Debbie Sell

Honorary Visiting Professor

Qualifications

OBE PhD FRCSLT MRCSLT

Biography

Debbie Sell qualified as a speech and language therapist in 1976. She is Lead Speech and Language Therapist, North Thames Regional Cleft Lip and Palate Unit and is Head of Speech and Language Therapy Services at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust.

She gained her PhD in 1992 from De Montfort University for an investigation of speech outcome in Sri Lankan cleft palate subjects with delayed surgery. Following this, she became Honorary Lecturer, Institute of Child Health, UCL and then Honorary Senior Lecturer in 1999. Between 1999 and 2003, she was Visiting Professor, Faculty of Health and Community Studies, De Montfort University and in 2003 was Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies University of Latrobe, Melbourne and the Royal Children's Hospital. In 1999, she was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists followed by an OBE in 2006 for services to the National Health Service. In July 2009 she became Honorary Visiting Professor at City University London.

Debbie has been involved in cleft lip and palate and associated anomalies since 1984. She led the speech research of the Sri Lankan Cleft Lip and Palate Project, and was Assistant Director of the Eurocleft Speech Group.  In the late 1990s, she directed the speech research of the national UK Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) study in cleft lip and palate, and was subsequently a member of the National Cleft Implementation Group. More recently she was on an RAE sub-panel as a user representative. Other activities have included an Invitation by The Smile Train to advise on speech therapy issues in the Developing World and being Lead of the working group for Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist's position paper on Speech and Language Therapy and Nasendoscopy for Patients with Velopharyngeal Dysfunction. She is an editorial consultant for Advances in Speech-Language Pathology and a member of the executive editorial board of the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.

Research interests

Her research interests are several and include the following areas:

• Investigations of speech and the timing of surgery in the unoperated and late operated cleft lip and palate subject within the Sri Lankan Cleft Lip and Palate Project.
• The delivery of speech and language therapy in the Developing World for patients with cleft lip and palate.
• The development of appropriate training courses in speech and language therapy in Sri Lanka.
• Multicentre international study of speech outcome in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate in Northern Europe (eg Eurocleft Study) and latterly in the US.
• Comparison of surgical speech outcomes in cleft palate across 2 international units: Gothenburg and North Thames Regional Cleft Lip and Palate Centre.
• UK national study of speech outcome in patients between 5-6 years and 10-11 years of age with unilateral cleft lip and palate (CSAG 1998 and CSAG 2 in progress - University of Bristol).
• The management of velopharyngeal dysfunction, including the evaluation of different surgical protocols and prosthetic approaches.
• Submucous cleft palate.
• The effects of osteotomy on speech and velopharyngeal function.
• The evaluation of cleft palate speech (GOSSPASS, CAPS-A, UPS) and training programmes.
• Speech and 22q11Deletion Syndrome. 

Invited Guest Presentations at National Level - 2000 onwards

• 2000 The Annual Meeting of the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Stoke Mandeville. Velopharyngeal Dysfunction…Seeing is Believing!
• 2002, 2003  Nasendoscopy and videofluoroscopy. National Meeting of the Speech and Language Therapists Special Interest Group in Cleft Palate and Palatal Anomalies.
• 2003, 2004  Cleft Lip and Palate Symposium The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
• 2005 National SIG in Disorders of Fluency - Study Day: Research in the workplace.
• 2005 Cleft Palate Services in Sri Lanka and Australia. Presentation at the National SIG for Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies, University of Wales, Meeting.
• 2006 Surgical special interest group meeting of the Craniofacial Society of GB and Ireland. With Mr Sommerlad. The management of velopharyngeal incompetence.
• 2007 Presentation at the National Speech SIG for Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies, Dublin. With Mr  Sommerlad. The relationship between the Plastic Surgeon and the SLT in assessment, planning and decision making. 
• 2007  Invited Panellist for Mini-Symposium:  A Critical Look at Speech Outcome Measures and Speech Therapy Intervention in the Developing World. Presentation at the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Dublin. 
• 2007  Speech and Cleft Lip and Palate/Velopharyngeal Dysfunction Clearer Speech: determining the prognosis for children's intelligibility. Communication matters. ICH, London.
• 2009 CAPSA training.National 2 day Course GOSH, London, UK.
• 2009 GOSH 22q11Deletion Syndrome and Speech and Language Therapy
  Debbie Sell Max Appeal 8th Annual Meeting and Conference, Imperial  College, London.

