Doctor Elise Baker

Associate Dean, Research,
Dean's Unit, School of Health Sciences

Associate Professor of Allied Health,
Dean's Unit, School of Health Sciences

Biography
Contact
Publications
Projects
Supervision
Teaching

Biography

Elise Baker is a Conjoint Associate Professor of Allied Health, and the Associate Dean (Research) for the School of Health Sciences at Western Sydney University. She works collaboratively across Western Sydney University and South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) developing, leading, and supporting programs of research with allied health clinicians, researchers, and industry partners. In working with multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional teams, Elise enjoys discovering innovative and feasible solutions to real-world challenges in the delivery of health care. She is passionate about translating knowledge into clinical policy and practice, and the measurement of outcomes of clinical care. With a background in speech-language pathology, Elise is particularly passionate about finding ways to optimize outcomes for young children with communication difficulties including children with speech sound disorders, and children who are late to talk.

Elise has over 30 years experience working in academic and clinical research settings. Prior to joining Western Sydney University in March 2020, Elise held an academic position with The University of Sydney engaging in research and teaching. She also held various governance positions including Course Director for the Masters of Speech Language Pathology degree, Honours Coordinator, and Academic Advisor. As a qualified and experienced speech-language pathologist, Elise has also worked in private practice and in the public sector for the NSW Department of Family and Community Services. As a Fellow of Speech Pathology Australia, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and ASHA (American Speech Language Hearing Association) Fellow, and member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech, Elise’s research achievements and scholarly work are recognised internationally. She has a record of over $1 million in grant funding and more than 90 publications. Elise has supervised to completion 39 research students including seven PhD students, two research masters students, and 30 honours students. Her collaborators have spanned the fields of speech pathology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology, audiology, medicine, education, linguistics, computer science, and engineering. Elise is an award-winning teacher and sought-after continuing education presenter. She has been an invited National Tour Speaker for Speech Pathology Australia and invited speaker at the American Speech Language Hearing Association Convention. Her co-authored book 'Children's Speech: An evidence-based approach to assessment and intervenion' has been used by undergraduate and graduate speech-language pathology students and speech-language pathologists across the globe as an authoritative guide on the management of speech sound disorders in children.

Other profiles

ORCID

Google Scholar

Follow Elise on Twitter X

This information has been contributed by Doctor Baker.

Qualifications

PhD University of Sydney
BASc University of Sydney

Professional Memberships

Speech Pathology Australia (1993)
American Speech Language Hearing Association (2008)

Awards

Fellow Speech Pathology Australia 2017-05-29
Fellow Higher Education Academy 2019-03-31
ASHA Fellow 2021-11-19

Interests

Communication development and disorders in children
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Evidence-based Practice
Intervention research
Models of service delivery
Research translation and implementation
Speech sound disorders

Organisational Unit (School / Division)

Dean's Unit, School of Health Sciences
Dean's Unit, School of Health Sciences

Committees

Chair South West Sydney Allied Health Research Collaboration (SWSLHD)
Camden and Campbelltown Hospitals Research Committee
WSU Research Studies Committee
SWSLHD Research Leadership Committee
WSU Research Committee

Contact

Email:	Elise.Baker@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone:	(02) 4620 3281
Mobile:
Location:	Campbelltown24.2.95 Campbelltown

PLEASE NOTE: obtaining information from this Directory must be for the legitimate purposes of doing business with and within Western Sydney University, and must not be used for unsolicited bulk e-mailing (spamming) or similar purposes.

Teaching

Previous Teaching Areas

400732 Communication in Health, 2020
400732 Communication in Health, 2021
400732 Communication in Health, 2022
REHA2017 Communication Changes Across the Lifespan, 2021
REHA2017 Communication Changes Across the Lifespan, 2022
REHA3048 Speech Pathologists Working with Children, Families and Communities, 2022

Publications

Books

McLeod, S. and Baker, E. (2017), 'Children's Speech: an Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention', : Pearson 9780132755962.

