Our presenters

Dr Jan Broomfield served as a Consultant Speech and Language Therapist in the NHS for 30 years. Since then, Jan has moved into independent practice where she continues to carry a caseload of children with complex speech disorders.

Jan’s PhD involved a service-wide randomised controlled trial (RCT), evaluating the nature of the caseload as well as the clinical effectiveness of the service offered; the study involved 730 children with speech and/or language disorders. The 320 children identified with primary speech difficulties were assessed using the DEAP (Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology), using Professor Barbara Dodd’s classification system and followed differentiated therapy programmes including the Core Vocabulary approach.

Jan has worked closely with Barbara during and since obtaining her PhD in 2003. Both together and independently, they have published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Barbara developed the Core Vocabulary approach in response to seeing children with persisting speech disorders who were not responding to other treatment regimes. She has authorised Jan to present this training.

Dr Jan Broomfield led the working party that produced the RCSLT Policy Statement (2011) on Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia. She is a current member of the Child Speech Disorder Research Network (UK and Ireland) and chairs the North-East Speech Clinical Excellence Network.

Dr Jill Titterington is a consultant Speech and Language Therapist/Researcher https://www.thespeechdoctorni.co.uk/, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and one of the International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders’ Editors-in-Chief.  Jill has ~20 years of clinical experience and ~17 years working for Ulster University’s Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) department. Jill is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and her speciality area of teaching is in child speech sound disorder: both phonetic transcription skills, and clinical management (particularly of phonological delay and disorder). Jill provides ongoing CPD teaching and learning opportunities for qualified SLTs in these areas. Jill’s research focuses on supporting the implementation of evidence in speech and language therapy practice for children with speech and language difficulties. She has a particular interest in supporting the delivery of evidence-based dosage/intensity of intervention for children with moderate to severe speech sound disorder. Driven by this interest, Jill established a group of academics, researchers, and clinical/managerial SLTs (Raising Awareness of Dosage in Speech Sound Disorder (RADiSSD)) in 2023, which is working to drive change to practice across the UK and Ireland. You can watch a  free informational video which presents the evidence base here. Recent publications, which include a chapter on the pedagogy of clinical phonetics for students of SLT, and journal articles on applying evidence on dosage to practice for children with severe speech sound disorder, and how to work effectively with parents to increase dosage of intervention. See here for recent publications.

Dr Pam Williams retired from her clinical post as Consultant Speech and Language Therapist at the Nuffield Hearing and Speech Centre, in December 2017. Dr Williams was involved in creating the original Nuffield Centre Dyspraxia Programme (NDP), published in 1985.

Following this she co-edited the current NDP (3rd edition) with her colleague Hilary Stephens. Dr Pam Williams has lectured widely in the UK, Ireland, Europe and Australia. Dr Williams continues to run training workshops on the subject of NDP and childhood apraxia of speech. Pam was a member of the project team that produced the original (2011) Policy Statement on Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, and more recently the RCSLT (2024) Position Paper on Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Furthermore, she was a supporting author of the RCSLT (2024) Speech Sound Disorders Guidance.

Dr Williams was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 2013 and is a former chair of the UK Dyspraxia Foundation Charity. She is a current member of the Child Speech Disorder Research Network for the UK and Ireland.

Dr Sean Pert is a Speech and Language Therapist with more than 25 years of experience in the NHS, Higher Education and charity sector. Dr Pert is also the Lead Consultant for the Indigo Gender Service in Greater Manchester and was the Chair of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) (October 2022 to October 2024).

He teaches a range of subjects at the University of Manchester. These include Clinical Phonetics (IPA Clinical Transcription), Speech Sound Disorder (Analysis & Intervention), Bilingualism and Voice and Communication Therapy for trans and gender-diverse individuals.

Dr Sean Pert has won the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation on an unprecedented three occasions. His online teaching methods were recognised with the Pandemic Pedagogy Teaching Award. Dr Pert has also been nominated by students as ‘Most Inspiring Lecturer’.

Click here to find out more about Dr Pert’s professional interests and activities.

Elena Loraine is a Speech and Language Therapist and clinical academic. She has trained speech and language therapy teams nationally within the NHS and SLT students in POCA, a practical and evidence-based coaching approach. Elena researched a federally funded early intervention model in her Churchill Travelling Fellowship to the USA in 2017 where she was first introduced to the use of ‘coaching’. Elena then further designed and developed a coaching training programme in her National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded research project. She brings her experience as a speech and language therapist, working both in the NHS and private sector, along with insights from her academic research into her training courses.  Elena Loraine has presented nationally and internationally, including at the Division of Early Childhood International Conference (USA) and at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) events.