Speech & Language Research
Better diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment for children with speech and language disorders
Speech and language skills form the foundation for later educational and academic achievement. These skills are also critical for social and mental health development.
The Speech & Language research group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), we are leading groundbreaking research into the genetic causes of speech and language disorders in children.
Our aim
Our goal is to deepen our understanding of how speech, language, and literacy develop, and to how and why disorders occur in each of these areas.
Our research focus
Our group examines genetic, neural, and social-environmental predictors of speech, language, and literacy development.
Our work includes:
- Identifying genes linked to severe childhood speech disorders, including childhood apraxia of speech and dysarthria.
- Conducting phenotyping studies to characterize speech and language profiles in children with rare genetic conditions. These studies provide valuable insights for diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical management.
- Investigating speech and language development in the general population to better understand typical and atypical communication pathways.
- Developing a new digital assessment tool to improve the early detection and evaluation of speech disorders.
Our research bridges the gap between genomic discovery and clinical application, aiming to transform care for children with communication challenges.
Our collaborations
We collaborate with leading national and international researchers, genetic advocacy groups, and clinicians. These partnerships allow us to conduct impactful research and share our findings on a global scale.
Through these collaborations, we gain deeper insights into:
- how speech and language develop
- what can go wrong
- why understanding these challenges is so important for the individuals and families most affected.
More information
Contact us
Translational Centre for Speech Disorders
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Group Leaders
Group Members
Our projects
Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS)
This study aims to learn more about how language develops from infancy (eight months) to adulthood and in particular, why language development is more difficult for some children.
Please note: The current phase of the ELVS has moved to the University of Melbourne and is no longer funded through Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. For more information please see the University of Melbourne ELVS website.
Translational Centre for Speech Disorders - NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE)
At the Translational Centre for Speech Disorders,we are studying the underlying causes of speech disorders and not just surface language disorder symptoms. By understanding the genetic foundations of these conditions, we aim to transform how they are diagnosed and managed, paving the way for precision therapies that improve long-term outcomes.
This Centre, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), brings together an international team of experts in speech pathology, clinical genetics, neurology, neuroscience, and molecular biology.
Translational Centre for Speech Disorders
Reverse phenotyping projects
Our team is investigating the speech and language phenotypes of several rare genetic conditions, including Koolen de Vries Syndrome, SETBP1, FOXP1, FOXP2, DDX3X, CDK13, BRPF1, DYRK1A, amongst others.
This research helps us better understand the role these genes play in speech and language development, and enhances our clinical knowledge for diagnosing and treating communication disorders linked to these conditions.
The study is approved by The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Ethics Committee and is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence grant.
Genetics of stuttering
Our team, with multiple partners, has formed an international consortium focused on understanding the genetic basis of stuttering.
Pharmacological treatment of childhood apraxia of speech
This research explores whether the medication methylphenidate (MPH) can improve speech and language outcomes in children diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). MPH is currently approved for treating ADHD in children, but this is the first randomized clinical trial to evaluate its potential as a treatment for CAS.
Led by the Speech & Language Group, the study is a collaboration between the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), and the University of Melbourne. It brings together experts in speech pathology, paediatrics, neurology, and neuropsychology.
This trial has been approved by the RCH Ethics Committee (HREC 77169).
Funding
Thank you to our supporters.
- NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence
- NHMRC Project grants
- NHMRC Investigator grant
- HEARing CRC
- March of Dimes
- SFARI - Variation in Individuals Project
Collaborations
We partner with leading institutions worldwide, including:
- The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH)
- The University of Melbourne
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
- University College London
- Manchester University
- Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen
- Radboud University Medical Centre
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston
- Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard
Featured publications
Morgan, A., Fisher, S.E., Scheffer, I., Hildebrand, M. (2013). FOXP2- Related Speech and Language Disorders. GeneReviews.
Morgan, A.T., Amor, D.J., St John, M., Scheffer, I.E., Hildebrand, M.S. (2024). The genetic architecture of childhood speech disorder: a review. Molecular Psychiatry, 29(5):1281-1292.
Morgan A, Srivastava S, Duis J, et al. (2021). SETBP1 Haploinsufficiency Disorder. Gene Reviews.
