UCL Giving Voice Society
The UCL Giving Voice society aims to raise awareness of Speech and Language Therapy and the difference that it can make to individuals with communication or swallowing difficulties and their families.
Welcome to the Giving Voice Podcast webpage. Each episode will bring you interviews from experts at the forefront of speech and language therapy as well as insights into student SLT life. This is essential listening for all those #slt2bs out there and anyone interested in neuroscience, communication and healthcare. This year, the Giving Voice Podcast is brought to you by Issy Davison and Nathalie Kendrick, two final-year MSc Speech and Language Sciences students here at UCL who want to raise awareness about their fantastic field.
All our episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Podcast Episodes
Episode 1: AAC with Richard CaveEpisode 1 focuses on all things Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). We hear about the latest technical advances in the field from Richard Cave a specialist SLT & PhD working in Motor Neurone Disease and Voice Banking. We also caught up with Julia, a year A student at the beginning of her UCL SLT MSc journey. This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning |
Episode 2: Getting a job with Olly Sawyer
With the end of the course looming Cat and Laura speak to Olly Sawyer, an SLT MSc alumni currently working in a B5 rotational post at Queens Hospital Romford, to gather pearls of wisdom about getting your first job. Newly qualified therapists and students listen in. From CVs to HCPC registration – we’ve got you covered.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning
Episode 3: Attention Autism with Gina Davies
This week we have a very special guest – Gina Davies of Attention Autism. A true legend in the field, Gina tells us about her first job and busts some popular myths about her now infamous intervention programme. This is a truly irresistible invitation to learn!
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning
Episode 4: Anj and Ram on diversity in our course
This week the podcast is joined by two of our fellow Year B MSc students, Anj and Ram. Both have been integral advocates holding UCL to account over inclusion, equality and diversity on the course and here they discuss their experiences of diversity during the MSc programme. In the wake of the Black Lives Matters movement, this is one of the many conversations we need to start in order to make diversity a salient and actionable issue from the beginning of our Speech and Language Therapy careers. #blacklivesmatter
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning
Episode 5: Training Ghana's First SLT MSc Graduates with Josephine Ohenewa Bampoe
Before Josephine Ohenewa Bampoe saw her first SLT MSc cohort graduate from the University of Ghana in 2019, there were just seven speech and language therapists serving a population of over 25 million people. Try auditing that unmet need! This week we speak to Josephine about the highs and lows of setting up the first Speech and Language Therapy MSc in Ghana and the need for more home grown therapists.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning
Episode 6: Transgender Voice with Christella Antoni
For the final episode, Cat and Laura are joined by Christella Antoni, a consultant Speech and Language Therapist who is highly experienced in the field of Transgender Voice. Alongside sharing some of her extensive knowledge of this specialism, Christella discusses her other passion - promoting Speech and Language Therapy as a profession!
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning
Episode 8: Student Voices: Unique Perspectives of Students Studying SLT
Ever wondered who's studying on the MSc SLS course? Students Chloe Millard and Laura Durston interview students who followed different paths to becoming an SLT. This includes hearing from students who are parents, are male, experienced a career change, come from aborad and come directly from undergrad. They share their stories and advice for potential applicants thinking or applying to become an SLT.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning
Episode 9: East Asian SLTs
What does it feel like to be a UK Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) with an international background? On this first episode out of a series of two, students Vivian Lo and Claire Kwok from Giving Voice Society interview three East Asian SLTs working in a range of settings, including mainstream and special needs schools, acute inpatient settings, voice and transgender voice. Tune in to find out more about their journey into the field, a typical day in life as an SLT, and how their bilingual background plays a role in their practice. We also tackled common misconceptions on accent modification and many more. Join us on this cultural exchange to celebrate diversity and raise awareness!
This podcast is available on YouTube for closed captioning
Twitter profiles: Serena Lo @sltserenalo Nigel Chueng @NigelSLT Kelly Ng @kellyspeechie Pages mentioned in the podcast: STLinks - For developing awareness of speech and language therapy More information: https://www.speechtherapistslinks.com/
@SLTofcolour - Inclusive instagram page to raise awareness of BAME SLTs (Twitter: @OfSlts) More information: https://www.instagram.com/sltsofcolour/
Indigo Gender - NHS adult gender service in Greater Manchester More information: https://indigogenderservice.uk/
The Nesbitt Centre Hong Kong - a community centre for adults with learning difficulties More information: https://www.nesbittcentre.org.hk/
Wing Yee Lam @saltoolbox Claudia Kate @medicslt_ckay UCL Giving Voice Society/ UCL MSc Speech and Language Science
Episode 10: Anglophone SLTs Abroad
What's it like to be a Speech and Language Therapist working abroad? Three guests share their personal and professional journeys of taking their clinical role overseas to New Zealand, France, and Australia. Learn about our guests' destinations, what they did there, and where in the world they are today.
