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    • Professor Beth Armstrong
      https://www.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0009/691668/professor-beth-armstrong.jpg
    • Professor Beth Armstrong

      Professor Beth Armstrong

Professor Beth Armstrong

Professor

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 2769
Email: b.armstrong@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
Room: JO21.536  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4469-1117

Professor Elizabeth Armstrong is the Foundation Chair in Speech Pathology.

Current Teaching

  • SPE3112

Background

Professor Elizabeth Armstrong isFoundation Chair in Speech Pathology. Along with a new Speech Pathology teamrecruited to ECU in 2009, Professor Armstrong established a fully accredited undergraduate Speech Pathology program and a postgraduate research program.Prior to coming to ECU, she worked at Macquarie University in Sydney, where she established the first Speech Pathology Masters program in NSW. ProfessorArmstrong worked in the hospital sector as a clinician in Sydney for many years before taking up an academic career, focusing on acute inpatient care as well as longer-term rehabilitation for people with communication disorders afterstroke.

Professor Armstrong’s research isprimarily in the area of aphasia – language difficulty after stroke. Her workincludes the application of Systemic Functional Linguistic theory to the everydaydiscourse of people with aphasia, early intervention strategies, and issuesrelated to communication disorders in Australian Aboriginal populations.  Her current projects funded by the NH&MRCinvolve a multi-centre randomised control trial of very early intervention forpeople with aphasia after stroke (“Very Early Rehabilitation of Speech -VERSE”), and an exploration into communication disorders in Aboriginalpeoples in Western Australia (“Missing Voices: An investigation intoacquired communication disorders after stroke and traumatic brain injury inIndigenous Australians”).

Professor Armstrong presents regularly at both national and international speech pathology, linguistics, allied health andmedical conferences and has published widely in the area of aphasia. She has actively collaborated in the field of aphasia research at both national and international levels. She currently leads two large multidisciplinary teams involving extensive community collaboration to ensure research translation. She has built a strong collaborative team of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers focusing on this area within Australia. She is currently building an international team from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa which is the first to examine commonalities in Indigenous experiences of brain injury and related services internationally. Professor Armstrong also collaborates with research groups at University of Texas, and University of Helsinki regarding Systemic Functional Linguistic applications to aphasic discourse, and with researchers at University of Witwatersrand on cross-cultural communication. She is also leading a national university Speech Pathology collaboration surrounding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum development.

Professor Armstrong was founding Editor of Advances in Speech Language Pathology, now entitled the International Journal of Speech Language Pathology, has been Guest Editor of the Clinical Aphasiology Conference special issues of the international journal Aphasiology from 2007-2010, Seminars in Speech and Language, Journal of Neurolinguistics, and is on numerous international editorial boards.

Professional Associations

  • Speech Pathology Association of Australia

Awards and Recognition

  • Fellow of the Speech Pathology Association of Australia

Research Areas and Interests

  • Aphasia
  • Aphasia rehabilitation
  • Linguistic applications to everyday discourse in aphasia
  • Professional interactions
  • Aboriginal health
  • Aboriginal English

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Macquarie University, 1997.
  • Master of Arts (Honours), Macquarie University, 1988.

Research Outputs

2021

Journal Articles

  • Cairns, A., Geia, L., Kris, S., Armstrong, B., O'Hara, A., Rodda, D., McDermott, R., Barker, R. (2021). Developing a community rehabilitation and lifestyle service for a remote indigenous community. Disability and Rehabilitation, epub ahead of print(March), 9p.. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2021.1900416.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Centeno, J., Kiran, S., Armstrong, B. (2020). Epilogue: Harnessing the experimental and clinical resources to address service imperatives in multiethnic aphasia caseloads. Aphasiology, 34(11), 1451-1455. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2020.1781421.
  • Armstrong, B., McAllister, M., Hersh, D., Katzenellenbogen, J., Thompson, S., Coffin, J., Flicker, L., Woods, D., Hayward, C., Ciccone, N. (2020). A screening tool for acquired communication disorders in Aboriginal Australians after brain injury: lessons learned from the pilot phase. Aphasiology, 34(11), 1388-1412. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2019.1678107.
  • Hersh, D., Armstrong, B. (2020). Information, communication, advocacy, and complaint: how the spouse of a man with aphasia managed his discharge from hospital. Aphasiology, 2020(Article in press), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2020.1765304.

2019

Book Chapters

  • Brewer, K., Lewis, T., Bond, C., Armstrong, B., Hill, A., Nelson, A., Coffin, J. (2019). Maintaining cultural integrity in Australian Aboriginal and New Zealand Maori qualitative research in communication disorders. Qualitative research in communication disorders - an introduction for students and clinicians (407-433). J&R Press Ltd.

