In our update this month Derek Munn, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the RCSLT covers:

• Update on the NHS in England.
• Curriculum review - our definition of oracy adopted and evidence based approach on adaptation for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
  https://www.rcslt.org/news/rcslt-response-to-the-curriculum-review-final-report/
• Engagement with the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Chris Whitty, on the report on the Health of people in prison, and in the secure NHS estate in England.
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-health-of-people-in-prison-on-probation-and-in-the-secure-nhs-estate-in-england
• RCSLT response to NICE guideline on rehabitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury.
  https://www.rcslt.org/news/rcslt-responds-to-new-nice-guideline/
• Adult waiting times.
• Scottish advanced practice guidance for AHPs https://www.gov.scot/publications/transforming-roles-paper-6-allied-health-professions-advanced-practice/pages/1/.
• Invest in SLT update.
• Care home statement: https://www.rcslt.org/news/new-statement-on-the-role-of-slts-in-care-homes/
• Assisted dying in Jersey.
• Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board celebrates RCSLT 80th year.
• RCSLT conference 26-27 November - tickets still available.
  https://www.rcslt.org/events/rcslt-conference-2025/

Find other podcasts here https://www.rcslt.org/podcasts/ or on your favourite podcast app.

This interview was conducted by Victoria Harris, Head of Learning at The Royal College of Speech and produced and edited by freelance producer Jacques Strauss.

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

Join us as we uncover the fascinating role of speech and language therapists working in awake craniotomy. We go to Birmingham to meet SLT Georgie Harrington and Mr Ismail Ughratdar, Consultant neurosurgeon to find out how they work as part of a team. Donald Innes, an expert by experience, who has had two awake craniotomies, shares his story and thoughts about the process. Kathleen Graham, SLT and now senior project manager for the RCSLT and lead on new awake craniotomies position paper (Oct 2025), gives us some of the history about the procedure.

With thanks to speakers:

• Donald Innes, expert by experience
• Kathleen Graham, Senior Project Manager, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Georgie Harrington, Clinical lead, Speech and Language Therapy Outpatients, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
• Mr Ismail Ughratdar, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Speech and Language Therapy Outpatients, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Useful links:

• RCSLT awake craniotomy position paper (October 2025)
• Awake craniotomy | RCSLT (resources for the public)
• Awake craniotomy resources | RCSLT (resources for members of the RCSLT)
• What to expect during an awake craniotomy for brain tumour removal 

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

In this episode we chat with Professor Bronwyn Hemsley and Dr Lucy Bryant, both of the University of Technology Sydney, about their recent systematic review of interventions based on Gestalt Language Processing and Natural Language Acquisition. The discussion covers:

• What was the clinical question you were trying to answer?
• How did you go about undertaking the review? 
• What were the key findings?
• What does this mean for the speech and language therapy profession?

With thanks to panellists:

• Professor Bronwyn Hemsley, Head of Speech Pathology at The University of Technology Sydney and co-lead of the UTS Disability Research Network
• Dr Lucy Bryant, Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology, The University of Technology, Sydney

Resources:

Bryant, L., Bowen, C., Grove, R. et al. Systematic Review of Interventions Based on Gestalt Language Processing and Natural Language Acquisition (GLP/NLA): Clinical Implications of Absence of Evidence and Cautions for Clinicians and Parents. Curr Dev Disord Rep 12, 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-024-00312-z
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40474-024-00312-z 

To read about the prevalence of echolalia mentioned in this podcast see the open access review: 

Sutherland, R., Bryant, L., Dray, J. & Robert's, J. (2024). Prevalence of Echolalia in Autism: A Rapid Review of Current Findings and a Journey Back to Historical Data. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 11, 171–183 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-024-00311-0
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40474-024-00311-0

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

In our update this month:

Special guest Steve Jamieson CEO talks about:

• RCSLT’s 80th anniversary year https://www.rcslt.org/about-us/rcslt-at-80/ 
• Annual conference coming up https://www.rcslt.org/events/rcslt-conference-2025/ 
• Starting work on shaping the next strategic plan
• Inspire leadership programme update https://www.rcslt.org/learning/rcslt-leadership-programme/ 

Derek Munn, Director of Policy and Public Affairs updates us on:

• NHSE workforce plan consultation: respond here https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/10-year-workforce-plan 
• SEND reforms – awaiting news 
• Oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament Health Committee – Autism Spectrum Disorder pathways

This interview was conducted by Victoria Harris, Head of Learning at The Royal College of Speech and produced and edited by freelance producer Jacques Strauss.

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

In this podcast we speak with Anna Ekström and Olof Sandgren about their study of experiences of young people with DLD, which focused on language and communication in a school context. The study is guided by the following research question: How do young people diagnosed with DLD describe their experiences of language and communication in school?

