Our presenters

Mary Gavin was the SLT Clinical Lead for Preschool Complex Needs at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. Since her retirement after 20 years of service with the NHS, her focus is now on training other professionals in the understanding of gestures. Her research into types and functions of gestures significantly changed her own clinical practice with non-speaking autistic children. A summary of her research was presented within the article ‘Gestures: The finer points’ in the RCSLT Bulletin, Winter 23/24.

Melanie Cross is a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) who worked with Looked After Children for many years. This has resulted in publications including Branagan A, Cross M & Parsons S (2020) ‘Language for Behaviour and Emotions’ http://thinkingtalking.co.uk/lfbe/.

Melanie has also worked with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) to help develop their clinical guidelines on Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) for SLTs. She has also worked on the RCSLTs learning journey for practitioners working with children and young people who experience SEMH & Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) https://www.rcslt.org/learning/mind-your-words/.

Melanie Cross is also a freelance clinical supervisor, trainer, consultant and Video Interaction Guider and supervisor.

Natalie Fitzpatrick is a Deputy Head Teacher at Villa Real School, a school for students aged 2-19 with complex needs in County Durham, UK. She is a trained teacher conductor and has worked with children with complex physical, learning, and communication needs for over 24 years; post-COVID, she also taught in discreet autism provisions within schools.

Natalie worked closely with Gayle Porter to implement the PODD system in Perth, Australia, where she was first introduced to PODD back in 2006. She is one of the five UK-based PODD trainers.

She has experience with a wide range of AAC, both low-tech and high-tech, using it with young people with a wide range of abilities and challenges. Natalie’s AAC practice is neuro-affirming, built on a ‘can do’ approach that presumes competence, focuses on strengths and provides aided language stimulation with robust AAC systems.

Professor Helen Stringer is a qualified Speech and Language Therapist and Teacher. With over forty years of experience working with children and young people with a wide range of developmental speech & language disorders; in special schools and units, the NHS and overseas.

Helen was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 2013 for her distinguished contribution to the profession.

Professor Helen Stringer has worked at Newcastle University for over ten years. She specialises in research and teaching in developmental speech sound disorders, behaviour change and evidence-based practice. Most recently Helen was Head of Speech and Language Sciences, leading the delivery of Newcastle’s high-ranking pre-registration speech and language therapy degree programmes. She is a member of the Child Speech Disorder Research Network (UK and Ireland) and is actively engaged in research collaborations in speech, language, and communicative participation. You can read more about her work here.

Pam Enderby is an emeritus professor of community rehabilitation and a qualified Speech and Language Therapist who has specialised in therapy-related research for over 40 years, with a special emphasis on measuring outcomes.

Professor Pam Enderby has received many awards and honours for her research and clinical contribution. These include Life Membership from the British Society for Rehabilitation Medicine, honorary Doctorates of Science from the University of the West of England and the University of Sheffield, the Tavistock Award for Aphasia, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Society for Research in Rehabilitation and the Princess Margaret Award from the Stroke Association.

Rachel Barton is a UK-based Speech and Language Therapist in her 30th year of practice. After 22 years in the NHS, she moved into independent work, dividing her time between clinical practice, supervision, and training.

Since 2023, Rachel has been at the forefront of exploring how generative AI can be safely and meaningfully integrated into healthcare. Through workshops, online resources, and collaborations with national bodies like the RCSLT, she has become a leading advocate for using AI to support practitioners’ wellbeing, improve efficiency, and maintain the highest standards of care.

Rachel developed the RCSLT’s “Introduction to Integrating Generative AI in Speech and Language Therapy” eLearning module and has presented at national conferences and events.

In November 2024, Rachel Barton published a ‘Pledge for Responsible Generative AI use in Speech and Language Therapy’. While this free resource was initially aimed at practising SLTs, it has relevance for anyone using generative AI within healthcare.

Contributing author: https://www.routledge.com/Supervision-in-Speech-and-Language-Therapy-Personal-Stories-and-Professional-Wisdom/Sparkes-Simpson-Harding/p/book/9781032293424

AI blog https://www.chatterboxsussex.com/blog

Instagram: @rachelbartonSLT