Kate Clements
Editor of SIGNAL newsletter
Kate joined the CEN in August 2023 to take over the role of producing and publishing the CEN Newsletter (SIGNAL.)
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Alison Nicholas
Committee Chair
Alison qualified as a speech and language therapist in 1991. For most of her career, she worked at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering, where she had a clinical and a training role and was involved in the Centre’s research programme. For the last five years, she has been working independently in South Wales with clients who stammer across the age range, and she also provides supervision to other therapists working within this field. She is an Associate Tutor at Cardiff Metropolitan University where she teaches the Stammering module on the undergraduate course. She is a Registered European Stuttering Specialist and has a Certificate in Solution Focused Brief Therapy.
Becky Byrne
Website/Media Coordinator
Becky is an independent specialist speech and language therapist based in Surrey who is passionate about supporting children, young people and adults to unlock their fullest potential. Within her private practice she supports children, young people and adults who stammer as well as a range of other communication difficulties. She has a person centred approach to stammering and has a particular interest in psychological approaches and mindset tools to support resilience and wellbeing for people who stammer. Prior to working independently, she led the South East Surrey NHS stammering service. She is passionate about supporting the CEN to make a real difference to people who stammer and the therapists supporting them.
Dorothy qualified in 2004 and currently works as the Stuttering Advisor for NHS Forth Valley as well as working within Independent Practice. Dorothy has been developing her specialism in stuttering throughout her career and also has experience working with a wide range of Speech, Language and Communication needs. Dorothy takes a holistic view to therapy, which is often particularly important when working with children, adolescents and adults who stammer and their families. As well as Speech and Language Therapy approaches, she also uses related approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) where appropriate. Dorothy is registered as a European Stuttering Specialist and is passionate about supporting people who stammer and their families as well as other developing other therapist's knowledge and skills working with those who stammer.
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Dorothy Hanlon
Study Day Coordinator
Daisy Hope
Communications Secretary
Daisy initially worked across early years and mainstream schools in Hackney. She has worked at the Michael Palin Centre since 2016, and particularly enjoys working with families. She recently completed a foundation course in Systemic Practice which has further developed her interest in how wider environmental and cultural influences interact with an individual’s experience of stammering. She hopes that by contributing to the CEN she can help therapists continue to access a broad range of perspectives on stammering, and ways of approaching therapy, which she has found so beneficial since starting to specialise in stammering.
Nikki Davies
Treasurer
Nikki is the NHS paediatric clinical lead for stammering in Cardiff and Vale and has collaborated with fellow SLTs to develop an All Wales Stammering pathway. Nikki is passionate about providing prompt access to help or reassurance through an advice line as well as educating schools and childcare settings, aiming for stigma reduction. Nikki established a ‘Words Out’ group in the health board for older children where feedback has highlighted participants developing communication confidence and skills to support themselves and educate others.
Nikki is anticipating that through CEN involvement she will gain a UK wide network of contacts and expertise to pass on locally.
Jennifer Ryder
Minutes Secretary
Jen has worked in Rotherham since 2007, apart from a 2 year career break when she worked in NZ. She loves her mixed adult caseload which constantly keeps her on her toes by including acute and progressive neurological conditions, DLD, functional neurological symptoms, autism, reflux and more! She has been in sole charge of the stammering caseload in Rotherham for most of the time she has worked in Rotherham so has always valued the CEN for the peer support and CPD opportunities which it offers.
Nicola Maddy
Study Day Coordinator
Nic has supported children and young people who stammer since 2003. She works as a Therapist in South West Yorkshire NHS Trust and has recently also started working with adults who stammer. She is passionate about creating a world which better understands and makes space for stammering and feels that the learning within our profession plays a key role within this, along with working alongside the stammering community. She is excited and hopeful that the study days will support therapists working with people who stammer in the development of their knowledge, skills and clinical practice, and inspire a love of working with people who stammer/clutter.
Kerith McCracken
Social Media Coordinator
Kerith is a Speech and Language Therapist who works for Southern Health & Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. She is passionate about supporting children and young people who stammer and working with their families. She enjoys working across a varied caseload with children who stammer and clutter, and with children who have DLD and SSD. Kerith is excited to be part of the team who work together to offer further professional development and support for SLTs also working in this clinical area.
