Developmental Research Group

Current members: Nicola Botting (Convenor), Victoria Joffe, Shula Chiat, Rachael-Anne Knight, Abigail Levin, Chloe Marshall, Gary Morgan, Lucy Myers, Tim Pring, Penny Roy, Jo Verhoeven, Paul Turner, Belinda Seeff-Gabriel, Celia Harding, Natalie Hasson, Wolfgang Mann.

The team are involved in a variety of work on developmental speech and language and communication impairments including screenming and asessment of impairments and exploring the effectiveness of various therapies. We are also involved in evaluating the delivery of services to children with language impairment, including early language screening and intervention.

One very salient professional issue relates to the effective provision of speech and language services for children in schools, to which staff have already contributed. James Law and
colleagues were commissioned by the DfEE and the DoH to examine the provision of speech and language therapy services in schools across England and Wales. We are involved in exploring the long term impacts of speech, language and communication impairments on adolescence and adulthood. We are undertaking numerous effectiveness studies of intervention in both stammering, phonology and language impairment both within the COMPASS centre and in mainstream schools.

Research also is looking at the best ways of collaborative practice between therapists and teachers and how best to differentiate the national curriculum most effectively to meet the neds of children with speech, language and communication impairments. Our team is also involved in looking at the role of sign language in the deaf population and the incidence of SLI in the hearing impaired population.

Research in the group also involves looking at the nature, type and quality of verbal and non-verbal abilities of children and adults with special needs, including individuals with Down Syndrome, William Syndrome, Specific Language Impairment and Hearing Impairment.