Topics discussed include:
- Most challenging and most rewarding aspects of going overseas
- Working with adult and paediatric populations
- Joining a foreign healthcare system or starting an independent business
- Conducting research internationally
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Tune in for “direct flights”:
- Kirsty Catling: U.K. to New Zealand at 00:01:36
- Grace Lindley: New Zealand to France at 00:35:23
- Dr Anna Volkmer: UK to Australia at 01:09:05
Episode 11: Social Prescribing and SLT
Social prescribing is being championed as the new framework for providing holistic, socially meaningful support to clients accessing healthcare... so why have we never heard of it? The UCL Giving Voice Podcast is here to demystify social prescribing through a conversation with social prescribing mentors, Julie Lowe and Mariam Malik and social prescribing student champion, Katy Crowne.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Episode 12: Better Conversations - A Conversation Partner Training
This episode will explore a speech and language therapy approach pioneered by UCL called Better Conversations. We will be joined by the team behind this approach to understand how Better Conversations came about, who it is for, facilitators and barriers for implementation, last but not least, how it is the future of therapy for conversation and communication disabilities.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Special episode by UCL ChangeMaker project: Understanding Communication and Language
This project is part of UCL ChangeMakers, which is a student-staff partnership initiative for enhancing teaching and learning. We are three speech and language therapy students and a lecturer, and we have been meeting regularly to create a podcast about speech and language therapy. Our aim is to support the development of clinical skills in students and newly qualified speech and language therapists.
- 02:08 Topic 1 - What we love about being an SLT
- 18:58 Topic 2 - Challenges and adaptations
- 36:57 Topic 3 - Developing relationships and having difficult conversations
- 1:00:00 Topic 4 - Our own mental health and wellbeing
- 1:14:02 Topic 5 - Tips for our newly qualified professionals
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Episode 13: AI Voice Cloning with Carolyn McGettigan
For this episode of the UCL Giving Voice podcast, we are joined by Carolyn McGettigan, a researcher at UCL, to talk about voice clones generated by Artificial Intelligence. We explore the uses of AI-generated voice clones in both clinical and non-clinical contexts and delve into Carolyn's fascinating research into how people perceive clones of their own and their loved ones' voices. Finally, Carolyn shares some wisdom with those wanting to start a research project of their own.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Episode 14: Inclusive Communication with Include.org (Part 1: Working as an SLT at a universal level)
Speech and language therapists don’t just work in clinics, schools and hospitals. In this episode, we welcome Alix Lewer and Charly Harris from Include.org to talk about the work they do as SLTs to promote inclusive communication and run fun community projects for people with communication needs. We ask them how they got where they are now in their careers, how their roles have changed since joining Include.org and what they love most about what they do now. They also share some invaluable advice for those of us just starting out as speech and language therapists.
Links to things mentioned in this episode:
- Visit https://include.org/ to donate to them and find out more about their volunteering opportunities
- Listen to the Include.org choir singing the Include Choir Agreement, the MCA Song and more on YouTube @IncludeTube
- For free inclusive communication training for you or your organisation from Communication Access UK, visit https://communication-access.co.uk/
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Episode 15: Inclusive Communication with Include.org (Part 2: The Charity and What It Offers)
In Part 2 of our chat with Alix Lewer and Charly Harris from Include.org, we find out more about what Include.org does as an organisation. We discuss how they deliver “sneaky speech and language therapy,” support members’ self-advocacy skills and the vital impact of inclusive communication training.
Links to things mentioned in this episode:
- Visit https://include.org/ to donate to Include.org and find out more about their volunteering opportunities
- Listen to the Include.org choir singing In My World, the MCA Song and more on YouTube @IncludeTube
- For free inclusive communication training for you or your organisation from Communication Access UK, visit https://communication-access.co.uk/
- Learn more about the STOMP project (stopping over medication of people with a learning disability, autism or both) on the NHS website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/improving-health/stomp-stamp/#:~:text=STOMP%20stands%20for%20stopping%20over,or%20both%20with%20psychotropic%20medicines
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Episode 16: Cleft Lip and Palate with Marie Pinkstone
In this episode of the UCL Giving Voice podcast, we are joined by Marie Pinkstone, an SLT who specialised in cleft lip and palate and has worked with the UK-based charities CLEFT and CLAPA (links below). In this podcast we discuss Marie’s journey into the specialism, balancing research with working clinically, and Marie’s work with both CLEFT and CLAPA. Finally, Marie gives some advice for newly qualified speech and language therapists.
Learn more about the charities here: www.cleft.org.uk/news/join-trainees www.clapa.com
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
Episode 17: Aman's Experience with Stammering
Have you ever wondered what it's like to stammer? In this episode, Aman kindly shares his experiences as a person who stammers and how he has learned to embrace his stammer over the years. He reflects on his involvement with speech and language therapy, public speaking groups and how non-stammerers can be better communication partners. If you would like to reach out to Aman, you can contact him by email amankhanspeaking@gmail.com. If you would like to explore this topic further, head to stamma.org or actionforstammeringchildren.org for support, guidance and information.
This podcast is available on YouTube with closed captioning.
If you would like to find out more about what we do or become a member of the UCL Giving Voice Society, take a look at our UCL Union Giving Voice Society webpage.