Our SMAAT team led by Dr Roslyn Ward has been awarded an MRFF grant from the federal government. This much needed funding will help us develop cutting-edge solutions for children with speech sound disorders.

Project Title: Developmental Delay: Enabling early and accurate detection of speech impairment through a web-based assessment application Organisation: Curtin University Grant value: $312,583.90

Funded as part of the Medical Research Future Fund grants and led by Dr Roslyn Ward from the Curtin School of Allied Health, the project will develop an assessment tool for accurate diagnosis to enable targeted early intervention and better outcomes.

Dr Ward said that children with speech impairment were at risk of serious educational disadvantage and social isolation, which could negatively impact their quality of life and contribute to long-term economic burden.

“Early identification of speech impairment followed by the right intervention is critical to mitigating these long-term consequences,” Dr Ward said.

“However, current clinical practice relies on often lengthy and subjective measures that are vulnerable to bias, leading to problems such as potential misdiagnosis and delaying the provision of the right intervention.

“There is an urgent need to replace these practices with efficient and objective diagnostic tools that can also be administered remotely.”

The Medical Research Future Fund provides grants to support health and medical research and innovation, with the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of Australians.