Chapters in Books

Baker, E., Kaplun, C. and Dadich, A. (2022), 'Services working together to support children and their families', Children, Family and Communities, Oxford University Press 9780190337407.
Baker, E. and Williams, A. (2021), 'Implementing interventions', Interventions for Speech Sound Disorders in Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing 9781681253589.
Baker, E. (2021), 'Minimal pairs intervention', Interventions for Speech Sound Disorders in Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing 9781681253589.
Baker, E., McCauley, R., Williams, A. and McLeod, S. (2020), 'Elements in phonological intervention : a comparison of three approaches using the phonological intervention taxonomy', On Under-reported Monolingual Child Phonology, Multilingual Matters 9781788928946.
Wren, Y., McCormack, J., Masso, S., McLeod, S., Baker, E. and Crowe, K. (2018), 'Digital tools to support children's speech and language skill', Digital Childhoods: Technologies and Children's Everyday Lives, Springer 9789811064838.
Baker, E. (2015), 'The why and how of prioritising complex targets for intervention', Children's Speech Sound Disorders, John Wiley & Sons 9781118634028.
Masso, S. and Baker, E. (2015), 'Phonology', An Introduction to Speech, Language and Literacy, Oxford University Press 9780195527926.
Baker, E. (2010), 'Minimal pair intervention', Interventions for Speech Sound Disorders in Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing 9781598570182.
Baker, E. and Williams, A. (2010), 'Complexity approaches to intervention', Interventions for Speech Sound Disorders in Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing 9781598570182.