The paper is:

'It depends on who I'm with': How young people with developmental language disorder describe their experiences of language and communication in school https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36703539/

Anna Ekström , Olof Sandgren , Birgitta Sahlén , Christina Samuelsson

First published: 26 January 2023

This paper was nominated in the top five for the 2023 IJLCD Editors' Prize.

Resources:

What is Developmental Language Disorder: a discussion for DLD awareness day 2023 https://open.spotify.com/episode/70V0Qqnjf1Y1jH98unrN3Y (Podcast Oct 2023)

IJLCD - The impact of DLD on jury perceptions: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zQNjYxju2EwuEKxiswSN6 (Podcast May 2023)

IJLCD - collaborative working with parents to support children with Developmental Language Disorder https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Kvyx0tiNZ6CgIQmv2DCan (Podcast Sept 2024)

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

In our update this month:

• Update on special educational needs in England and Northern Ireland.
• Partnership report on children's services in Scotland.
• CAUK training for parliamentarians as part of National Inclusion Week.
• RCSLT conference.

Useful links:

• Sign up to our free Communication Access training: Home - Communication Access UK
• Book your place at the RCSLT Conference 2025: https://www.rcslt.org/news/book-your-place-at-rcslt-conference-2025/ 

This interview was conducted by Victoria Harris, Head of Learning at The Royal College of Speech and produced and edited by freelance producer Jacques Strauss.

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.
 
Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

In our update this month:
 
For Wales:

• Preparing for the Senedd elections in 2026: https://www.rcslt.org/wales/#section-2 
• Work has begun on a Welsh language version of CAUK training, funded by the National Lottery. (See original CAUK training: https://communication-access.co.uk/) 
• What’s happened following the launch of the State of the Nation report (See here: https://www.rcslt.org/wales/#section-2 ) in January.

Opportunities to get involved:

• Frailty task and finish group.
• Capturing evidence on the impact of Additional Learning Needs legislation for a Senedd committee inquiry.
• New survey for independent members.

Around the UK:

• Behind the scenes on SEND reform and workforce matters.
• News about waiting list levels (people coming off) and graduate guarantee for nurses and midwives – AHP concern.
• Co-signed a letter to PM on oracy, Oracy 21.
• BSL plan for English education; Guernsey communication boards
• Book your place at the RCSLT Conference 2025: https://www.rcslt.org/news/book-your-place-at-rcslt-conference-2025/ 

This interview was conducted by Victoria Harris, Head of Learning at The Royal College of Speech and produced and edited by freelance producer Jacques Strauss.

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.
 
Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

In our update this month:

• Exploring the workforce implications of waiting lists in children and young people’s speech and language therapy services.
• Response to the 10-year health plan for England.
• Continued focus on SEND in England and proposals in Northern Ireland.
• Report from RCSLT Scotland with an experimental analysis of additional numbers of SLTs needed in education.

This interview was conducted by Victoria Harris, Head of Learning at The Royal College of Speech and produced and edited by freelance producer Jacques Strauss.

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

A report, ‘SLTs on the tight rope: Learning from the experiences of disabled SLTs in the workplace’ (April 2025) by Mélanie Gréaux explores the experiences of disabled Speech and Language Therapists and what we can do to promote disability inclusion in the speech and language therapy profession. (You can hear more about this in the first podcast of this set of two.)

In this second podcast some of our members with disability discuss importance of the report and issues it raises including the:

• Challenges disabled SLTs and SLT students face in the workplace;
• Impact of ableism;
• How colleagues can engage;
• Value their disabilities bring to the profession.  

With thanks to panellists:

• Jodee Simpson - Highly Specialist autistic Speech and Language Therapist and Masters Research student and co-founder of the Neurodivergent SLT network
• Claire Westwood - Designated Clinical Officer for SEND - Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 
• Suzi Willis – Senior Lecturer in Speech & Language Therapy & MSc (pre-reg) SLT Programme Lead, Manchester Metropolitan University 
  (All the panellists are members of the RCSLT's Disability Working Group and Jodee also represents the RCSLT's Neurodiversity Working Group)

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R

This podcast is the first of two podcasts looking at the experiences of disabled speech and languages.

We open in this episode with an interview with Mélanie Gréaux, author of a report  published early April,  ‘SLTs on the tight rope: Learning from the experiences of disabled SLTs in the workplace’. The report explores the experiences of disabled SLTs and what we can do to promote disability inclusion in the profession.

We cover:

• What was the research question you wanted to ask? 
• Why is this of interest to you?
• What do we mean by disability and who are we talking about?
• What did you find? 

Interviewees:

 Mélanie Gréaux, Consultant on disability, World Health Organisation

Resources:

https://www.rcslt.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SLTs-on-the-tightrope-Learning-from-disabled-SLTs.pdf

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

Please do take a few moments to respond to our podcast survey: uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LG5HC3R