Open Lecture: 'All Children Should be Seen AND Heard: The Importance of Communication so Children can Thrive'

Communication is a human right for everyone - including children. Being an effective communicator is essential for children's belonging, being and becoming - and their ability to thrive. The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights describes our right to freedom of opinion and expression to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. This right is echoed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This presentation will draw on extensive large-scale evidence regarding children's communicative competence and capacity. Data from thousands of children within the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) will be supplemented with insights from children's drawings and insights. The communicative competence of multilingual children and families will be celebrated. This presentation will conclude with a range of solutions for international, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral change to enable children to be seen AND heard so they can thrive.

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Bristol Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor Sharynne McLeod

Sharynne McLeod, PhD is a Distinguished Professor at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She is a speech and language therapist and her research focuses on children’s speech, multilingualism, and enhancing participation. She has advocated for communication rights at the United Nations and the World Health Organization. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, and was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She served as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, and has received Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Life Membership of Speech Pathology Australia. The Australian Newspaper named her Australia’s Research Field Leader and Best in the World in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology based on the “quality, volume and impact” of her research.

Professor McLeod's web profile page