Invited Guest Presentations at International Level - 2000 onwards

• 2001  Invited to deliver keynote address on Speech Analysis at the 9th  International World Congress on Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies, Gothenburg Sweden.
• 2001  Invited panellist on Nasopharyngoscopy in Symposium on "Evaluation of Velopharyngeal Function" at the 9th International World Congress on Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies, Gothenburg Sweden.
• 2002  Contributor to National Meeting on the Management of Cleft Lip and Palate, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• 2003  Cleft Symposium, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Best Practice in Speech Pathology, and a workshop on the management of speech disorders in children with cleft lip and palate.    
• 2003  Keynote Speaker: Speech outcome - how do we know which interventions work?  Australian Cleft Lip and Palate Meeting, Sydney.
• 2003  Pre-Conference Symposium. Invited Speaker: Measurement of Speech - Lessons from the UK. Australian Cleft Lip and Palate Meeting, Sydney.
• 2003  University of Latrobe, Melbourne, School of Human Communication Sciences. Colloquia: Nasal Speech: the evidence base in assessment and management of Velopharyngeal dysfunction at the Institute of Advanced Studies.
• 2003  Guest Speaker - Grand Rounds, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Lessons Learned from Centralising Cleft Lip and Palate Services in the UK .
• 2003  Guest Speaker, Allied Health and Nursing Conference, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Getting the Evidence into Clinical Practice.
• 2004  Invited Speaker Pre-Conference Symposium of the Third Annual Conference of Indian Society of Cleft Lip, Palate & Craniofacial Anomalies. The management of hypernasality.
• 2004  Invited to deliver Braithwaite Oration Lecture. The origins and development of speech and language therapy in the modern day cleft lip and palate team.  Third Annual Conference of Indian Society of Cleft Lip, Palate & Craniofacial Anomalies.
• 2004  Jointly delivered national course in speech prosthetic appliances with Mars and Worrell, Lady Ridgeway Hospital Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• 2005  Invited speaker. Preconference Symposium. Velofacialcardiac syndrome - whats new with 221q11DS? How are speech and language affected by the 22q11deletion and how can we help? An international perspective (Louise Mills and) Debbie Sell. 62nd annual meeting of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, Myrtle Beach. South Carolina.
• 2005  Invited panellist with D. Kuehn, J Trost-Cardamone, T Sweeney, G Henningsson.  Two panel presentations on Issues in Universal Reporting Parameters For Speech.10th International Congress on Cleft palate and related Craniofacial Anomalies , Durban., South Africa.
• 2005  Invited speaker. Speech Outcomes and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction: how do we know which Interventions are Effective? Craniofaciale afwijkingen en velofaryngale insufficiëntie logopedische aspecten. Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium.
• 2005  Invited speaker. Symposium on Speech and Language Disorder Survey in China and demonstrating the professional post for speech and language training, Tianjin.
• 2007  Invited speaker. Lohmander A. Persson C. Sell D. Plenary Session: Speech evaluation in clefts: methodology for assessment of treatment outcome. 8th European Craniofacial Congress, Bilbao, Spain.
• 2007  Invited speaker. Shaw W. Long R. Brusati R. Hortis-Dzierzbicka, Klimova I. Gonzalez B. Schachner P. Sell D. Sader R. Plenary Session: Barriers to improving cleft care and research in Europe and USA.  8th European Craniofacial Congress, Bilbao, Spain.
• 2007  Invited as consultant to the Third Americleft Meeting, Indianapolis, USA.
• 2007  Invited with Mars and Sommerlad to present on Velopharyngeal incompetence diagnostic approach  Societa Italiana per lo studio e la cura delle labio-palato-schisi e delle malformazioni cranio-maxillo-facciali. Milano, Italy.
• 2007  Invited by City University, London to Cambodia as advisor to Cleft Palate Programme Children's Surgical Centre, Phnom Peng.
• 2007  Invited speaker International Foundation of Cleft Lip and palate Workshop, Beijing, China. Diagnosis and management of cleft palate speech.
• 2008  Sell D. Two invited lectures on Issues in Measuring Speech Outcome and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction. Audiology and Speech Pathology Department, Sri Ramachandra University.
• 2009  Sell D. Invited speaker to Ramathibodi-Tawanchai Cleft Craniofacial Forum and 2nd Annual Meeting of the Thai Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Association, Thailand.
  I. Reliability of Perceptual Assessment for Speech Outcome and Cleft Palate
  II. Intercentre Outcome Study in Clefts among Asia-Pacific and Europe Region III. Speech Outcomes and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction  - How do we know which Interventions are Effective?
  IV. Workshop with Tara Whitehill: European Update on Measuring Speech Outcomes with a Focus on the UK

