Staff profile

Professor Alison Perry

Foundation Chair, Lecturer & Honours Coordinator

Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Allied Health
Department of Human Communication Sciences

HS1-330, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

PhD, MRCSLT

Membership of professional Associations

Fellow of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) UK, Member of International Association of Logopaedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) , Europe, Founder member of European Study Group for Fun

Area of study

Speech Pathology

Brief Profile

Alison was initially appointed as Foundation Chair in Human Communication Sciences at La Trobe University and was then Head of the School for several years. Prior to this, Alison worked in the UK, where she was the Head of Speech and Language Therapy Department at Charing Cross Hospital and was Senior Lecturer at City University. These experiences formed her interest in clinical research and resulted in her appreciating the need for an evidence base to speech pathology practice. Alison has extensive research and clinical experience in speech and swallowing rehabilitation of people with Head and Neck (H&N) cancer, and in measurement of therapy outcomes (AusTOMs). Alison’s recent work has focussed on the psychometric properties of tools used in assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders (dysphagia).

Research interests

Speech Pathology

- adults swallowing, speech problems in adults

Recent Publications

Papers:

Maclean, J., Szczesniak, M, Cotton SM, Cook I and Perry A. (2011) Videomanometric examination of pharyngeal swallowing function following total laryngectomy surgery Australian supplement of Otolaryngology - Head  and Neck Surgery , Vol 144, Issue 1, January, JIF: 1.4

Frowen J., Cotton, SM, Corry, J and Perry, A. (2010) The impact of demographics, tumor characteristics and treatment factors on swallowing function after chemo- radiotherapy for Head and Neck cancer. Head & Neck Volume 32 Issue 4, Pages 513 - 528 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122559004/abstract  JIF: 2. 6

Maclean, J., Cotton, SM and Perry, A. (2009) Dysphagia following a total laryngectomy: the effect on Quality of Life, functioning and psychological well-being. Dysphagia Volume 24; Issue No 3; 314-319  JIF: 1. 74

Frowen J., Cotton, SM, Corry, J and Perry, A. (2010) The impact of demographics, tumor characteristics and treatment factors on swallowing function after chemo- radiotherapy for Head and Neck cancer. Head & Neck Vol 32 Issue 4, 513 - 528 JIF: 2.6.

Best, R., Cotton, SM., Hind, J., Robbins, J.A. and Perry, A. (2009) A comparison of the reliability and stability of oro-lingual swallowing pressures in patients with head and neck cancer and healthy adults. Dysphagia: Vol 24, Issue 2; 137-144. JIF: 1. 74

Maclean, J., Cotton, SM and Perry, A. (2009) Post-laryngectomy: it’s hard to swallow. An Australian study of prevalence and self-reports of swallowing function after a total laryngectomy. Dysphagia Volume 24, Issue 2; 172-179. JIF: 1. 74

Bibby, J., Cotton, SM., Corry, J and Perry, A. (2008) Voice outcomes after radiotherapy treatment of early glottic cancer: pre and post-treatment comparison, using multi-dimensional assessments. Head and Neck (May) 600-610.

Frowen, J., Cotton, SM and Perry, A. (2008) The stability, reliability and validity of videofluoroscopy measures for patients with head and neck cancer Dysphagia 23; 4. pp 348-363. JIF: 2.6

Maclean, J., Cotton, SM and Perry, A. (2008) The variation in surgical method used for total laryngectomy in Australia. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology (2008), 122, 728–732.

Skeat, J. and Perry, A. (2007) Exploring the implementation and use of outcome measurement in practice: a qualitative study, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43:2, 110 – 125.

Skeat, J. and Perry, A. (2007) Grounded theory as a method for research in speech and language therapy. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43:2, 95 – 109.

Morris, M., Perry, A.,Bilney, B., Curran, A., Dodd, K., Wittwer, J. and Dalton, GW (2006) Outcomes of Physical Therapy, Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy for People with Motor Neuron Disease: A Systematic Review. Neuro rehabilitation and neural repair. Vol 20, No 3. Sept.

Frowen, J and Perry, A. (2006) Swallowing Outcomes After Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review. Head and Neck. 28 (10): 932-944.

