Jason White, Annette Harris (Research Office) and A/Prof Tamara Cumming. 

 Here is the invitation from WHO to submit the application:

The WHO Disability Programme is pleased to announce the launch of the first call for membership applications to join the WHO Disability Health Equity Network https://www.who.int/initiatives/disability-health-equity-initiative/network, a global Network of stakeholders working together to advance health equity for persons with disabilities.
 
I’m reaching out to you as a valued academic partner with established research leadership in the field. As part of our efforts to build a strong WHO Disability Health Equity Network, I wanted to personally ensure you were aware of this opportunity to apply for membership. 
 
Kindly note that you would be eligible to apply as a research centre, lab, or department (= Children’s Voices Centre).
  
We’ve created a dedicated WHO Disability Health Equity Network webpage which outlines key information, such as: 
•    Purpose and role of the Network 
•    Terms of Reference of the Network 
•    Member profiles, roles and benefits
•    Eligibility criteria 
•    Workstreams 
•    Membership application process, guidance and online form.

We have submitted to workstreams 1 and 4.

1. Build leadership on health equity among persons with disabilities
2. Establish robust indicators, evidence and monitoring

CSU news item about the CVC launch

Join us in celebrating the official launch of the Charles Sturt University Children's Voices Centre - a pioneering hub for transformative interdisciplinary research with, for and about children.

10:30am Wednesday 1 October (Australian Eastern Standard time)

* at The Treehouse, Building 1451, Research Station Drive, Charles Sturt University Bathurst campus 

* or online https://charlessturt.zoom.us/j/69606943832

To find out more, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/childrens-voices-centre-launchtickets-1558210642979

CSU News story:

Shaping a better world for children ─ innovative new research centre opens in Bathurst

https://news.csu.edu.au/in-brief/shaping-a-better-world-for-children-innovative-new-research-centre-opens-in-bathurst

Dr Tamara Cumming was interviewed by 2MCE for their breakfast news broadcast. 

Welcome to The Treehouse Dr Carolyn Gregoric

Dr Carolyn Gregoric, the Research Manager at the Children's Voices Centre typically works off campus. We are delighted to welcome her to The Treehouse for our CVC launch week. It was lovely to show her around our renovated building - and to see her wearing her CSU and bee-inspired outfit! Welcome Carolyn!

Partners’ Briefing ahead of the 76th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (RCM76)

Today Dr Helen Blake, Holly McAlister and I attended the Partners’ Briefing ahead of the 76th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (RCM76).  This session provided an overview of the Regional Committee, its agenda items, practical arrangements, and the process for delivering statements to support engagement. 
 
Partners’ Briefing details:
Speakers and topics: WHO Director of Programme Management, directors of technical divisions from WHO Western Pacific Regional Office will provide short introductions on key agenda items and side events.

External Relations and Partnerships team
World Health Organization
Regional Office for the Western Pacific
Manila, Philippines

Catching up with Dr Audrey Wang

Dr Audrey (Cen) Wang has been a valued colleague and friend for many years. We have undertaken numerous research projects together and have written many papers together. She now works as a psychologist - so it is wonderful to catch up during our birthday month. 

Farewell Lynn

We said farewell to Prof Lynn Williams this week. She was such a wonderful visiting scholar to the Children's Voices Centre. During her visit she:

1. Gave 4 presentations to CVC and CSU affiliates and professionals
2. Provided individual mentoring opportunities for CVC staff and affiliates
3. Supported the CVC staff work on the mission, vision, values and strategic plan
4. Discussed grant opportunities and grant ideas 
5. Discussed new research ideas - including context therapy
6. Observed our Children's Perspectives of Health and Healthcare children's advisory panel
7. Discussed the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children's Speech tutorial on multilingual interventions 
8. Discussed the planned special issue of JSLHR on the Sustainable Development Goals
9. Many other things including providing great encouragement to us all

We look forward to ongoing collaborations and conversations in the future.

Thank you Lynn.

 

 

 

Bright Ideas Media presentation

We have been working on our presentations for speech-language pathologists in the USA as part of the Speech Sound Disorders Series https://www.bethebrightest.com/en/events/speech-sound-disorders-series 

The series includes a 90-minute live offering, along with pre-recorded, on-demand content. This year's series is designed to challenge outdated assumptions and provide clear answers to common questions.

Here is information from the website: 

Welcome to the Speech Sound Disorders Series for 2025—a fresh look at how we treat speech sound disorders, grounded in what we know now. This year, we’re placing a strong focus on updated, evidence-based practices that reflect the evolving landscape of our field. Joining the series are international experts Drs. Kelly Farquharson and Sharynne McLeod, bringing global insights and current research to deepen our understanding. From the nuances of treating R to conducting effective multilingual assessments, they’ll guide us through practical strategies that are informed, inclusive, and responsive to today’s clinical challenges. 