Publications 2000 onwards

Peer-reviewed

• 2001 Sell D. and Sweeney T. Letters to Editor Re: Treatment of Hypernasality. International Journal of Lang. Comm. Dis., 36, 139-143.
• 2001 Sandy J. Bearn D. Williams A. Bearn D. Mildinhall S. Murphy T. Sell D. Shaw WC. Cleft Lip and palate Care in the UK -The Ckllinical Standards Advisory group (CSAG) Study. Part 1: Background and Methodolgy.  Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal,  38, 20-23.
• 2001 Bearn D. Williams A. Bearn D. Mildinhall S. Murphy T. Sell D. Shaw WC. Sandy J. Outcomes of Cleft Lip and Palate Care in the United Kingdom (UK) - The Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) Study. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal,  38, 38-41.
• 2001 Shaw WC. Bearn D. Williams A. Mildinhall S. Murphy T. Sell D. Murray J. Sandy J. Volume and Outcome and Implementation of the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) Recommendations. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal.
• 2001 Williams A. Bearn D. Mildinhall S. Murphy T. Sell D. Semb G. Shaw WC. Sandy J. The Clinical Standards Advisory Group study into the current status of cleft care in the UK - Dentofacial outcomes and psychosocial status. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 38, 24-29.
• 2001 Sell D. Grunwell P. Mildinhall S. Murphy T. Cornish TC. Williams A. Bearn D. Shaw WC. Murray J. Sandy J. Speech Outcomes of Cleft Lip and Palate Care in the UK - The Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) Study. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 38, 30-37.
• 2001 Alison C. Williams, Nicola C Johnson, Steven Singer, Peter Southall, Sue Mildinhall, Gunvor Semb, Debbie Sell, Steve Thomas, Jonathan R Sandy. Outcomes of cleft care in Western Australia: a pilot study.  Australian Dental Journal, 46: (1): 32-36.
• Wickenden M Hartley S Kodikara S Mars M Sell D Sirimana T Wirz S (2001) Collaborative development of a new course and service in Sri Lanka Int J Lang Commun Disord. 36, 315-320.
• Wickenden M., Hartley S., Kodikara S., Mars M. Sell D., Sirimana T., Wirz S. (2001) Where there is no Speech and Language Therapist: collaborative development of a new course and service in Sri Lanka. Proceedings of World Congress. IALP. Montreal.
• 2002 Bressmann T, Sell D, Harding-Bell A. GOSSPASS'98-D: Ein Untersuchungsprotokoll fuer Patienten mit Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumenspalten. Forum Logopaedie, 16(1), 14-17.
• 2002   Sommerlad BC, Mehendale FV. Birch MJ. Sell DA. Hattee C. Harland K. Palate re-repair revisited. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal., 39, 295-307.
• 2002  Sell DA. Ma L. James DRJ. Mars M. Sherriff M. A Pilot Study to investigate the Effects of Transpalatal Le Fort 1 maxillary osteotomy on velopharyngeal function in cleft palate patients. J of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery (2002) 30, 349-354.
• 2004   Sommerlad BCS, Fenn C. Harland K. Sell DA. Birch M. Dave R. Lees M. Barnett A. Submucous cleft palate: a grading system and review of 40 consecutive submucous cleft palate repairs. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 41, 114 -123.
• 2004  Mehendale FV. Birch MJ. Sell DA. Birkett L. Sommerlad BC. Surgical management of velopharyngeal incompetence in Velocardiofacial Syndrome.   Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 41, 124 -135.
