Child Language Teaching and Therapy Annual Summer Lecture 2024

The Journal of Child Language Teaching and Therapy are thrilled to announce the details of our 2024 Summer Lecture.

Do we really listen to children?

Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Communication is a human right for all; and ALL includes children with speech,

language, and communication needs, including those who speak/sign non-dominant

languages (McLeod, 2018). Aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child

(United Nations, 1989) we have given attention to the “voice” of children. For

example, we have creatively engaged in child-friendly arts-based methods to provide

children with the “right to freedom of expression… regardless of frontiers” as outlined

in Article 13. However, do we REALLY listen to children?

As we become more accustomed to including children’s perspectives in our

professional practices, it is time to reflect on whether some of our inclusion of

children’s voices could be perceived as “tokenistic” (Hart, 1992). As communication

specialists, we have the power to support children’s voice and to assist others to

listen. How can we mature in our practices to enhance children’s participation within

democratic processes in their families, schools, communities, and society?

Biography

Sharynne McLeod, PhD is a Distinguished Professor at Charles Sturt University,

Australia specialising in speech and language acquisition. Her transformative

research has reframed the profession by foregrounding communication rights and

social justice, and by enhancing equitable participation for multilingual children with

speech, language and communication needs. She has advocated for communication

rights at the United Nations and the World Health Organization. She is a Fellow of

the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and Fellow of the Royal Society of

New South Wales. She has been an Australian Research Council Future Fellow,

Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol, and

Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University. She served as editor-in-

chief of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, and has received

Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Life

Membership of Speech Pathology Australia. The Australian Newspaper named her

Australia’s Research Field Leader and Best in the World in Audiology, Speech and

Language Pathology based on the “quality, volume and impact” of her research.

More information

A recording will be made available after the lecture.

The lecture will be held online via zoom and details will be shared with participants.

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