A CleftCollective study needs parents of 12 month old babies born with cleft palate to test process for recording speech at home.

Dr Yvonne Wren is looking for families who can help her pilot the collection of speech samples for the Cleft Collective study.

Families who want to participate will be given a recording device for their baby to wear in customised clothing for one day. The recording device will record all the speech used by the baby and sounds heard in their environment. Dr Wren is interested to know what this experience is like for families and any problems that they encounter.

If you would like to know more about this pilot study and have a baby born with a cleft palate who will be aged 11 to 12 months between July and August 2014, please contact Yvonne at Yvonne.wren@speechtherapy.org.uk or 0117 340 6529

Congratulations to Sam Harding

One of the units research assistants 'Sam Harding' was awarded 'Best Oral Presentation' at the University of the West of England's Faculty for Health and Applied Science Postgraduate Research Conference on Friday 27th June.

Sam presented on her work looking at the impact of treatment for head and neck cancer on post traumatic growth.

The brief for the conference was to present the work to an 'educated lay' audience. A challenge for all academic who are more use to talking to people who are already familiar with the area of research.

Sam said that 'Communicating complex issues clearly is a very important skill that all researchers need to obtain and practice. Hopefully this award shows I am moving in the right direction'.

Dr Yvonne Wren presents at the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association annual conference

From right to left: Prof Sharynne McLeod, Ms Sarah Masso & Dr Yvonne Wren

This month Dr Yvonne Wren attended the 15th International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association (ICPLA) conference in Stockholm, Sweden.  While there she presented data from her research on Speech Characteristics of 5 year olds and Babbling in Infants.  

Whilst in Stockholm at ICPLA, Dr Wren joined colleagues Prof Sharynne Mcleod and Sarah Masso from Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia. This provided the opportunity to discuss data from the Sound Start study which is currently running in Sydney. The Sound Start study will evaluate the impact of using software to help children with speech sound disorders. The software, Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter, was developed at the Bristol Speech & Language therapy Research Unit.

Dr Yvonne Wren and Dr Karen Sage welcome applications for an opportunity to work with the research unit.

This undergraduate placement is open to University of the West of England (UWE) students only.

Applications can be made by clicking here.

Research Placement Specifications:

Employer: UWE

Position title: Undergraduate Research Placement - Speech & Language Development in Children

Application close: 13-June-2014 Friday

Commences: To be confirmed

Employment type: Student Intern-ship/Placement

Remuneration/ Pay rate: £1400

Location: Bristol

Project Description: 

This research project aims to introduce the student to the field of children’s speech and language development. It will use audio and video recordings of children talking to investigate patterns in both typically developing children and those who are showing delay or disorder in their speech and language.

Project Objectives:

·         Appraised production of a literature review on the theme of children’s early speech and language development.

·         Production of coded data sets, preparation and analysis.

Tasks you will undertake:
You will receive comprehensive support and will have the opportunity to:

·         Code video and audio samples and transcribe children’s speech.

·         Undertake a comprehensive literature analysis.

·         Participate in a wide range of data processing and analysis tasks including labelling, transcription, coding and reliability checking.

Skills Required:

·         Excellent organisational skills and confidence adopting systematic data management processes.

·         Ability to work independently and concentrate for long periods of time.

·         Excellent attention to detail skills.

·         Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.

Funding & Location:
The research placements are paid and successful students will receive a bursary of £1400 for their placement. The placements will last for a period of 6-weeks and start dates will be agreed with the research supervisor. Successful students will be required to work full time at UWE or within the local area. Please note the payment offered will not cover any additional research or travel expenses.