UQ researchers target speech disorders

Children with speech disorders are needed to participate in a University of Queensland study.

Researchers within UQ’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences are examining children who have difficulty moving parts of their tongue independently during speech.

“Some children have difficulty speaking and make the wrong sounds because they cannot move parts of their tongue independently,” said research officer Petrea Cornwell.

“We hope to discover whether these children only have trouble moving their tongue or whether they also have difficulties moving other parts of their body independently.”

Ms Cornwell said the multidisciplinary study would involve speech pathologists, physiotherapists and occupation therapists.

She said the researchers would examine the tongue, jaw and lips as well as the neck, arms and hands in order to establish a more effective assessment and treatment approach for children with persistent speech disorders.

Participants must be aged between 6-12 years, have difficulty saying sounds and have received speech therapy sessions for at least the past two years.

They will be required to attend three to four appointments primarily at UQ’s St Lucia campus.

Tasks completed during the appointments will include tape-recording of speech, observation of movements, handwriting tasks and various measurements of the head, neck, mouth and hands.

People interested in participating should contact Petrea Cornwell on telephone 07 3365 8560 or email p.cornwell@uq.edu.au

Media: For further information, contact Ms Cornwell (telephone 07 3365 8560) or Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619).