Journal Articles

Townley, C., Grace, R., Woodrow, C., Baker, E., Staples, K., Locke, M. and Kaplun, C. (2023), 'Educator perspectives on embedding Acknowledgement to Country practices in early learning centres in Australia', Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, vol 48, no 2 , pp 86 - 98.
Mills, C., Hazeltine, K., Zucco, A., Phan, T. and Baker, E. (2023), 'Therapist perceptions of barriers to telehealth uptake in children's occupational therapy', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 70, no 4 , pp 487 - 499.
Baker, E., Li, W., Hodges, R., Masso, S., Jones, C., Guo, Y., Alt, M., Antoniou, M., Afshar, S., Tosi, K. and Munro, N. (2023), 'Harnessing automatic speech recognition to realise sustainable development goals 3, 9, and 17 through interdisciplinary partnerships for children with communication disability', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 25, no 1 , pp 125 - 129.
Hearnshaw, S., Baker, E., Pomper, R., McGregor, K., Edwards, J. and Munro, N. (2023), 'The relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children : insights from by-group and continuous analyses', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, vol 66, no 4 , pp 1173 - 1191.
Baker, E., Masso, S., Huynh, K. and Sugden, E. (2022), 'Optimizing outcomes for children with phonological impairment : a systematic search and review of outcome and experience measures reported in intervention research', Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, vol 53, no 3 , pp 732 - 748.
Bamford, C., Masso, S., Baker, E. and Ballard, K. (2022), 'Dynamic assessment for children with communication disorders : a systematic scoping review and framework', American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 31, no 4 , pp 1878 - 1893.
Baker, E., Short, K. and Tosi, K. (2021), 'Using the RE-AIM framework to guide the implementation and evaluation of interventions for children with communication disorders', Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, vol 23, no 2 , pp 59 - 64.
Munro, N., Baker, E., Masso, S., Carson, L., Lee, T., Wong, A. and Stokes, S. (2021), 'Vocabulary acquisition and usage for late talkers treatment : effect on expressive vocabulary and phonology', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, vol 64, no 7 , pp 2682 - 2697.
Neam, S., Baker, E., Hodges, R. and Munro, N. (2020), 'Speech production abilities of 4- to 5-year-old children with and without a history of late talking : the tricky tyrannosaurus', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 22, no 2 , pp 184 - 195.
Sugden, E., Baker, E., Williams, A., Munro, N. and Trivette, C. (2020), 'Evaluation of parent- and speech-language pathologist-delivered multiple oppositions intervention for children with phonological impairment : a multiple-baseline design study', American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 29, no 1 , pp 111 - 126.
Sugden, E., Munro, N., Trivette, C., Baker, E. and Williams, A. (2019), 'Parents' experiences of completing home practice for speech sound disorders', Journal of Early Intervention, vol 41, no 2 , pp 159 - 181.
Howland, C., Baker, E., Munro, N. and McLeod, S. (2019), 'Realisation of grammatical morphemes by children with phonological impairment', Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, vol 33, no 1-2 , pp 20 - 41.
Hearnshaw, S., Baker, E. and Munro, N. (2019), 'Speech perception skills of children with speech sound disorders : a systematic review and meta-analysis', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, vol 62, no 10 , pp 3771 - 3789.
McCormack, J., Baker, E. and Crowe, K. (2018), 'The human right to communicate and our need to listen : learning from people with a history of childhood communication disorder', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 20, no 1 , pp 142 - 151.
Baker, E., Williams, A., McLeod, S. and McAuley, R. (2018), 'Elements of phonological interventions for children with speech sound disorders : the development of a taxonomy', American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 27, no 3 , pp 906 - 935.
Chami, S., Munro, N., Docking, K., McGregor, K., Arciuli, J., Baker, E. and Heard, R. (2018), 'Changes in semantic fluency across childhood : normative data from Australian-English speakers', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 20, no 2 , pp 262 - 273.
McLeod, S., Crowe, K., McCormack, J., White, P., Wren, Y., Baker, E., Masso, S. and Roulstone, S. (2018), 'Preschool children's communication, motor and social development : parents' and educators' concerns', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 20, no 4 , pp 468 - 482.
Sugden, E., Baker, E., Munro, N., Williams, A. and Trivette, C. (2018), 'An Australian survey of parent involvement in intervention for childhood speech sound disorders', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 20, no 7 , pp 766 - 778.
McGregor, K., Munro, N., Chen, S., Baker, E. and Oleson, J. (2018), 'Cultural influences on the developing semantic lexicon', Journal of Child Language, vol 45, no 6 , pp 1309 - 1336.
Hearnshaw, S., Baker, E. and Munro, N. (2018), 'The speech perception skills of children with and without speech sound disorder', Journal of Communication Disorders, vol 71 , pp 61 - 71.
Masso, S., McLeod, S. and Baker, E. (2018), 'Tutorial : Assessment and analysis of polysyllables in young children', Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, vol 49, no 1 , pp 42 - 58.
Sugden, E., Baker, E., Munro, N., Williams, A. and Trivette, C. (2018), 'Service delivery and intervention intensity for phonology-based speech sound disorders', International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, vol 53, no 4 , pp 718 - 734.
Baker, E., Masso, S., McLeod, S. and Wren, Y. (2018), 'Pacifiers, thumb sucking, breastfeeding, and bottle use : oral sucking habits of children with and without phonological impairment', Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, vol 70, no 3-4 , pp 165 - 173.
Hodges, R., Baker, E., Munro, N. and McGregor, K. (2017), 'Responses made by late talkers and typically developing toddlers during speech assessments', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 19, no 6 , pp 587 - 600.
McCormack, J., Baker, E., Masso, S., Crowe, K., McLeod, S., Wren, Y. and Roulstone, S. (2017), 'Implementation fidelity of a computer-assisted intervention for children with speech sound disorders', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 19, no 3 , pp 265 - 276.
Crowe, K., Cumming, T., McCormack, J., Baker, E., McLeod, S., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S. and Masso, S. (2017), 'Educators' perspectives on facilitating computer-assisted speech intervention in early childhood settings', Child Language Teaching and Therapy, vol 33, no 3 , pp 267 - 285.
McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Masso, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S. and Howland, C. (2017), 'Profile of Australian preschool children with speech sound disorders at risk for literacy difficulties', Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, vol 22, no 1 , pp 15 - 33.
Masso, S., McLeod, S., Wang, C., Baker, E. and McCormack, J. (2017), 'Longitudinal changes in polysyllable maturity of preschool children with phonologically-based speech sound disorders', Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, vol 31, no 6 , pp 424 - 439.
McLeod, S., Verdon, S. and Baker, E. (2017), 'Tutorial : Speech assessment for multilingual children who do not speak the same language(s) as the speech-language pathologist', American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 26, no 3 , pp 691 - 708.
McLeod, S., Baker, E., McCormack, J., Wren, Y., Roulstone, S., Crowe, K., Masso, S., White, P. and Howland, C. (2017), 'Cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of computer-assisted intervention delivered by educators for children with speech sound disorders', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, vol 60, no 7 , pp 1891 - 1910.
Masso, S., Baker, E., McLeod, S. and Wang, C. (2017), 'Polysyllable speech accuracy and predictors of later literacy development in preschool children with speech sound disorders', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, vol 60, no 7 , pp 1877 - 1890.
Hodges, R., Munro, N., Baker, E., McGregor, K. and Heard, R. (2017), 'The monosyllable imitation test for toddlers : influence of stimulus characteristics on imitation, compliance and diagnostic accuracy', International Journal of Language Communication and Communication Disorder, vol 52, no 1 , pp 30 - 45.
Carrigg, B., Parry, L., Baker, E., Shriberg, L. and Ballard, K. (2016), 'Cognitive, linguistic, and motor abilities in a multigenerational family with childhood apraxia of speech', Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, vol 31, no 8 , pp 1006 - 1025.
Sugden, E., Baker, E., Munro, N. and Williams, A. (2016), 'Involvement of parents in intervention for childhood speech sound disorders : a review of the evidence', International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, vol 51, no 6 , pp 597 - 625.
Hodges, R., Munro, N., Baker, E., McGregor, K., Docking, K. and Arciuli, J. (2016), 'The role of elicited verbal imitation in toddlers' word learning', Journal of Child Language, vol 43, no 2 , pp 457 - 471.
Masso, S., McLeod, S., Baker, E. and McCormack, J. (2016), 'Polysyllable productions in preschool children with speech sound disorders : error categories and the framework of polysyllable maturity', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 18, no 3 , pp 272 - 287.
Fulcher, A., Purcell, A., Purcell, A., Baker, E. and Munro, N. (2015), 'Factors influencing speech and language outcomes of children with early identified severe/profound hearing loss : clinician-identified facilitators and barriers', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 17, no 3 , pp 325 - 333.
Carrigg, B., Baker, E., Parry, L. and Ballard, K. (2015), 'Persistent speech sound disorder in a 22-year-old male : communication, educational, socio-emotional, and vocational outcomes', Perspectives on School-Based Issues, vol 16, no 2 , pp 37 - 49.
Masso, S., Baker, E., McLeod, S. and McCormack, J. (2014), 'Identifying phonological awareness difficulties in preschool children with speech sound disorders', Speech, Language and Hearing, vol 17, no 1 , pp 58 - 68.
Von Muenster, K. and Baker, E. (2014), 'Oral communicating children using a cochlear implant : good reading outcomes are linked to better language and phonological processing abilities', International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, vol 78, no 3 , pp 433 - 444.
Masso, S., McCabe, P. and Baker, E. (2014), 'How do children with phonological impairment respond to requests for clarification containing polysyllables?', Child Language Teaching and Therapy, vol 30, no 3 , pp 367 - 382.
McLeod, S. and Baker, E. (2014), 'Speech-language pathologists' practices regarding assessment, analysis, target selection, intervention, and service delivery for children with speech sound disorders', Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, vol 28, no 7-8 , pp 508 - 531.
Fulcher, A., Baker, E., Purcell, A., Purcell, A. and Munro, N. (2014), 'Typical consonant cluster acquisition in auditory-verbal children with early-identified severe/profound hearing loss', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 16, no 1 , pp 69 - 81.
McLeod, S., Verdon, S., Bowen, C., Bacsfalvi, P., Crowe, K., Davis, B., Hesketh, A., Scherer, N., Speake, J., Topbas, S., Washington, K., Williams, A., Wren, Y., Zajdo, K., Zharkova, N. and Baker, E. (2013), 'International aspirations for speech-language pathologists' practice with multilingual children with speech sound disorders : development of a position paper', Journal of Communication Disorders, vol 46, no 4 , pp 375 - 387.
Baker, E. (2012), 'Optimal intervention intensity in speech-language pathology : discoveries, challenges, and unchartered territories', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 14, no 5 , pp 478 - 485.
Baker, E. (2012), 'Optimal intervention intensity', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol 14, no 5 , pp 401 - 409.
Fulcher, A., Purcell, A., Purcell, A., Baker, E. and Munro, N. (2012), 'Listen up : children with early identified hearing loss achieve age-appropriate speech/language outcomes by 3 years-of-age', International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, vol 76, no 12 , pp 1785 - 1794.
Munro, N., Baker, E., McGregor, K., Docking, K. and Arciuli, J. (2012), 'Why word learning is not fast', Frontiers in Psychology, vol 3 .
Baker, E. and McLeod, S. (2011), 'Evidence-based practice for children with speech sound disorders. Part 2: Application to clinical practice', Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, vol 42, no 2 , pp 140 - 151.
Baker, E. and McLeod, S. (2011), 'Evidence-based practice for children with speech sound disorders. Part 1: Narrative review', Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, vol 42, no 2 , pp 102 - 139.
Hogan, A., Shipley, M., Strazdins, L., Purcell, A., Purcell, A. and Baker, E. (2011), 'Communication and behavioural disorders among children with hearing loss increases risk of mental health disorders', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol 35, no 4 , pp 377 - 383.
Baker, E. and Munro, N. (2011), 'An overview of resources for assessing toddlers' productions of polysyllables', ACQ, vol 13, no 2 , pp 58 - 62.

