Celebrating Excellence in Speech Pathology Research for People with Ataxia

By Prof Adam Vogel

A University of Melbourne-led paper has been recognised by The Cerebellum as the journal’s Best Research Paper of 2024. The paper, ‘Optimizing Communication in Ataxia: A Multifaceted Approach to Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC),’ examines how progressive ataxias affect speech, communication, independence and participation, and how AAC approaches can be better matched to the changing needs of people living with ataxia. The article highlights the need for flexible, multidisciplinary and regularly reassessed communication supports, particularly as changes in speech, vision, hearing, fatigue and motor control can alter which technologies are useful over time.

A strength of the paper was its genuine integration of real-world lived experience from people with ataxia. Rather than treating AAC as a purely technical or clinical issue, the paper embedded consumer perspectives to show how communication technologies work, and sometimes fail, in everyday use. This work was developed with colleagues and collaborators Caroline Spencer (lived experience), Indiana University Bloomington; Dr Peter Gibilisco (lived experience), University of Melbourne; Scott Blackman (lived experience), University of New England; Jenny Vojtech, Boston University Sargent College; Katie Burke (clinician), Trinity College Dublin; and Thayabaran Kathiresan, UoM Speech Pathology and Redenlab.