The series includes: * The 90-min live session, and the replay, co-presented by Drs. Sharynne McLeod and Kelly Farquharson: "Clinical Use of Speech Sound Acquisition Data" * A 60-min on-demand course by Dr. Farquharson: "/ɹ/ you frustrated by working on /ɹ/? Try facilitative contexts!" * An 120-min on-demand course by Drs. McLeod, Kate Margetson, and Helen Blake: "Multilingual Children’s Speech Assessment: A Contemporary Global Update" 

This year's series is designed to challenge outdated assumptions and provide clear answers to common questions. Our presenters are passionate about helping clinicians grow in confidence and competence. With their support—and expertise —you’ll walk away with sharper tools, broader perspective, and renewed clarity in how you treat speech sound disorders today.  

 Here is some more information about our pre-recorded presentation

Multilingual Children’s Speech Assessment: A Contemporary Global Update Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod, Ph.D. Dr Helen L. Blake, Ph.D., Dr. Kate Margetson, Ph.D. Children’s Voices Centre, Charles Sturt University, Australia Learn how to identify multilingual children with speech sound disorders using the latest evidence from 130 languages. This course covers children’s speech development, assessment, analysis, and differential diagnosis, including practical application of the Speech Assessment of Children’s Home Language(s) (SACHL). https://www.bethebrightest.com/en/courses/multilingual-children-s-speech-assessment-a-contemporary-global-update

 

Preparing for the Children's Voices Centre launch

The Children's Voices Centre staff are working hard with many people across the university to prepare for our launch next week. Thanks everyone for pitching in to make this a success!

Tamara, Sharynne, Carolyn, Kathy, Lynn and Lorraine looking at the books to be read at the launch

Tamara with our bee, butterfly and ladybird chocolates

Sharynne, Tamara, Carolyn, Kathy, Lynn and Lorraine

Planning the picnic and outdoor activities

Discussing the AV requirements for the launch with Kevin Ng, Karl Shead, and Dom Ingersole

Sharynne  welcoming people to The Treehouse

Creating a new intervention - Context therapy

Today I shared my vision for a new intervention with Helen Blake and Lynn Williams. They then shared their insights and suggestions. We have begun to fill a gap in interventions for children with speech sound disorder by creating Context Therapy.

 

 

CLTT special issue - discussion with CLTT editors

Tonight Holly McAlister and I had a conversation with the Child Language Teaching and Therapy editors Prof Judy Clegg and Prof Vicky Joffe about the special issue we are guest editing titled: Listening to children with diverse communication abilities. Guidelines are here: https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/CLT/CLTT-Call%20for%20Papers-ListeningTo%20Children-FINAL-1733118416.pdf

The issue received 21 papers by the due date in April 2025. We have rejected 5 papers, we have 16 papers undergoing revisions. We still have quite a bit of work to do. It is going to be a fantastic special issue that will be published in 2026. 

Judy, Sharynne, Holly, Vicky

Enjoying Spring and the Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst

It is always fun to host visitors in Bathurst. This weekend some of the things we did to introduce Prof Lynn Williams, Camilla Porsanger and their families to Bathurst included enjoying the spring blossoms and visiting the Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst https://museumsbathurst.com.au/afmm/

Chatting with the Deputy Mayor and CSU Councillor Ben Fry

Thesis revisions

I had a lovely meeting with Cathie Matthews today finalising her thesis revisions after examination. One famous examiner from USA recommended no changes! Her thesis is titled "Supporting 2-year-olds’ communication: Collaborations between caregivers, early childhood educators, and health professionals in rural Australia". Congratulations Cathie - nearly there!

Full house @ The Treehouse

We have had a wonderful week hosting many visitors at The Treehouse.

On Tuesday we had more people working at The Treehouse than we have ever had before:

1. Lorraine Bennett - Senior Administration Officer
2. A/Prof Tamara Cumming - Associate Director 
3. Prof Sharynne McLeod - Director
4. Prof Lynn Williams - Visiting Scholar (visitor)
5. A/Prof Kathy Cologon - Associate Director (visitor)
6. Dr Helen L. Blake - Senior Research Fellow (visitor)
7. Camilla Porsanger - Visiting PhD student from Nord University (visitor)
8. Nicki Simone  - Visiting PhD student from QUT (visitor)

We had Dr Carolyn Gregoric, our Research Manager online too

What a productive and joyful place full of busy bees. 

Kathy, Sharynne, [Carolyn online], Lynn, Lorraine, Tamara

Sharynne, Helen, Kathy, Camilla, Lynn, Tamara

Lorraine and Kathy

Kathy and Lynn

Kathy and Tamara

Sharynne  and Lynn