Research provides evidence, evidence creates change. Change stops a profession from stagnating and enables it to move forward
Speech pathology at Griffith University (GriffithSP) engages in applied research that is designed to optimise the communication and swallowing abilities of people across the lifespan. Staff are active members of the Menzies Health Institute Queensland and Griffith Institute for Educational Research, and work closely with The Autism Centre of Excellence.
All staff are active researchers and support higher degree research candidates to develop research expertise. The research foci within the discipline of speech pathology encompasses three themes.
Enhancing communication across the lifespan
The focus of research is the development and evaluation of evidence-based speech pathology practice for children, adolescents and adults at risk of, or living with communication disorders.
Current projects
- Longitudinal and experimental studies to understand and optimise communication development in children with autism.
- Griffith University Nerang Alliance collaboration aimed at increasing proportion supporting successful transition to school for developmentally vulnerable children.
- Investigation of the early literacy development of children on the autism spectrum.
- Reading success: Towards a collaborative whole school approach.
- Communication abilities after right hemisphere stroke: Improving diagnosis and management.
- Ensuring community engagement for adults with communication disorders resulting from neurological injuries and/or disease.
- Speech sound disorders in children: targeting underlying speech processing in assessment and intervention.
Research staff
Promoting safe and healthy swallowing
Our research focuses on improving the identification and management of swallowing difficulties across the lifespan to improve health and wellbeing.
Current projects
- Management of feeding and swallowing difficulties in children.
- Oral feeding and aspiration risk in neonates.
- Dysphagia management in the community for adults and their families.
Key staff
Valuing cultural and linguistic diversity
To promote the participation of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in health, education and community settings through effective communication.
Current projects
- Optimising Acute Transitional Care for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Stroke Survivors.
- Management of bi/multilingual aphasia in a hospital and health care setting: What happens in real-world clinical practice?
- Assessment and intervention for bi/multilingual children with speech sound and language disorders.
- Communication and literacy skill development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are learning English as an additional language or dialect.