Conference Papers

Ahmed, B., Ballard, K., Burnham, D., Sirojan, T., Mehmood, H., Estival, D., Baker, E., Cox, F., Arciuli, J., Benders, T., Demuth, K., Kelly, B., Diskin-Holdaway, C., Shahin, M., Sethu, V., Epps, J., Lee, C. and Ambikairajah, E. (2021), 'AusKidTalk : an auditory-visual corpus of 3- to 12-year-old Australian children's speech', INTERSPEECH (Conference), Brno, Czech Republic.
Sugden, E., Baker, E., Williams, A. and Munro, N. (2018), 'Interactions between phonological and motor learning : insights from an intervention study', International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association. Conference, Malta.

Other Publications

2023, ''We Love Sharing Your Land': What Children Say About Acknowledgement of Country Practices in Early Learning Centres', Report
2021, 'Acknowledgement of Country practices in Early Learning Centres', Report

Elise is currently engaged in a range of research projects with colleagues exploring various models of allied health care, the impact of COVID-19 on allied health services across South Western Sydney Local Health District. She is also conducting research on the clinical management of communication disorders in children exploring assessment, intervention, service delivery options, and outcomes. A selection of current projects include:

Baker, E., Hawling, G., Short, K., Butt., B., Tosi, K., Jones, C., Kemp, L., Lim,D., & Descalar, J. Dynamic Early Communication Intervention (DECI): Establishing the feasibility, acceptability, reach, and cost of a new intervention for toddlers referred to speech pathology services. Speech Pathology Australia Clinician-Researcher Partnership Grant. (Funded with clinical partners in South Western Sydney Local Health District 2024-2025; $35,937).
Baker, E., Hodges, R., Munro, N., Masso, S., Jones, C., Alt. M., (2022-2024). Getting Toddlers Talking: Advancing Speech PLus Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage (S-VAULT) treatment for late talkers. Collaboration with speech pathologists in South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Sugden, E., Baker, E., Farquaharson, K., Williams, A.L., & Reiking, R. (2023-2024). What happens in a teaching moment? Exploring speech pathologists’ clinical practice when working with children with speech sound disorders. Collaboration with speech pathology colleagues East Tennesse State University, and Florida State University, and private practice.
Fleming, C., Mills., C., Brunacci, K., Poelman A., Emmet, R., & Baker, E., (2023-2024). Determining current practice and perspectives of clinicians working with children who have sensory feeding difficulties, and experiences of families raising children with sensory feeding difficulties.
Naylor JM, Brady B, Mayland B, Gabbe B, Ou Yang O, Rider M, Hudson L, Wong A, Hassett G, Descallar J, Baker E, Lim D, Tang C. Mental health, utilization of mental health services and perceptions of what would help amongst people with traumatic hand injuries: reconnaissance work to inform a new model of care. Lincoln Centre Project Grant (Funded with clinical partners in South Western Sydney Local Health District; $50,000)
Navin, .Thyer, L., Baker, E., Siette, J., Cheung,R., Macmillan,F., Frost, J., Marjadi, B.,Ho, V., Pap, R., Simpson.,P. Bentley,R., Rodas,A., Temple, M., Leahy, A., Mubin, O., Bodganovych, A., & Guo, Y. (2024). Pipeline for research investment (PRI) WSU funding: "Western Immersive Change Lab: Transforming professionals who work with underserved populations through extended reality"