Journal Articles

  • Armstrong, B., Coffin, J., Hersh, D., Katznellenbogen, J., Thompson, S., Ciccone, N., Flicker, L., Woods, D., Hayward, C., Dowell, C., McAllister, M. (2019). “You felt like a prisoner in your own self, trapped”: the experiences of Aboriginal people with acquired communication disorders. Disability and Rehabilitation, 2019(Article in press), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1686073.
  • Groenewold, R., Armstrong, B. (2019). A multimodal analysis of enactment in everyday interaction in people with aphasia. Aphasiology, 33(12), 1441-1461. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2019.1644814.
  • Booth, S., Armstrong, B., Taylor, C., Hersh, D. (2019). Communication access: is there some common ground between the experiences of people with aphasia and speakers of English as an additional language?. Aphasiology, 33(8), 996-1018. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2018.1512078.
  • Ciccone, N., Armstrong, B., Hersh, D., Adams, M., McAllister, M. (2019). The Wangi (talking) project: A feasibility study of a rehabilitation model for aboriginal people with acquired communication disorders after stroke. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(3), 305-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2019.1595146.
  • Armstrong, B., Coffin, J., McAllister, M., Hersh, D., Katzenellenbogen, J., Thompson, S., Ciccone, N., Flicker, L., Cross, N., Arabi, L., Woods, D., Hayward, C. (2019). ‘I’ve got to row the boat on my own, more or less’: aboriginal australian experiences of traumatic brain injury. Brain Impairment, 20(2), 120-136. https://doi.org/10.1017/BrImp.2019.19.
  • Hersh, D., Armstrong, B., McAllister, M., Ciccone, N., Katzenellenbogen, J., Coffin, J., Thompson, S., Hayward, C., Flicker, L., Woods, D. (2019). General practitioners’ perceptions of their communication with Australian Aboriginal patients with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. Patient Education and Counseling, 102(12), 2310-2317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2019.07.029.
  • Armstrong, B., Carmody, A., Robins, A., Lewis, T. (2019). Assessment and outcome measures for Aboriginal Australians with communication disorders. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, 21(2), 50-57.

2018

Journal Articles

  • Godecke, E., Rai, T., Cadilhac, D., Armstrong, B., Middleton, S., Ciccone, N., Whitworth, A., Rose, M., Holland, A., Ellery, F., Hankey, G., Bernhardt, J. (2018). Statistical analysis plan (SAP) for the Very Early Rehabilitation in Speech (VERSE) after stroke trial: aninternational 3-arm clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of early, intensive, prescribed, direct aphasia therapy. International Journal of Stroke, 13(8), 863-880. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493018790055.
  • Katzenellenbogen, J., Atkins, E., Thompson, S., Hersh, D., Coffin, J., Flicker, L., Hayward, C., Ciccone, N., Woods, D., Greenland, M., McAllister, M., Armstrong, B. (2018). Missing Voices: Profile, Extent, and 12-Month Outcomes of Nonfatal Traumatic Brain Injury in Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Adults in Western Australia Using Linked Administrative Records. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 33(6), 412-423. https://doi.org/10.1097/HTR.0000000000000371.
  • Hersh, D., Wood, P., Armstrong, B. (2018). Informal aphasia assessment, interaction and the development of the therapeutic relationship in the early period after stroke. Aphasiology, 32(8), 876-901. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2017.1381878.
  • Groenewold, R., Armstrong, B. (2018). The effects of enactment on communicative competence in aphasic casual conversation: a functional linguistic perspective. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 53(4), 836-851. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12392.

2017

Book Chapters

  • Ferguson, A., Spencer, E., Armstrong, B. (2017). Systemic functional linguistics and clinical linguistics. The Routledge Handbook of Systemic Functional Linguistics (491-505). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315413891.

Journal Articles

  • Penn, C., Armstrong, B. (2017). Intercultural aphasia: new models of understanding forIndigenous populations. Aphasiology, 31(5), 563-594. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2016.1213788.
  • Berg, K., Askim, T., Balandin, S., Armstrong, B., Rise, M. (2017). Experiences of participation in goal setting for people with stroke-induced aphasia in Norway: A qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 39(11), 1122-1130. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1185167.
  • Armstrong, B., McKay, G., Hersh, D. (2017). Assessment and treatment of aphasia in Aboriginal Australians: Linguistic considerations and broader implications for cross-cultural practice. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, 19(1), 27-34.
  • Penn, C., Armstrong, B., Brewer, K., Purves, B., McAllister, M., Hersh, D., Godecke, E., Ciccone, N., Lewis, A. (2017). De-colonizing Speech-Language Pathology practice in acquired neurogenic disorders. Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders, 2(3), 91-99. https://doi.org/10.1044/persp2.SIG2.91.
  • Armstrong, B., Ciccone, N., Hersh, D., Katzenellenbogen, J., Coffin, J., Thompson, S., Flicker, L., Hayward, C., Woods, D., McAllister, M. (2017). Development of the Aboriginal Communication Assessment After Brain Injury (ACAABI): a screening tool for identifying acquired communication disorders in Aboriginal Australians. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19(3), 297-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2017.1290136.

