Bristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit

Origins

In the early 1980’s Professor Pam Enderby, was the head of the speech and language therapy department at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.  At that time, there was little research in response to clinical questions within the field of speech and language therapy, but Professor Enderby wanted to address this. So early on she focused on adults with acquired neurological disorders. This led to the publication of the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment in 1983 and the Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (1986) and an increasing interest in applying new technologies to intervention. At the same time, Dr Brian Petheram from the University of the West of England’s computer department joined the team.  With this research and a growing team, funding from the Wolfson Foundation and the Stroke Association facilitated the formation of the ‘Aphasia Computer Team’ in 1987. This laid the groundwork for the research unit and, with funding from The Underwood Trust, the new Speech Therapy Research Unit at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol was opened by Angela Rippon, the journalist and TV presenter, on 18 October 1988.

By the mid-1990s, the research unit had started to extend its interests to other client groups and funding was obtained to carry out research in the fields of stammering, Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), primary speech and language difficulties, and speech sound disorder in children.

Team members outside the unit in September 2018. From left to right: Brian Petherham, Sam Harding, Pam Enderby, Yvonne Wren, Kath Broomfield, Sue Roulstone,Rosemarie Hayhow, Fay Smith, Lydia Morgan

Brunel Building at Southmead Hospital

The success of the unit was recognised by the number of grant awards obtained, in the appointment of Pam Enderby as a professor at The University of Sheffield, and other grant awards to fund the appointment of Dr Sue Roulstone as co-director of the unit, alongside Dr Brian Petheram. In 2013, with the unit looking towards its move from the Frenchay Hospital Site, to Southmead Hospital, it amended its name to the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Unit (BSLTRU).

Current overview

BSLTRU’s aim has always been to conduct research to improve the care and management of people with speech, language and communication disorders by developing knowledge related to the prevention, management and social consequences of the disorders.

Hosted by North Bristol NHS Trust, the unit is situated in the grounds of Southmead Hospital, Bristol, with a team comprising Speech and Language Therapists and Psychologists and Information Systems researchers with specialisms in developmental language disorder, speech sound disorder, cleft palate, AAC, head and neck cancer and stuttering.

Funded predominantly by grants and charitable donations, research at the unit in more recent years has focused on a range of topics within speech and language therapy:

• Assessments, outcome measures and screening tools
• Perceptions of communication disorders and therapy from differing perspectives
• Therapists’ decision making
• Therapy development and evaluations
• Development and evaluation of software for adults and children with speech and language disorders

Future

Over the last thirty years, BSLTRU has successfully supported 20 PhD students, carried out clinically applied research using qualitative and quantitative research, published numerous papers and been successful in competitive and commissioned research bids. The team have served on numerous Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy (RCSLT) committees and both Professors Pam Enderby and Sue Roulstone have spent time in the role of RCSLT Chair.  The unit seeks to inspire the next generation of clinical academics. In that capacity, BSLTRU maintains its original desire to make a difference – to individuals with communication difficulties, to their families, and to those of us who work with them.

Overview of projects and impacts over the last thirty years
Key Projects	People	Impact
Randomised controlled trial of speech and language therapy for aphasia	Rachel David Pam Enderby	One of the earliest randomised controlled trials investigating the impact of speech and language therapy on aphasia following stroke
Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test	Pam Enderby	Translated into many languages
Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment	Pam Enderby	One of few standardised dysarthria assessments; translated into several languages
Therapy Outcome Measures (TOMS)	Pam Enderby, Brian Petherham, Alex John	Now used as part of the RCSLT Outcomes project
INTACT	Brian Petheram, Jane Mortley	Pre-cursor to the Step by Step software used in the Big CACTUS trial
Bristol Stammering Research Project	Anne-Marie Cray, Rosemarie Hayhow	Produced a review of the literature on stammering research and an analysis of the experiences of stammering and therapy by those who stammer
STEP study (Speech and Language Therapy Effectiveness with Pre-school Children	Sue Roulstone, Margaret Glogowska	Published in The BMJ, this study showed that children typically received six hours of intervention in a year, which was insufficient to see a significant change compared to the watchful waiting group.
PCAD (Personal Communication Aid for Dysphasia)	Phillipa Hardy, Alex Davies	Set up to address the needs of the dysphasic population by designing a portable communication aid specifically for people with dysphasia.
Lidcombe in the Community study	Rosemarie Hayhow	Explored parents’ and clinicians’ experiences of the Lidcombe Programme in the UK
Health Technology Devices grant from the Department for Health with GL Assessment	Yvonne Wren, Sue Roulstone	Led to the development and validation of the Phoneme Factory Software and book series
MRC Research Project grant	Sue Roulstone, Yvonne Wren	Funded research using the ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) dataset and identified prevalence and risk factors which can be used to identify children at risk for Persistent Speech Disorder
BUPA Funding	Rosemarie Hayhow, Sue Roulstone	Funded investigation into prevalence and risk factors for stammering in the ALSPAC cohort
Bercow Review	Sue Roulstone, Anne Ayre	Working with colleagues, this ground-breaking review has been pivotal in the debate around provision for children with speech, language and communication needs.
Better Communication Research Programme	Sue Roulstone, Yvonne Wren, Rosemarie Hayhow, Helen Hambly	In combination with collaborators, this work formed the basis of the What Works database. It also reported on the preferred outcomes of children with Speech Language and Communication Needs and their parents.
Underwood Trust Endowment	Sue Roulstone	This generous endowment supported a professorial role for the Director of BSLTRU
NIHR Programme Grant	Sue Roulstone, Yvonne Wren	The first speech and language therapy group to be awarded a NIHR Programme Grant, resulted in the Child Talk project and this has fed into the RCSLT Children’s Strategy and the All Wales Early Language Pathway.
Aphasia Software Finder	Brian Petheram, Julie Ward, Sarah Woodward	An online resource to help people identify software which can inform selection of a resources suited to an individual’s language needs
Sound Start Study	Sue Roulstone, Yvonne Wren	This study used the Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter software in a cluster randomised controlled study in Australia.
NIHR Fellowships	Yvonne Wren (Postdoc), Kath Broomfield, Sam Burr, and Lucy Southby (Doctoral), Anna Prince (MClinRes)	These schemes helped to fund research proposals and training for SLTs interested in a research career
HEE/Internships	Hannah Lane, Sarah Overton	This scheme has provided clinical SLTs with an experience of research and an opportunity to consider a clinical academic career

References

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