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Professor Martine Smith

Professor In (Clin Speech & Language Studies)
The Dean of Graduate Studies (Graduate Studies Office)
      
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Professor Martine Smith

Professor In (Clin Speech & Language Studies)

 mmsmith@tcd.ie

 

The Dean of Graduate Studies (Graduate Studies Office)


My background is in speech and language therapy, and most of my clinical and research work focuses on how children and adults with severely reduced intelligibility navigate social interaction and construct language systems. My main research interests are in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), especially in a developmental context, as well as inter-relationships between spoken and written language development and disorders. Much of my research explores how children who are learning language use multimodal communication including communication aids (e.g., iPads or other devices) to solve communication problems. I am also interested in how adults who have used aided communication for many years incorporate it into their overall communication systems. A third area of my research is in the impact of severe speech impairments on the development of phonological and literacy skills. This links to my interest in Digital Literacy for children and adults who use communication devices - how and why they access the Internet and how Social Media supports or could support their development of social networks and social interaction opportunities.
  ALTERNATIVE AND AUGMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION   Alternative Communication Systems   Childhood Communication Disorders   Developmental disorders of speech and language   Disability   LANGUAGE ACQUISITION   LANGUAGE DISORDER   LITERACY
Project Title
 Becoming an aided communicator
From
To
Summary
This is an international cross-linguistic project across 19 sites, coordinated by the University of Oslo, focusing on the language and communication development of children with severe speech and physical impairments who rely on graphic symbols and/or electronic communication devices to communicate. The research seeks to explore the interrelationships between receptive and expressive communication skills across spoken and graphic modalities, in children aged 5-15 years. Children acquiring language using graphic symbols typically are exposed primarily to speech as the primary mode of communication, but rely primarily on graphic symbols for their own expressive communication. The impact of this modality asymmetry is poorly understood. Most of these children have little access to role models who are expert in their own communication systems and many may be more expert in the use of their graphic symbols than the adults who are expected to support their communication development. The international collaboration with this project creates the potential for exploring the solutions to this unusual communication situation that are created by a uniquely large cohort of participants.
Project Title
 What does it take to communicate using graphic symbols?
From
2010
To
2013
Summary
Children communicating using graphic symbols typically produce expressive output that is limited in terms of syntactic complexity and frequently different in terms of structural features relative to an expected spoken utterance. It is not clear whether these features reflect (1) underlying language difficulties that are manifested in both graphic and spoken modalities, with only the graphic modality available for inspection; (2) strategic accommodation to the time demands of aided communication; or (3) modality specific adaptations. One of the more productive avenues for exploring the value of each of these candidate explanations is the involvement of typically developing children, who have the potential to generate output both in graphic symbols and in speech. This research project explores the impact of varying sentence constructions on (1) the interpretation and (2) the generation of descriptions of events across spoken and graphic symbol contexts in typically developing children aged 5-7 years.
Funding Agency
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Project Title
 Remembering symbols: Validating a symbol span task.
From
To
Summary
Assessing the working memory skills of children with severe speech and physical impairments is challenging, because of the contraints in terms of motor response accessible. The most commonly used tool is an adapted version of the digit span task, with number displays presented visually so that participants can select digits from the display. The goal of this project is to develop and validate accessible symbol- and text-based working memory tasks, initially with typically developing children and subsequently with children with severe speech and physical impairments. The research involves collaboration with the University of La Coruna and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Details Date
Editor, Augmentative and Alternative Communication 2016-2018
Associate Editor, Augmentative and Alternative Communication Journal 2007-2015
Associate Editor, Child Language Teaching and Therapy journal 2009-2015
Member of the Board of the Central Remedial Clinic 2018-2020
Member of the Speech Language Therapists Registration Board, CORU 2013-2021
Member of Expert Advisory Group for youngballymun project 2010-2015
National Designated Expert with the Research SubCommittee of the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies 2010
Member of the Health and Social Care Professionals Research Group 2013-2015
Member of advisory group for Dublin City Children's Services Literacy subgroup 2010-2012
Member of the Scientific Programme Committee, IALP Congress, Greece 2010
Member of the Scientific Programme Committee, ISAAC Conference, Barcelona 2010
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
German Medium Medium Medium
Irish Fluent Fluent Fluent
Details Date From Date To
Irish Association of Speech & Language Therapists (IASLT) 1990 2019
International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication 1990 2019
President of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, (ISAAC) 2005 2007
President-Elect, Executive Committee ISAAC 2003 2005
International Affiliate American Speech-Language Hearing Association 2008 2020
Board Member, International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) 2014 2017
Member International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics 2014 2019
European Literacy Network member 2018 2020
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) 2003 2008
Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (AAATE) 2004 2007
Chair, AAC committee, IALP 2018 2021
Finak, P., Aldersey, H., Smith, MM, Batorowicz, B., Environmental factors contributing to using spelling in communication: Perceptions of literate aided communicators, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 2024, p1 - 14, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Martine M. Smith, Clinical Cases in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 1st, London, Routledge, 2023, 1 - 200pp, Book, PUBLISHED
Neuvonen, K., Smith, M., Launonen, K. & von Tetzchner, S., Communication partner strategies in negotiation for meaning in interactions involving aided communication, Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 37, (12), 2023, p1104 - 1123, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Underserved or Unserved Populations in, editor(s)Sandra Levey Pamela Enderby , The Unserved: Addressing the needs of those with communication disorders, Surrey, UK, J & R Press Ltd, 2022, pp1-17 , [Dada, S., Murray, J., & Smith, M.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Quigley, D., Smith, M., Hayes, N., What's the magic word? Mapping oral language interventions implemented in prevention and early intervention programmes, Irish Educational Studies, 2022, p1-24 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Stadskleiv, K., Batorowicz, B., Dahlgren Sandberg, A., Launonen, K., Murray, J., Neuvonon, K., Oxley, J., Renner, G., Smith, M., Soto, G., van Balkom, H., Walter, C., Yang, Chih-Kang, & von Tetzchner, S. , Aided communication, mind understanding and co-construction of meaning, Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 25, (8), 2022, p518 - 530, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Sotiropoulou Drosopoulou, C., Murray, J., Smith, M., Launonen, K., Neuvonen, K, Lynch, Y, Stadskliev, K and von Tetzchner, S, Appraising Conversation patterns between children and young people who use aided AAC and their conversation partners in two-person and multiperson interactions - clinical implications , Communication Matters International AAC Conference , Leeds UK , 11/09/22, 2022, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Clinical applications of speech synthesis in, editor(s)Martin J. Ball , Manual of Clinical Phonetics, London, Routledge, 2021, pp516 - 522, [Smith, Martine; Costello John], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Sutton, Ann, Trudeau, Natacha, Morford, Jill, Smith, Martine, Expressive and receptive use of speech and graphic symbols by typically developing children: What skills contribute to performance on structured sentence-level tasks?, International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 23, (2), 2021, p155-167 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Neuvonen, K.; Launonen, K.;Smith, M.; Stadskleiv, K.; von Tetzchner, S., Strategies in conveying information about unshared events using aided communication, Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2021, p1 - 17, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

