Dr Lindsay Pennington, NIHR Career Development Fellow, Principal Research Associate, Newcastle University, UK

Speech and language therapist Communication skills of children with cerebral palsy (CP) –Effects of motor disorder on communication development –Can we predict the severity of speech disorder in CP? –Can therapy improve children's communication? –What causes the difficulties some children with CP have with developing literacy?

Early career Clinician MSc Research Associate, GOSH Development of training programme to promote use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) families SLTs GOS Neurodisability team education staff

PhD Nursing and Allied Health PhD Fellowship, Department of Health Impact of speech intelligibility on parent-child interaction –Speech and motor disorder: Parent-child interaction restricted, Children can use more skills given opportunity –Motor disorder: Restricted development of communication Expansion of network: clinicians Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool Publications, presentations

Back on track? EBP teaching to health professionals No work done on implementation of research by SLTs PI on NW Regional NHS project grant Collaboration with Chris Burton, Hazel Roddam (UCLAN), Ian Russell and Christine Godfrey (York) Experience of leading cluster trial, managing researchers

Clinical research?? Bursary Systematic review Collaborations with SLT researchers in Manchester Collaborations with SLT and AAC researchers internationally

Move to Department of Speech, Newcastle University Collaborators: HSR, SLT, Child Health Post Doc PI on project grants from medical research charities

Post Doc Phase II study: parent training –Does parent – child interaction change after training? Parents Children –Is training useful and acceptable to parents? –Therapists views on provision of training in NHS

Phase II study: parent training –Does parent – child interaction change after training? Parents Children –Is training useful and acceptable to parents? –Therapists views on provision of training in NHS Effective, long term change, useful, valued by families Expensive, difficult to arrange –RCT in NHS is not feasible

Post Doc Phase II study of dysarthria intervention Could dysarthria therapy work for children? Does intelligibility increase after intervention? Does voice quality change? Is the treatment acceptable? Is a pragmatic trial feasible?

Post Doc Phase II study of dysarthria intervention Could dysarthria therapy work for children? Does intelligibility increase after intervention? 15% Does voice quality change? Pitch and volume steadier Is the treatment acceptable? Yes Is a pragmatic trial feasible? Yes

Career Development Fellowship Lead research three streams of research: –Epidemiology: Prediction of speech disorder severity at 5 yrs –Dysarthria intervention: 2 nd Phase II study, younger children 3 rd Phase II study, intervention provided by SLTA Pragmatic trial –Literacy Effects of type of speech disorder Effects of cortical visual disturbance

Training in leadership Develop new collaborations Funding to attend conferences: raising profile Time to plan strategy for coming years

S.L.Ts RA Paeds Families School Staff Neuro Dis Team P.H.D Sheffield Newcastle Lpool S.L.Ts Post Doc N.E Paeds N.E P.Ts Trials Experts NE + York Adelaide N.E Epidemiologists N.E Psychologist N.E S.L.Ts C.D.F E.A.C.D Colorado Wisconsin Adelaide Melbourne Barcelona CanChild McMaster N.E Epidemiologists N.E. Psychologists N.E Neurologists York Gothenburg Michigan