Morison, L. D., Whiteman, I. T., Vogel, A. P., Tilbrook, L., Fahey, M. C., Braden, R., Bredebusch, J., Hildebrand, M. S., Scheffer, I. E., & Morgan, A. T. (2025). Speech, Language and Non-verbal Communication in CLN2 and CLN3 Batten Disease. Journal of inherited metabolic disease, 48(1), e12838.
Morgan AT, Scerri TS, Vogel AP, Reid CA, Quach M, Jackson VE, McKenzie C, Burrows EL, Bennett MF, Turner SJ, Reilly S, Horton SE, Block S, Kefalianos E, Frigerio-Domingues C, Sainz E, Rigbye KA, Featherby TJ, Richards KL, Kueh A, Herold MJ, Corbett MA, Gecz J, Helbig I, Thompson-Lake DGY, Liégeois FJ, Morell RJ, Hung A, Drayna D, Scheffer IE, Wright DK, Bahlo M, Hildebrand MS. Stuttering associated with a pathogenic variant in the chaperone protein cyclophilin 40. Brain. 2023 Dec 1;146(12):5086-5097. doi: 10.1093/brain/awad314. PMID: 37977818; PMCID: PMC10689913.
Kaspi A, Hildebrand MS, Jackson VE, Braden R, van Reyk O, Howell T, Debono S, Lauretta M, Morison L, Coleman MJ, Webster R, Coman D, Goel H, Wallis M, Dabscheck G, Downie L, Baker EK, Parry-Fielder B, Ballard K, Harrold E, Ziegenfusz S, Bennett MF, Robertson E, Wang L, Boys A, Fisher SE, Amor DJ, Scheffer IE, Bahlo M, Morgan AT. Genetic aetiologies for childhood speech disorder: novel pathways co-expressed during brain development. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Apr;28(4):1647-1663. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01764-8. Erratum in: Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Apr;28(4):1664-1666. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01879-y. PMID: 36117209; PMCID: PMC10208970.
Daisy G Y Thompson-Lake, Thomas S Scerri, Susan Block, Samantha J Turner, Sheena Reilly, Elaina Kefalianos, Alexandra F Bonthrone, Ingo Helbig, Melanie Bahlo, Ingrid E Scheffer, Michael S Hildebrand, Frédérique J Liégeois, Angela T Morgan, Atypical development of Broca’s area in a large family with inherited stuttering, Brain, Volume 145, Issue 3, March 2022, Pages 1177–1188
Hildebrand MS, Jackson VE, Scerri TS, Van Reyk O, Coleman M, Braden RO, Turner S, Rigbye KA, Boys A, Barton S, Webster R, Fahey M, Saunders K, Parry-Fielder B, Paxton G, Hayman M, Coman D, Goel H, Baxter A, Ma A, Davis N, Reilly S, Delatycki M, Liégeois FJ, Connelly A, Gecz J, Fisher SE, Amor DJ, Scheffer IE, Bahlo M, Morgan AT. Severe childhood speech disorder: Gene discovery highlights transcriptional dysregulation. Neurology. 2020 May 19;94(20):e2148-e2167. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009441. Epub 2020 Apr 28. PMID: 32345733.
Liégeois FJ, Turner SJ, Mayes A, Bonthrone AF, Boys A, Smith L, Parry-Fielder B, Mandelstam S, Spencer-Smith M, Bahlo M, Scerri TS, Hildebrand MS, Scheffer IE, Connelly A, Morgan AT. Dorsal language stream anomalies in an inherited speech disorder. Brain. 2019 Apr 1;142(4):966-977. doi: 10.1093/brain/awz018. PMID: 30796815.
Johnson JL, Stoica L, Liu Y, Zhu PJ, Bhattacharya A, Buffington SA, Huq R, Eissa NT, Larsson O, Porse BT, Domingo D, Nawaz U, Carroll R, Jolly L, Scerri TS, Kim HG, Brignell A, Coleman MJ, Braden R, Kini U, Jackson V, Baxter A, Bahlo M, Scheffer IE, Amor DJ, Hildebrand MS, Bonnen PE, Beeton C, Gecz J, Morgan AT, Costa-Mattioli M. Inhibition of Upf2-Dependent Nonsense-Mediated Decay Leads to Behavioral and Neurophysiological Abnormalities by Activating the Immune Response. Neuron. 2019 Nov 20;104(4):665-679.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.08.027. Epub 2019 Oct 1. PMID: 31585809; PMCID: PMC7312756.