• 2004  Sweeney T. Sell D. O'Regan M. Nasalance scores for normal-speaking Irish children. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial J. 41, 168-174.
• 2004  Saunders NC. Hartley BEJ. Sell D. Sommerlad BC. Velopharyngeal insufficiency following adenoidectomy. Clin. Otolaryngol. 29, 1-3.
• 2005  Sell D. A review of issues in perceptual speech analysis in cleft palate and related disorders. Int. J. Lang. Comm. Dis. Vol 42, no 2, 103-121. 
• 2006  Mills L, Gosling A. Sell D. Extending the communication phenotype associated     with 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome. Advances in Speech - Language Pathology.
• 2006  John A. Sell D.  Harding-Bell A. Sweeney T.  Williams A. CAPS-A  - A validated and reliable measure for auditing cleft speech. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 43, 272-288. 
• 2006  Sell D. Mars M. Worrell E. A process and outcome study of prosthetic treatment for velopharyngeal dysfunction. Int J Lang & Comm. Dis. 41, 5, 495-511.
• 2007  Masarei, A.G. Sell, D. Habel, A. Mars, M. Sommerlad, BC, Wade, A. The nature of feeding in infants with unrepaired cleft lip and/or palate compared with healthy non-cleft infants. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial J.  44, no2, 182-193.
• 2007   Masarei A.G. Wade A. Michael Mars, Sommerlad BC, Sell D. A randomised control trial investigating the effect of pre-surgical orthopedics on feeding in infants with cleft lip and/or palate. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial J. 44, no 3, 321-328.
• 2007 Sell D  Part 1: Cleft Lip and Palate in the Developing World: Speech Pathology Issues in Perspectives in Speech Science and Orofacial Disorders, ASHA, July.
• 2008 Henningsson, G., Kuehn, D.P., Sell, D., Sweeney, T., Trost-Cardamone, J.T., & Whitehill, T.L. Universal parameters for reporting speech outcomes in individuals with cleft palate.  Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 45, 1-15.
• 2007 Sell D. Part 2: Cleft Lip and Palate in the Developing World: Speech Pathology Issues in Perspectives in Speech Science and Orofacial Disorders, ASHA, Oct.
• 2008 Morgan, A., Sell, D. Ryan M. Raynsford, E., & Hayward, R. Pre- and post-surgical dysphagia outcome associated with posterior fossa tumour in children J. of Neuro-Oncology.
• 2008 Sweeney T. and Sell D. The relationship between perceptual and instrumental assessment of nasality and nasal airflow errors. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. Int. J. Lang. Comm. Dis.
• 2008 Pereira V, Sell D. Dunaway D. Evans R. Ponniah A. Midface Osteotomy versus Distraction: The Effect on Speech, Nasality and Velopharygeal Function in Craniofacial Dysostosis Osteotomy. Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal. 45, 4, 364-370. CPJ website highlighted article.
• Sell D., Britton L., Hayden C., Phippen G. and Russell J. (2008)
• Speech and Language Therapy and Nasendoscopy for Patients with
• Velopharyngeal Dysfunction. Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists position paper.
• 2009 Sell D. John A. Harding-Bell A. Sweeney T. Hegarty F. Freeman J. Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech (CAPS-A): A Comprehensive Training Package for Speech Analysis. Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2009 July 44-4, 529-548.

