Dr Rebecca Sutherland
People_

Dr Rebecca Sutherland

PhD; MHthSci(DevDis); BSPth(Hons)CPSP (Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist)
Lecturer and Speech Pathologist
Sydney School of Health Sciences
Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Rebecca Sutherland

Rebecca was awarded her PhD in 2020, which was focused on the use of telehealth with diverse populations, including children with language and reading difficulties, as well as people on the autism spectrum. She was worked extensively in the government and not-for-profit sectors as a speech pathologist, researcher, project officer and manager with organisations including the Children's Hospital at Westmead and Autism Spectrum Australia. Rebecca has also worked as an assistant professor in speech pathology with the University of Canberra and in the Autism Centre for Excellence with Griffith University.

Disability and communication

Evidence based practice

TELE-ASD-PEDS - exploring the feasibilty and validity of telehealth autism identification in young children

Rebecca is a certified practicing member of Speech Pathology Australia

Sydney Health Partners Award for Using Research to Change Health Practice (2022)

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Bernie, C., Sutherland, R., Williams, K., Marty, S., May, T., Roberts, J. (2019). Autism Health and Education - Professional Roles and Challenges. In Rita Jordan, Jacqueline M. Roberts & Kara Hume (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Autism and Education, (pp. 1-13). United Kingdom: Sage. [More Information]
  • May, T., Bernie, C., Marty, S., Sutherland, R., Roberts, J., Williams, K. (2019). Autism, health and education - Models and systems for working together. In Rita Jordan, Jacqueline M. Roberts & Kara Hume (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Autism and Education, (pp. 1-10). United Kingdom: Sage. [More Information]

Journals

  • Blackburn, C., Tueres, M., Sandanayake, N., Roberts, J., Sutherland, R. (2023). A systematic review of interventions for echolalia in autistic children. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 58(6), 1977-1993. [More Information]
  • Trembath, D., Stainer, M., Caithness, T., Dissanayake, C., Eapen, V., Fordyce, K., Frewer, V., Frost, G., Hudry, K., Iacono, T., et al (2023). Spoken Language Change in Children on the Autism Spectrum Receiving Community-Based Interventions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(6), 2232-2245. [More Information]
  • Hodge, A., Sutherland, R., Ong, N., Chan, E., Barnett, D., Bennett, B., Boulton, K., Francis, D., Guastella, A., Papanicolaou, A., et al (2023). Telehealth assessment of autism in preschoolers using the TELE-ASD-PEDS: A pilot clinical investigation. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. [More Information]

2023

  • Blackburn, C., Tueres, M., Sandanayake, N., Roberts, J., Sutherland, R. (2023). A systematic review of interventions for echolalia in autistic children. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 58(6), 1977-1993. [More Information]
  • Trembath, D., Stainer, M., Caithness, T., Dissanayake, C., Eapen, V., Fordyce, K., Frewer, V., Frost, G., Hudry, K., Iacono, T., et al (2023). Spoken Language Change in Children on the Autism Spectrum Receiving Community-Based Interventions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(6), 2232-2245. [More Information]
  • Hodge, A., Sutherland, R., Ong, N., Chan, E., Barnett, D., Bennett, B., Boulton, K., Francis, D., Guastella, A., Papanicolaou, A., et al (2023). Telehealth assessment of autism in preschoolers using the TELE-ASD-PEDS: A pilot clinical investigation. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. [More Information]

2022

  • Dematagoda, S., Sutherland, R. (2022). A pilot study of children's opinions of telepractice speech-language pathology. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech Language Pathology, 24(1), 17-23.
  • Wen, J., Sutherland, R. (2022). Australian speech-language pathologists' knowledge and application of Key Word Sign/Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech Language Pathology, 24(1), 44-50.
  • Pena, E., Sutherland, R. (2022). Can You See My Screen? Virtual Assessment in Speech and Language. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(2), 329-334. [More Information]

2021

  • Sutherland, R., Hodge, A., Chan, E., Silove, N. (2021). Barriers and facilitators: Clinicians' opinions and experiences of telehealth before and after their use of a telehealth platform for child language assessment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 56(6), 1263-1277. [More Information]
  • Sutherland, R., Hodge, A., Chan, E., Silove, N. (2021). Clinician experiences using standardised language assessments via telehealth. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 23(6), 569-578. [More Information]
  • Trembath, D., Sutherland, R., Caithness, T., Dissanayake, C., Eapen, V., Fordyce, K., Frost, G., Iacono, T., Mahler, N., Masi, A., et al (2021). Clinician Proposed Predictors of Spoken Language Outcomes for Minimally Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(2), 564-575. [More Information]

2020

  • Paynter, J., Luskin-Saxby, S., Keen, D., Fordyce, K., Frost, G., Imms, C., Miller, S., Sutherland, R., Trembath, D., Tucker, M., et al (2020). Brief Report: Perceived Evidence and Use of Autism Intervention Strategies in Early Intervention Providers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(3), 1088-1094. [More Information]

2019

  • Hodge, M., Sutherland, R., Jeng, K., Bale, G., Batta, P., Cambridge, A., Detheridge, J., Drevensek, S., Edwards, L., Everett, M., Silove, N., et al (2019). Agreement between telehealth and face-to-face assessment of intellectual ability in children with specific learning disorder. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 25(7), 431-437. [More Information]
  • Trembath, D., Paynter, J., Sutherland, R., Tager-Flusberg, H. (2019). Assessing Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Are Minimally Verbal. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 6(3), 103-110. [More Information]
  • Bernie, C., Sutherland, R., Williams, K., Marty, S., May, T., Roberts, J. (2019). Autism Health and Education - Professional Roles and Challenges. In Rita Jordan, Jacqueline M. Roberts & Kara Hume (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Autism and Education, (pp. 1-13). United Kingdom: Sage. [More Information]

2018

  • Sutherland, R., Trembath, D., Roberts, J. (2018). Telehealth and autism: A systematic search and review of the literature. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(3), 324-336. [More Information]

2017

  • Sutherland, R., Hodge, A., Bruck, S., Costley, D., Klieve, H. (2017). Parent-reported differences between school-aged girls and boys on the autism spectrum. Autism, 21(6), 785-794. [More Information]
  • Sutherland, R., Trembath, D., Hodge, M., Drevensek, S., Lee, S., Silove, N., Roberts, J. (2017). Telehealth language assessments using consumer grade equipment in rural and urban settings: Feasible, reliable and well tolerated. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 23(1), 106-115. [More Information]

2016

  • Sutherland, R., Hodge, A., Trembath, D., Drevensek, S., Roberts, J. (2016). Overcoming Barriers to Using Telehealth for Standardized Language Assessments. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1(18), 41-50.

Selected Grants

2022

  • SHP Award for Using Research to Change Health Practice, Sutherland R, Sydney Health Partners (Sydney Local Health District)/SHP Stream Funding
  • Start-up funding support, Sutherland R, Faculty of Medicine and Health/Startup funds support

In the media

"Remote diagnosis, support could aid families during lockdown" by Michael Marshall, April 27, 2020.https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/remote-diagnosis-support-could-aid-families-during-lockdown/

"Children with autism in a bilingual upbringing" by Elain Qiang, 24 July, 2024 https://www.abc.net.au/chinese/2023-07-24/children-with-autism-in-a-bilingual-upbringing/102631968