Page 1 of 9
Introduction to Clinical Cases in Augmentative and Alternative Communication in, editor(s)Smith, Martine M. , Clinical Cases in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, London, Routledge, 2023, pp1 - 11, [Smith, Martine M.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Personal perspectives on AAC in, editor(s)Martine M Smith , Clinical cases in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, London, Routledge, 2023, pp118 - 129, [Fitzpatrick Gillian, Fitzpatrick Sean, Lynch Yvonne, Smith Martine M.], Notes: [978-1-003-10673-9], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Sotiropoulou Drosopolou, C., Murray, J., Smith, M, Launonen, K., Neuvonen, K., Lynch, Y., Stadskliev, K., and von Tetzchner, S., Appraising Conversation Patterns between children and young people who use aided AAC and their conversation partners in two-person and multiperson interactions - clinical implications , Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Smith, Martine, Building a solid foundation: Linking language and literacy through aided communication, Trilhando juntos a comunicacao alternativa, Natal, Brasil, August, 2017, edited by Deliberato, D. de Paula Nunes, D, de Jesus Goncalves, M , ABPEE, 2017, pp13 - 30, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Smith, Martine, Improving the odds: Evidence-informed instruction to support decoding, recoding and reading, AAC By the Bay, San Jose, USA, February 27-March 1, 2014, Bridge School, San Francisco, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Smith, Martine, Murray, Janice, Symbolisation towards literacy, CM Study Day, Stirling, Scotland, November 12, 2014, Communication Matters, Notes: [Invited workshop], Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Smith, Martine, Murray, Janice, Symbolisation towards Literacy, CM Study Day, London, UK, March 13, 2014, Communication Matters, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Smith, M., Tinney, G., Deasy, J., Changing the literacy landscape, Bulletin, (April ), 2010, p16 - 17, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Smith, Martine, Vocabulary instruction and aided communication, AAC By the Bay, San Francisco, Sept 14-17, 2009, 2009, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Smith, Martine, A tale of transitions: Fragile skills and shaky scaffolds on the path to literacy, AAC By the Bay, San Francisco, September 14-17, 2009, The Bridge School, Invited Talk, PRESENTED

  


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Award Date
Visiting Professor, Manchester Metropolitan University 2018-
Fellow Trinity College Dublin 2010
AAC Editor's Award for best paper 1992