2016

Journal Articles

  • Berg, K., Rise, MB., Balandin, S., Armstrong, B., Askim, T. (2016). Speech pathologists' experience of involving people with stroke-induced aphasia in clinical decision making during rehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 38(9), 870-878. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2015.1066453.
  • Hersh, D., Godecke, E., Armstrong, B., Ciccone, N., Bernhardt, J. (2016). “Ward Talk”: nurses' interaction with people with and without aphasia in the very early period poststroke. Aphasiology, 30(5), 609-628. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2014.933520.
  • Katzenellenbogen, J., Atkins, E., Thompson, S., Hersh, D., Coffin, J., Flicker, L., Hayward, C., Ciccone, N., Woods, D., McAllister, M., Armstrong, B. (2016). Missing Voices: Profile and extent of acquired communication disorders in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adult stroke survivors in Western Australia using linked administrative records. International Journal of Stroke, 11(1), 103-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493015607521.
  • Godecke, E., Armstrong, B., Rai, T., Middleton, S., Ciccone, N., Whitworth, A., Rose, M., Holland, A., Ellery, F., Hankey, G., Cadilhac, D., Bernhardt, J. (2016). A randomized controlled trial of very early rehabilitation in speech after stroke. International Journal of Stroke, 11(5), 586-592. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493016641116.

2015

Journal Articles

  • Hersh, D., Armstrong, B., Bourke, N. (2015). A narrative analysis of a speech pathologist’s work with Indigenous Australians with acquired communication disorders. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(1), 33-40. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2014.890675.
  • Armstrong, B., Hersh, D., Katzenellenbogen, J., Coffin, J., Thompson, S., Ciccone, N., Hayward, C., Flicker, L., Woods, D., McAllister, M. (2015). Study Protocol: Missing Voices - Communication difficulties after stroke and traumatic brain injury in Aboriginal Australians. Brain Impairment, 16(2), 145-156. https://doi.org/10.1017/BrImp.2015.15.
  • Armstrong, B., Hersh, D., Hayward, C., Fraser, J. (2015). Communication disorders after stroke in Aboriginal Australians. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(16), 1462-1469. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2014.972581.
  • Hersh, D., Armstrong, B., Panak, V., Coombes, J. (2015). Speech-language pathology practices with Indigenous Australians with acquired communication disorders. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17(1), 74-85. https://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2014.923510.

2014

Journal Articles

  • Stewart, K., Ciccone, N., Armstrong, B. (2014). Carer experiences with rehabilitation in the home. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, 16(1), 2-6.

2013

Journal Articles

  • Godecke, E., Rai, T., Ciccone, N., Armstrong, B., Granger, A., Hankey, G. (2013). Amount of therapy matters in very early aphasia rehabilitation after stroke: A clinical prognostic model. Seminars in Speech and Language, 34(3), 129-141. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1358369.
  • Cherney, L., Simmons-Mackie, N., Raymer, A., Armstrong, B., Holland, A. (2013). Systematic Review of Communication Partner Training in Aphasia: Methodological Quality. International Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 15(5), 535-545. https://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2013.763289.
  • Armstrong, B., Fox, S., Wilkinson, R. (2013). Mild aphasia: is this the place for an argument?. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 22(2), S268-S278. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2012/12-0084).

2012

Journal Articles

  • Armstrong, B., Hersh, D., Hayward, C., Fraser, J., Brown, M. (2012). Living with aphasia: Three Indigenous Australian stories. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 14(3), 271-280. https://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2011.663790.
  • Armstrong, B., Mortensen, L., Ciccone, N., Godecke, E. (2012). Expressing opinions and feelings in a conversational setting. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33(1), 16-26. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1301160.

