I am a Professor of Speech and Language Therapy in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Health. My expertise is in developmental Speech Sound Disorders with an emphasis on innovative assessment and intervention tools. My work spans theoretical research using instrumental articulatory approaches to applied clinical research working with practitioners.  I joined the department in 2015 having previously worked at Queen Margaret University where I completed my PhD in 2010 and my clinical qualification as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2002.

I am the vice president of the International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics Association; the UK representative on the Child Speech committee for the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders; and a member of the UK and Ireland Child Speech Research Network. My work is funded by the ESRC, NIHR, Chief Scientist Office of Scotland and the EPSRC.

My research focuses on developmental Speech Sound Disorders in children. I am interested in how we can optimise the diagnosis and treatment of Speech Sound Disorders to improve patient outcomes.  I have a particular interest in visual biofeedback, that is, technologies which can be used to image the articulators (principally the tongue) moving when we speak. My most recent research uses ultrasound tongue imaging to measure tongue movement and allow children with speech sound disorders a method of using real-time visual biofeedback of their own tongue movements to modify incorrect articulations and therefore improve their speech. I work with families of children with Speech Sound Disorders and clinicians to determine how we can make ultrasound technology accessible to clinicians and parents.

Current and recent research projects include:

Variability in Child Speech.

MISLToe_SSD

SonoSpeech Cleft Pilot

Speech Therapy Animation and Imaging Resources

I am a Speech and Language Therapist with expertise in articulatory analysis, clinical trials, include single case experimental designs, mixed methods including qualitative research, and co-production.