MAIN REPORTS
Our Main Report Speakers are our Keynote/Plenary speakers.
The committee have selected our Main Report speakers to reflect our global audience with the discussants to encourage debate and exchange during the sessions.
The overall congress theme is Together Towards Tomorrow.
Technological Advances in Assessment and Intervention of Swallowing Disorders in the Digital Era
Towards equitable hearing health care: Innovations in technology and service-delivery
Supporting Multilingual Children Succeed in Their Early Literacy Development
World Health Organisation Session
Prof Georgia Malandraki, Greece
About Dr Malandraki
Dr. Georgia A. Malandraki is an Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University. She is also a Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders and the Research Director of the Purdue I-EaT Swallowing Research Laboratory and Clinic. In addition to her primary appointment at Purdue, Dr. Malandraki also holds Visiting Professorships at the Universities of Athens and Macedonia in Greece, and at the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven in Belgium.
Her research focuses on investigating developmental and treatment swallowing neuroplasticity and developing rehabilitative and telehealth interventions for patients with swallowing disorders (dysphagia). She is the developer of the Intensive Dysphagia Rehabilitation Approach (IDRA), as well as the co-founder of a start-up which focuses on the commercialization of novel wearable technologies that aid in the tele-treatment of dysphagia. Dr. Malandraki’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIDCD and NIBIB) of the United States, the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, and several mechanisms through the Purdue Research Foundation. Among others, she has been awarded the ASHA Early Career Research Contributions Award (2011), the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Early Career Research Achievement Award (2019), and the NIH NIBIB R21 Trailblazer Award (2019). Dr. Malandraki has served on the Editorial Board of ASHA Journals, and is currently an Editor for AJSLP and the President-Elect of the Dysphagia Research Society. To learn more about Dr. Malandraki’s work, please visit her laboratory’s website: https://www.purdue.edu/i-eatlab/
Main Report Discussants:
Prof Liz Ward , Australia
Dr Vidya Ramkumar, India
Abstract:
Swallowing is one of the most complex neurophysiological functions of the human body. When disrupted and the ability to eat is compromised, the effects in health and quality of life can be detrimental, highlighting the critical importance of timey and accurate assessment and intervention. In the past ~40 years, the field of swallowing science and clinical care has made significant strides in increasing our understanding of this complex neurophysiological act and how to evaluate and treat swallowing disorders, however critical gaps in knowledge and practice remain. Living in what appears to be peak of the Digital Era, the value of using technological advances to further improve our understanding of swallowing control, as well as our ability to more effectively diagnose and treat dysphagia cannot be overstated. In this presentation, recent state-of-the-art technological advances in dysphagia science, diagnosis, and treatment will be detailed. Emphasis will be given to the development and use of wearable sensors technologies, novel neuroimaging applications, and personalized care approaches for dysphagia that have been emerging. The status, considerations, and promise of these technologies as catalysts for the future of dysphagia care will be discussed.
Prof De Wet Swanepoel, South Africa
About Prof De Wet Swanepoel
De Wet Swanepoel is professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria and senior researcher at the Ear Science Institute Australia. Prof Swanepoel’s research capitalises on the growth in information and communication technologies to explore, develop and evaluate innovative technologies and service delivery models to improve ear and hearing care. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters and is funded by the NIH, UK Academy of Medical Sciences, National Research Foundation, industry and has received numerous national and international awards in recognition of his work. Prof Swanepoel serves as Editor-In-Chief of the International Journal of Audiology, and founder of a digital health company called the hearX group.
Main Report Discussants:
Dr Jaime R. Leigh, Australia
Prof Greg O’Beirne, New Zealand
Abstract:
Hearing loss is a neglected global health priority affecting 1.5 billion persons. Globally access to hearing care is severely limited with treatments like hearing aids inaccessible to most. The cost and centralised nature of traditional service-delivery approaches in hearing care have undermined equitable access. Recent innovations in digital and mHealth hearing technologies are, however, enabling novel community-based services through task shifting across the continuum of care. Recent examples of technology-enabled hearing care in communities demonstrate cost-effective services scalable across primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention. Hearing health innovations have the potential to increase access to care, improve the quality of life for those affected by hearing loss and reduce global costs associated with untreated hearing loss. More equitable hearing care is a global health priority that requires scalable services in communities enable by innovative technologies and accompanied by public health promotion.
Prof Gail Gillon, New Zealand
About Prof Gillon
Professor Gail Gillon, PhD (Ngai Tahu iwi) is the founding director of the Child Well-being Research Institute at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Prof Gillon is also the Deputy Director for the Better Start National Science Challenge, E tipu e Rea, which is a 10 year programme of research focused on children’s successful early learning and healthy wellbeing.
Professor Gillon’s research for many years has focused on facilitators of reading success, particularly for children with speech and language disorders or children with dyslexia. Her successful phonological awareness interventions trials are particularly well known. Professor Gillon’s contributions to the field of speech-language therapy have been recognised through her receiving NZSTA Life membership, being named a Fellow of ASHA, and as a recipient of ASHA Editor’s Award for research article of highest merit on three occasions. Recently, Prof Gillon was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand for research excellence and she received the prestigious University of Canterbury’s Research Medal in 2020. Prof Gillon is currently Co-leading the Better Start Literacy Approach Project. Following successful pilot trials, this culturally responsive and evidenced based approach to early literacy instruction is currently being implemented in over 1000 new entrant and year 1 classrooms across New Zealand.
Main Report Discussants:
Judge Andrew Becroft, New Zealand
Prof Wiebke Scharff Rethfeldt, Germany
Abstract:
The Better Start Literacy Approach (Gillon, McNeill et al. 2022, 2020, 2019) is a comprehensive approach to supporting children’s early literacy success. The teaching content includes research informed strategies to advance children’s phonological and morphological awareness, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary learning and oral narrative skills. It is set within a strengths-based and culturally responsive framework to literacy teaching. The New Zealand Ministry of Education is funding a national roll-out of the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) which is now being implemented by junior school teachers and literacy specialists in over 800 English medium schools across the country.
This presentation focuses on how children identified at school entry as English as Second Language (ESL) learners are responding to the approach. Baseline data on measures of phoneme awareness, alphabet knowledge, nonword reading, and oral narrative skills for 2,785 ESL learners is presented. The children (49% female and 51% male) had a mean age 65.2 months (SD=3.9). The majority of these learners were identified as being of Asian or Pacific Island ethnicity. Data analyses suggest that multilingual children identified at school entry as ESL learners showed a similar strong, positive response to the Better Start Literacy Approach teaching as their peers. The important role speech-language therapists have in collaborating with class teachers to support children’s early literacy success will be emphasised throughout the presentation.
Antony Duttine
About Antony Duttine
Antony Duttine is the technical lead for rehabilitation at the World Health Organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland. In this role he oversees the actions of WHO in relation to Rehabilitation 2030 including supporting countries to strengthen their rehabilitation systems and working with partners, including IALP, to coordinate global rehabilitation actions. Antony is a physiotherapist from the UK and holds a Masters in Development Management and a Doctorate in Public Health. He has worked in various settings globally and was the Regional Advisor for Disability and Rehabilitation for the WHO in the Americas (PAHO) before starting his role in Geneva.