Chapters

• 1986 Sell D.  Disorders of Speech in Paediatric Otolaryngology, Evans J.N.G. (Ed.) Vol. 6. In Scott Brown Otolaryngology Series, London: Butterworths.
• 1990 Mars M. James DR Lamabadusuriya SP. Houston WJB. Sell D. Grunwell P. The unoperated cleft lip and palate subject: an account of the Sri Lankan Cleft Lip and Palate Project, and preliminary results of facial growth and speech. In: Nederlandse Vereniging Voor and Orthodontische Studie. ed. J.W. Booij.
• 1993 Grunwell P. Sell D. Harding A. Describing Cleft Palate Speech. In: Analysing Cleft Palate Speech ed. Grunwell P. pub. Whurr.
• 1993 Sell D. Grunwell P. Speech in Subjects with Late Operated Cleft Palate. In: Analysing Cleft Palate Speech ed. Grunwell P. pub. Whurr. 
• 1993 The Eurocleft Speech Group: Grunwell P. Bronsted K. Henningsson G. Jansonius K. Karling J. Meijer M. Ording U. Sell D. Wyatt R. Vermeij-Zieverink E.  Cleft palate speech in a European perspective. In: Analysing Cleft Palate Speech  ed. Grunwell P. pub.Whurr.
• 2001 Grunwell P. and Sell D. Speech and Language Characteristics. In Management of Cleft Lip and Palate  eds. Watson A.C.H. Sell D. Grunwell P. pub. Whurr.
• 2001 Sell D. and Grunwell P. Speech Assessment and Therapy. In Management of Cleft Lip and Palate  eds. Watson A.C.H. Sell D. Grunwell P. pub. Whurr. 
• 2001 Harding A. and Sell D. Cleft Palate and Velopharyngeal Anomalies. In Speech and Language Therapy: the Decision Making Process when working with Children. eds. Kersner M. and Wright J. pub. Fulton.
• 2007 Cavalli L. Cook F, Mars M. Nayak J. Pereira V. Price K. Reilly S. Ryan M. Sell D. Shipster C. Sommerlad B. Speech and Language Therapy. The Great Ormond Street Colour Handbook of Paediatrics and Child Health Paediatrics and Child Health eds. Strobel S, Marks S. Smith PK. Habbal MH. Spitz L. pub Manson.
• 2008 Sell D.  Speech in the unoperated or late operated patient. Cleft Lip and Palate Management in the Developing World. Eds Mars M, Habel A. and Sell D. pub John Wiley.
• 2009 Sell D. Speech therapy and cleft lip and palate in the Developing World context. Cleft Lip and Palate Management in the Developing World. Eds Mars M, Habel A. and Sell D. pub John Wiley.

In submission

Books

• 2001  Management of Cleft Lip and Palate eds. Watson ACH, Sell D, Grunwell P. Pub. Whurr. (Translated into Portuguese) .
• 2008   Cleft Lip and Palate Management in the Developing World. Eds Mars M, Habel A. and Sell D. pub John Wiley.

PhD Supervision

1993-2000  Triona Sweeney.  The relationship of perceptual measures of nasality  and nasal airflow to objective measures. University of Dublin. Second supervisor. 1993 - 1997; primary supervisor 1998-2000.

1998-2003  Anthea Masarei. An investigation of the effects of pre-surgical orthodontics (baby palates) on feeding and speech outcomes in children with cleft lip and palate. University of London. Second supervisor.

2006-  Valerie Pereira. University of London. The effect of maxillary advancement on Speech, Nasality and Velopharyngeal Function (ICH-GOS R&D No. 06NS08; University of London. Primary supervisor.

Research Fellows

• 1993-1998 Tremayne Cornish joint supervision within the Sri Lankan Cleft Lip and Palate Project.
• 1998- 2007 Mary Wickenden with International Child Health, Institute of Child Health. The development of a speech and language therapy training programme in Sri Lanka.
• 2003-  Invited by the CARE Levy Board to lead a project for postgraduate SLTs on Listener Reliability, with supervision of Research Fellow, Alex John.
• 2005, 2006, 2009   Rollout of national training programme of the speech audit tool, with supervision of Research Fellow, Alex John.