Newcastle University

Introduction

I am a Lecturer and Speech and Language Therapist, with experience of working with children with a wide range of Speech Language and Comunication Needs (SLCN) and of working in partnership with parents, carers and other professionals.

This experience motivates my interests as a practitioner, lecturer and a researcher.

Background

I qualifed as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1989 from Manchester Polytechnic (now MMU). Since that time I have worked as a specialist and a senior specialist in a number of educational and healthcare settings focussing mainly on the pre-school and early primary years. My main areas of clinical experience and expertise are in supporting children with Specific Language Impairment and Autistic Spectrum Conditions and in working collaboratively with parents, carers and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.

I came to Newcastle to study for the MSc in Human Communication Sciences in 2003 and have never really left. I returned to study with a raft of questions arising directly from my clinical work and was bitten by the research bug and motivated to continue in research by the need to develop a strong evidence base for the SLT profession.

Through research in partnership with clinicians, educational practitioners, students and families I aim to contribute to finding ways to reduce the disabling effects of speech language and communication needs on an individual’s life.

Roles and Responsibilities

DPD for CPD Framework for SLTs

Membership Secretary RCSLT Northern Research SIG 

Qualifications

PhD Speech Sciences – January 2010, Newcastle University

MSc Human Communication Sciences – Degree with Distinction 2005, Newcastle University

BSc Speech Pathology and Therapy – Degree with Distinction 1989 Manchester Polytechnic

Memberships

Registered Member of the Health Professions Council

Registered Member Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Research Interests

My work is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of life of individuals with developmental speech and language difficulties. I aim to contribute to finding ways to reduce the disabling effects of speech, language and communication needs on an individual’s life and to influence policy-makers to tackle the social exclusion which often accompanies such difficulties.

I advocate the application of a developmental emergent approach to our understanding of developmental language difficulties and argue that we need to reframe our current conceptualisations of these difficulties by placing the process of development itself at the core of our understanding.

My research focusses on 3 main areas.


1. Understanding the developmental trajectories of children with and without language difficulties, in order to:

• understand the nature of the emergence of developmental language difficulties across development
• uncover interactions between risks and protective factors
• harness this information for interventions for children at risk and with language difficulties

2. Interactions between lexical and phonological knowledge and learning in children with language difficulties 


3. Theoretically motivated interventions for children with developmental language problems. Particularly the application of constructivist/usage based approaches to language acquisition to the design of speech and language therapy interventions.



Current Work

I am currently working in partnership with Dr Sean Pert & Dr Carol Stow, SLTs working in Rochdale, to develop and evaluate a theoretically motivated language intervention based on usage-based approaches to language acquisition.

We are applying this approach to English and a number of Pakistani Heritage languages.

I also work in partnership with Kathy Wesolowski, Early Years Lead at North Tyneside Local Authority, Gill Close, Speech and Language Therapy Lead from North Tyneside PCT, and the North Tyneside Speech and Language Therapy Service to research best methods for profiling and predicting developmental trajectories in language and school attainment in children at risk of under-achievement. 



I am currently investigating the nature of the developing lexicon in children with and without language impairments focussing on developmental change and interactivity in lexical and phonological knowledge and processing.

I aim to further develop this work to consider how lexical and processing difficulties may interact over developmental time with other aspects of learning to create the broader language profiles found in children with Language Impairments.

Postgraduate Supervision

Corina-Irene Karapetrides (PhD student)
Debra Page (KTP Associate)

Funding

January 2010: ECLS School Research Fund "First steps towards usage-based Speech and Language Therapy: exploratory data from a novel assessment and therapy approach" (£5700). 

November 2009:  Knowledge Transfer Partnership with North Tyneside Local Authority "Understanding what matters most: exploring profiles and trajectories of development and learning from the early years to formal education. (James, D., Close, G., Wesolowski, K., McKean, C.)(£133, 000).

July 2005: ESRC Postgraduate Studentship (Open Competition) “Investigating the development of a developmental disorder: mapping change and early deficits in Specific Language Impairment”. (£48150)

July 2005: Newcastle University ECLS Postgraduate Research Student Bursary (£3000)

Projects

• Understanding what matters most: exploring trajectories and transitions in children’s development and learning from the Foundation Stage to formal education.
  Project Leader(s): Cristina McKean

Undergraduate Teaching

Child Language and Development
Cases: Childhood Speech Language and Communication Difficulties
Issues in Developmental Language Difficulties
Clinical Supervision

Advanced Theory and Practice in  Developmental Language Difficulties

Cases: Exceptional Development

UG Dissertation supervision 

Postgraduate Teaching

Child Language and Development
Cases: Childhood Speech Language and Communication Difficulties
Clinical Supervision

Masters Extended Case Supervision

Masters Dissertation Supervision 

• McKean C, Letts CA, Howard D. Developmental change is key to understanding Primary Language Impairment: the case of phonotactic probability and nonword repetition. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 2013. In Press.
• McKean C, Letts CA, Howard D. Triggering word learning in children with Language Impairment: The effect of phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density. 2013. Submitted.
• McKean C, Letts CA, Howard D. Functional reorganisation in the developing lexicon: separable and changing influences of lexical and phonological variables on children's fast mapping. Journal of Child Language 2013, 40(2), 307-335.
• McKean C, Wesolowski K, Page D, Close G, James D. Understanding what matters most: exploring profiles and trajectories of learning and development from the early years to formal education. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2011.
• McKean C, Stringer H, Klee T. A missed opportunity. Bulletin of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists 2010, 695(5).
• McKean C. Michael Perkins, Pragmatic Impairment (Review). Pragmatics and Cognition 2010, 18(1), 196-202.
• McKean C. [PhD Thesis] Investigating the development of a developmental disorder: Mapping the trajectory of lexical development in Specific Language Impairment. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Newcastle University, 2009.
• McKean C. Current Literature: Relations among Speech, Language and Reading Disorders. Pennington B.F. & Bishop D.V.M. (2009) Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 283-306. Child: Care, Health and Development 2009, 35(4), 586.
• McKean C. Book review: Hegde, M. N. and Pena-Brooks, A. Treatment Protocols for Articulation and Phonological Disorders. Plural Publishing: San Diego, CA, 2006. xxvi 1 458 pp. Pbk £51.00. ISBN: 978 1597560849. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 2008, 24(3), 358-360.
• McKean C. Speech and Language Therapy Resources to Download: Nottingham SLT advice sheets: Strategies to promote early language development. nottinghamcity.gov.uk: Nottingham City Council, 1997. Advice Sheets.