Rebecca Armstrong

Dr Rebecca Armstrong is a Lecturer in Speech Pathology at the University of Queensland, working within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences under the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. She also serves as an Affiliate of the Parenting and Family Support Centre. Her academic career focuses on pediatric speech pathology with particular expertise in school-age children and communication disorders.

Dr Armstrong's research interests span several key areas in speech pathology and child development. Her primary focus is on school-age children, with emphasis on service delivery, assessment, and intervention for children with communication difficulties. She has specialized expertise in word learning processes, including incidental word learning, cross-situational word learning, and fast mapping in children with communication disorders. Her work on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is particularly notable, and she conducts epidemiology research examining early life predictors and long-term outcomes of communication disorders. School readiness is another significant research area for Dr Armstrong.

Analysis of Dr Armstrong's recent publications reveals a strong focus on pediatric communication disorders, particularly related to Autism Spectrum Disorder and school readiness. Her work frequently examines the intersection of speech pathology with education, showing particular interest in how classroom environments, teacher-student interactions, and family support systems affect communication development. There is a clear pattern of research on children with special needs, especially those born prematurely or with developmental language disorders. Her methodology often involves longitudinal studies, systematic reviews, and community-based participatory approaches.

Dr Armstrong actively supervises doctoral students, serving as Principal Advisor for projects including language-mathematics relationships, youth justice communication support, and parent-directed interventions for language development. She has received multiple research grants from organizations including Speech Pathology Australia, Children's Health Queensland, and the Queensland Department of Education, with current projects focusing on legal vocabulary in youth justice settings and addressing wait times in child development services.