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Staff Profile

Professor Lindsay Pennington

Professor of Childhood Neurodisability

Background

Introduction

I am a Professor of Childhood Neurodisability and Honorary Consultant Speech and Language Therapist.  My research largely focuses on causes and prevalence of communication disorders in childhood neurodisability, the impact of these disorders on young people's health and well-being and the effectiveness and acceptability of health and social care interventions. I also have an interest in children's eating and drinking difficulties and the organisation and delivery of multi-sector care to children.

Areas of expertise

Childhood neurodisability, communication development, motor speech disorders, complex disability, speech and language therapy, allied health professions, parent training programmes, early intervention, eating and drinking, outcome measurement

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Newcastle University lead for Newcastle Health Innovation Partners Academy training programmes for Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals, Pharmacists and Healthcare Scientists 
  • Editor in Chief International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
  • Editorial Board member Augmentative & Alternative Communication - AAC

Qualifications

BSc Speech Sciences, 1987, University College London

MSc Human Communication, 1992, Institute of Neurology, University of London

PhD  Human Communication, 1997, University College London 

 

Previous positions

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Career Development Fellow, Newcastle University, 2008-2012 

Principal Research Associate, Newcastle University, 2004-2013

Department of Health / The Health Foundation Primary Care Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Newcastle University, 2002-2006 

Research Speech and Language Therapist, Department of Speech, Newcastle University, 2001- 2002

Research Fellow, Human Communication and Deafness Group, University of Manchester, 2000-2001

Senior Lecturer in Evidence Based Practice, University of Central Lancashire, 1988-2000

Research Speech and Language Therapist, Institute of Child Health, London, 1990-1996 

Speech and Language Therapist, Scope, Waltham Forest Health Authority, Southport and Formby Health Authority, 1987-1990  

 

Honours and Awards

NIHR Career Development Fellowship

Department of Health / Health Foundation Primary Care Post Doctoral Research Fellow


Google scholar: Click here.

ORCID: 0000-0002-4540-2586

SCOPUS: Click here.

Research

Research Interests

  1. Communication development of children with neurodisability
  2. Motor speech disorders in childhood
  3. Organisation and delivery of multi-sector services for children with neurodisability 
  4. Clinical effectiveness and acceptability of allied health interventions for young people with neurodisability
  5. Participation and quality of life of young people with neurodisability

Research Roles

I am principal investigator on a number of projects 

 

Postgraduate Supervision

I currently supervise four postgraduate students 

 

Esteem Indicators

RECENT INVITED PRESENTATIONS

Focus-Cerebralparese-Congress 2016. Munich, Germany. 2016; Early Intervention State of the Science Pre-Conference Symposium International Cerebral Palsy Conference, Stockholm, 1-2 June, 2016; Paediatric Dysarthria Masterclass. Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands 2 July 2015; Early Detection and Early Neurorehabilitation in CP Summit. Vienna 1-2 July 2014

Funding

Selected current and recently completed funded projects

Pennington L, Morris C, Allard A, Parr J, Haining S, Grahame V, Boyle C, Exley C, Platts L, Teare, Bola K, Yu G, Heslop P.  (2021-2022) Recovery, Renewal and Reset of Services to Disabled Children. NIHR Policy Research Programme (PRP). 

Pennington L, Khattab G, Ryan V, Cunningham S, Seghal S. (2020-2021) Mechanisms of change underlying increased intelligibility for children with cerebral palsy following speech and language therapy focusing on breath support and speech rate. NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme. 

Pennington L, Smith M, Best W, Bola K, Dockerell J, Lynch Y, Lyons R, McCarthy L, Spratt T, Stringer H, Reeves L, Webster R, Wren Y.  (2021-2022) Collaborative Research Network on Children’s Communicative Participation. ESRC-IRC

Armitage S, Pennington L, Kolehmainen N, Basu A, Rapley T. (2020-2021) Introducing telehealth in children’s therapy services: learning from Covid-19 innovations to inform future practice. Elizabeth Casson Trust.

Pennington L, Geytenbeek J, Clarke M, Murray J, Laws J, Sargent J, Swettenham J, Lachkovic J (2020-2021) Validation of a low motor assessment of language comprehension: The UK C-BiLLT. Action Medical Research and Joint Research Executive Scientific Committee of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust. 

Kolehmainen N, Armitage S, Brooks R, McAnuff J, Duff C, Pennington L (2018-2020) Enabling self-care in children with developmental disabilities: pre-protocol research for a cluster randomised trial. UK Occupational Therapy Research Foundation, Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

McAnuff J, Crombie S, Gibson J, Grayston A, Kaur Bola K, Pennington L, Webster R (2018-2020) RAISE – Researching Allied health In Schools and Education. British Academy of Childhood Disability and The Castang Foundation.

Parr JR, Pennington L, Craig D, Colver A, McColl E, McConachie H (2017-2019) Eating interventions for children with neurodisability National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Heath Technology Assessment Programme

Pennington L, Olivier P, Balaam M, Basu A. (2015-2016) Participatory design of smart phone technology to support speech therapy for very young children with cerebral palsy. Sparks. 

Pennington L, Smith J, Balaam M, Brittain K, Robson S, Steen N, Vale L. (2014-2016) FIDELITY: Feasibility of Internet DELivery of Intensive TherapY for children with motor speech disorders and cerebral palsy. NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme.  





 

 

Teaching

Undergraduate teaching

BSc and MSc Speech and Language Sciences: childhood motor speech disorder

Speech and Language Sciences Dissertations Projects

Biomedical Sciences Dissertation Projects

 

Publications