Ball, S., Idel, O., Cotton, S., and Perry, A. (2006) A comparison of two methods for measuring tongue pressure during swallowing in people with Head and Neck cancer. Dysphagia (published online 17th March 2006).

Perry, A and Frowen, J. (2006) Speech and swallowing functions in head and neck cancer patients – what do we know? Cancer Forum 30 (3) pp.178-182; Cancer Council Australia.

Skeat, J. and Perry, A. (2005) Outcome measurement in dysphagia: not so hard to swallow. Dysphagia. Vol 20, 2.

Perry, A. (2005) Measurement of Therapy Outcomes in Australia: The AusTOMs. Conference Proceedings, Speech Pathology Association of Australia. Canberra, June.

Morris, M., Perry, A., Unsworth, C., Duckett, S., Skeat, J., Dodd, K., Taylor, N., and Reilly, K. (2005). AusTOMs for allied health practitioners in Australia: reliability and development of the tool. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation. Vol 12, No 8, Aug.

Books and book chapters:

Perry, A. and Maclean, J (2010) Rehabilitation after treatment for recurrence of head and neck cancer(s). Chapter in: Management of the Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer. Eds. Mehanna, HM & Ang, KK. Pub. Thieme

Perry, A. (2009) How to write a literature review.  In: Perry A., Morris, M., Cotton SM (Eds.) Menzies Foundation: Handbook for Allied Health Researchers.

Perry, A. (2009) Oral presentation at conferences. In: Perry A., Morris, M., Cotton SM.  (Eds.) Menzies Foundation: Handbook for Allied Health Researchers.

Perry, A. (2009) Face to Face Interviews.  In: Perry A., Morris, M., Cotton SM. (Eds.) Menzies Foundation: Handbook for Allied Health Researchers.

Perry, A. (2008) Speech pathology in ENT practice: scope, science and evidence for intervention. Chapter in Scott Brown's Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery; Section XIII: The Upper Airway (Ed. Hibbert, J.) Pub. Arnold

Perry, A. (2008) Speech pathology management of dysphagia: an evidence based review. Chapter in Scott Brown's Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery; Section XII: The Upper Digestive Tract (Ed. Hibbert, J.) Pub. Arnold

 

Older Publications

Perry, A., Anderson, K., Leen, R. and Cotton, S. (2001). Elevation of the soft palate in speech and swallowing in normal females subjects and in females with motor neuron disease. International Journ Lang Comm Dis 37(20; 197-214

McInstry, A and Perry, A (2003) Evaluation of Speech in people with head and neck cancer: a pilot study. International Journ Lang Comm Dis. 38 (1); 31-46

Bliney B, Morris ME, Perry A. (2003) Effectiveness of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology for people with Huntington's disease: a systematic review. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair 17 (1); 12-24

Skeat J, Perry A, Unsworth C, Morris M, Duckett S, Dodd K, Taylor N. (2003). The use of the ICF framework in an allied health outcome measure: Australian Therapy Outcome measures (AusTOMs). Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2003. ICF User Guide. Version 1.0. Disability Series. AIHW Cat. No. DIS 33. Canberra: AIHW: 77-81.

Perry, A., Morris, M., Unsworth, C., Duckett, S., Skeat, J., Dodd, K., Taylor, N., and Reilly, K (2004) Therapy Outcome Measures for allied health practitioners in Australia: the AusTOMs. The international journal for quality in healthcare. 16 (4) 285-291

Perry, A., Reilly, S., Cotton, S., Bloomberg, K and Johnson, H (2004) A Demographic Survey of People who have a Disability and Complex Communication Needs in Victoria. Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Vol 9, Issue 4

Research projects

 

  • Swallowing outcomes after treatment for Head &Neck cancer (chemo-radiotherapy and total laryngectomy)
  • An Examination of Self-Efficacy and its Impact on Treatment Response in People who have had a Laryngectomy
  • The use of E-stim to improve the swallowing of people with Parkinson’s disease
  • Developing a taxonomy of normal swallowing
  • The association between oro-lingual pressures and speech and swallowing functions in people with Huntington’s disease
  • AMR and SMR: Developing a normative data set for use with older Australians