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Publications

Wren Yvonne, Burr Samantha, , Stringer Helen, Harding Samantha

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (2026)

, , Zoha Ahmed

Proceedings of 2025 International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer-Aided Diagnosis (MICAD 2025) 6th International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer-Aided Diagnosis Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering Vol 1520, pp. 85-95 (2026)

Scobbie James M, , , Schaeffler Sonja

The Oxford Handbook of Speech Development in Languages of the World (2026) (2026)

, ,

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics Vol 40, pp. 544-566 (2026)

, , ,

Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica (2026)

Patrick Kathryn, , , , Murali Mridhula, Rutter Ben, Stuart-Smith Jane, , Taylor Lauren

Journal of Connected Speech, pp. 1-39 (2026)

Research Interests

My research focuses on developmental Speech Sound Disorders in children.聽I am interested in how we can optimise the diagnosis and treatment of Speech Sound Disorders to improve patient outcomes. 聽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:

Professional Activities

Consultant

2/6/2026

Contributor

20/3/2026

Participant

26/2/2026

Advisor

2026

Participant

26/11/2025

Participant

2/9/2025

Projects

Lawson, Eleanor (Principal Investigator) Cleland, Joanne (Co-investigator)

01-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2028

Cairney, Maria (Principal Investigator) Cleland, Joanne (Co-investigator) Lawson, Eleanor (Co-investigator) Ratanakul, Ketnipa (Researcher)

01-Jan-2025 - 02-Jan-2026

Cleland, Joanne (Principal Investigator)

01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027

Timmins, Claire (Principal Investigator) Lawson, Eleanor (Co-investigator) Cleland, Joanne (Co-investigator)

01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2025

Lawson, Eleanor (Co-investigator) Cleland, Joanne (Co-investigator) Timmins, Claire (Principal Investigator)

STAR-gate: a user evaluation and co-production project for the STAR web resources.

For over a decade, the project team have led several clinical studies using ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI), to evidence the effectiveness of this technique for improving speech errors in children with speech sound disorder (SSD). Papers published in both the previous and current REF period by our group have shown that this approach can be game changing, especially for SSDs which are difficult to treat through conventional therapy. However, ultrasound technology is not widely available to speech and language therapists (SLTs) and educators. To democratise access to visual representations speech production, we created two ESRC-funded Web-based resources:

Seeing Speech: STAR www.seeingspeech.ac.uk/speechstar/ for Speech Therapy training.

SpeechSTAR www.speechstar.ac.uk for use in clinic with children who have SSDs.

These sites contain video databases of (non)disordered child speech, imaged using UTI; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) speech samples, and MRI-based vocal-tract animations.

Initial feedback gathered through site surveys has been excellent; however, many respondents are encountering the site for the first time and are not sure how to navigate the resources. Our proposed project (STAR-gate) will maximise the accessibility of STAR and SpeechSTAR by engaging key user groups (i) SLTs; (ii) clients/carers (iii) SLT students; (iv) Clinical-Phonetics lecturers. We will work with HEIs and SLTs across the British Isles, to evaluate STAR/SpeechSTAR, and co-create video-based content for these Web sites.

Objectives:

Before the next REF exercise, to gather evidence of how STAR has changed the practice of the user groups.

To develop written materials facilitating use of STAR for Clinical Phonetics teaching (publications/ working papers, co-created with Clinical Phonetics lecturers).

To gather evidence to support grant applications to further develop the STAR and SpeechSTAR websites, according to user needs.

To co-create video-based user guides, sharing how STAR and SpeechSTAR can be used in SLT teaching, training, CPD and in clinic.

01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2026

Lawson, Eleanor (Principal Investigator) Murali, Mridhula (Researcher) Kirkland, Paul (Academic) Cleland, Joanne (Academic)

A project investigating the use of neural networks in the automatic classification of /r/ tongue shapes, imaged with Ultrasound Tongue Imaging

01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2024