Anita McAllister

About me

Speech and language pathologist since 1985, PhD at Karolinska Institutet (KI) 1997 with a thesis titled "Acoustic, perceptual and physiological studies of 10-year-old Children's voices". Between 2003-2013 senior lecturer at, Linköping University. Started and was in charge of the speech and language pathology (SLP) program there between 2003 and 2011. Associate professor in speech and language pathology at Linköping University in 2008, transferred to KI in 2014. Chair person on the program committee for speech and language pathology and audiology educations (PN4) at KI between August 2013 and December 2015. Main research areas  are voice and speech disorders in children including apraxia of speech and oral sensorimotor dysfunctions.

Has clinical experience in voice and speech disorders and oral sensorimotor disorders.

Research description

Research areas

My research interest is quite broad but focus on description, assessment and effects of oral sensorimotor and speech disorders and voice disorders and communication related to environmental factors such as soundscape. Both areas focus on children.

Aims of current projects

• Describe preschool teachers and children’s opinion and knowledge on sound, noise, voice and communication through focus group interviews
• Develop an educational material for preschool teachers and children about sound, noise, voice and communication based on the results from the interviews
• Analyze and develop assessment protocols for children with orofacial disorders and childhood apraxia of speech (CAS)
• Evaluate interventions for children with motor based speech disorders and CAS  

 

National and international co-operations

• Collaborate with PI Sofia Styrömbergsson in the project Functional consequences of misarticulation in children's continuous speech.
• Nordplus Horizontal 2012- HZ 2012_1a-30063 "How does it work? Voice, speech and communication in cooperation with Valdís Jónsdóttir, University of Akureyri and Leena Rantala, Tampere University.
• The Nordic Orofacial Test (NOT-S) for assessment of orofacial functions http://www.mun-h-center.se/sv/Mun-H-Center/MHC-Forlag/Orofaciala-test/NOT-S-Nordiskt-Orofacialt-Test--Screening-/  in cooperation with Merete Bakke, University of Copenhagen, Pamela Åsten, Tako-center, Oslo, Birgitta Bergendal, National Oral Disability Centre for Rare Disorders and Lotta Sjögreen, Mun-H-Center Sweden.
• Acoustic and physiological aspects of kulning in cooperation with Robert Eklund, Linköping University, Anna-Maria Laukkanen, Tampere University, Ahmed Geneid, Helsingfors University Hospital, Fanny Pehrson, Mora.
• Participates in the group working with incorporating follow-up instruments for speech and language pathologists in the national quality registry for children and adults with cerebral palsy, CPUP 

Education

Teaching areas

Supervise exam-, master- and PhD thesis work. Main supervisor for PhD students and SLP’s Susanne Rex and Åsa Mogren. 

Also interested in pedagogical matters pertaining to improved learning with a special interest in interprofessional learning (IPL).