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Communication and speech disorders

Communication and speech are fundamental to everyday life. We build our social and occupational networks around being able to communicate with others. Many of us take this for granted, but one in seven Australia's cannot due to a communication disorder. Whether temporary or permanent, these conditions can have a devastating impact on quality of life. Our researchers are passionate about finding the best ways to improve the outcomes of people with communication disorders. They are pioneering new models of intervention, treatment and support.

Featured Expert

Professor Mark Onslow
Director, Australian Stuttering Research Centre

Professor Onslow is the Foundation Director of the Australian Stuttering Research Centre. Under his leadership the Centre has published the majority of the world's speech pathology clinical trials for stuttering and pioneered the development and dissemination of evidence-based treatments. Professor Onslow's research interests are the epidemiology of early stuttering in preschoolers, mental health of those who stutter, measurement of stuttering, and the nature and treatment of stuttering. More

TBI Express

A communication training program for friends and families of traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors

TBI Express is a communication-training program for traumatic brain injury survivors and their family and friends and other everyday communication partners. 70 per cent of brain injury survivors will go on to have long-term communication problems. This includes chronic speech disorders and a range of conversational difficulties - such as acting inappropriately in social situations; excessive talkativeness and repetitiveness; poor turn taking and trouble staying on topic.

Professor Togher and her team developed TBI Express based on their research which found that communication partners who had received training on positive communication strategies experienced significantly better interactions compared to those without training. View resource