2011

Book Chapters

  • Armstrong, B., Ferguson, A., Mortensen, L. (2011). Public and private identity: The co-construction of aphasia through discourse.. Discourses of deficit (215-234). Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal Articles

  • Armstrong, B., Ciccone, N., Godecke, E., Kok, B. (2011). Monologues and dialogues in aphasia: Some initial comparisons. Aphasiology, 25(11), 1347-1371. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2011.577204.
  • Fromm, D., Holland, A., Armstrong, B., Forbes, M., Macwhinney, B., Risko, A., Mattison, N. (2011). “Better But No Cigar”: Persons with Aphasia Speak about their Speech.. Aphasiology, 25(11), 1431-1447. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2011.608839.

2010

Book Chapters

  • Armstrong, B., Ferguson, E. (2010). Interacting with difficulty: The case of aphasia. New adventures in language and interaction (199-221). John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Journal Articles

  • Simmons-Mackie, N., Raymer, S., Armstrong, B., Holland, A., Cherney, L. (2010). Communication Partner Training in Aphasia:A Systematic Review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 91(12), 1814-1837.
  • Armstrong, B., Ferguson, A. (2010). Language, meaning, context, and functional communication. Aphasiology, 24(4), 480-496.
  • Barnes, S., Armstrong, B. (2010). Conversation after right hemisphere brain damage: Motivations for applying conversation analysis. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 24(1), 55-69.

2007

Book Chapters

  • Armstrong, B., Ulatowska, H. (2007). Stroke Stories: Conveying Emotive Experiences in Aphasia.. Clinical Aphasiology: Future Directions (195-210). Psychology Press.

Journal Articles

  • Armstrong, B., Ulatowska, H. (2007). Making stories: Evaluative language and the aphasia experience. Aphasiology, 21(6-8), 763-774.

2006

Journal Articles

  • Armstrong, B., Mortensen, L. (2006). Everyday talk: Its role in assessment and treatment for individuals with aphasia. Brain Impairment, 7(3), 175-189.

2005

Book Chapters

  • Armstrong, B., Ferguson, A., Mortensen, L., Togher, L. (2005). Acquired language disorders: Some functional insights.. Continuing Discourse on Language: A Functional Perspective (383-412). Equinox Publishing.

Journal Articles

  • Armstrong, B. (2005). Language disorder: A functional linguistic perspective. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 19(3), 137-153.
  • Armstrong, B. (2005). Expressing opinions and feelings in aphasia: Linguistic options. Aphasiology, 19(3-5), 285-295.
  • Bartlett, S., Armstrong, B., Roberts, J. (2005). Linguistic resources of individuals with Asperger Syndrome. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 19(3), 203-213.

Conference Publications

  • Mirabito, K., Armstrong, B. (2005). Parent Reactions to Speech Therapy Involvement.. Proceedings of the 2005 Speech Pathology Australia National Conference (54-61). Speech Pathology Australia.

2004

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, A., Armstrong, B. (2004). Reflections on speech–language therapists’ talk: implications for clinical practice and education. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 39(4), 469-507.

2003

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, A., Worrall, L., McPhee, J., Buskell, R., Armstrong, B., Togher, L. (2003). Testamentary capacity and aphasia: A descriptive case report with implications for clinical practice. Aphasiology, 17(10), 965-980.
  • Armstrong, B. (2003). Communication culture in acute speech pathology settings: Current issues. Advances in Speech-Language Pathology, 5(2), 137-143.

Research Projects

  • Enhancing rehabilitation services for Aboriginal Australians after brain injury: Healing Right Way, National Health and Medical Research Council, Partnership Projects, 2016 ‑ 2023, $1,856,079.
  • Brain injury yarning circles: Support groups for Aboriginal Australians after brain injury, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Neurotrauma Research Program, 2020 ‑ 2022, $95,000.
  • Medical and Health Research Infrastructure Fund 2018 (Round 22), Department of Health WA, Medical and Health Research Infrastructure, 2019 ‑ 2020, $17,132.
  • Translation of a culturally responsive stroke rehabilitation service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into a real-world setting in northern Australia: A Type 1 hybrid effectiveness implementation trial., National Health and Medical Research Council, Northern Australia Tropical Disease Collaborative Research Program, 2018 ‑ 2020, $9,487.
  • Investigating a Communication Enhanced Environment to Increase Communication Activity Early After Stroke. , Hollywood Private Hospital Research Foundation, Grant, 2016 ‑ 2020, $17,483.
  • Early process evaluation: Real-world data to inform better implementation of an Aboriginal stroke rehabilitation trial , National Stroke Foundation, Seed Grants, 2018 ‑ 2019, $29,819.
  • Yarning together: Developing a culturally secure rehabilitation approach for Aboriginal Australians after brain injury, Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health CRC, 2017 Research Funding, 2018 ‑ 2019, $166,445.
  • Prediction of language outcome after stroke using clinically available acute brain imaging , Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation Ltd, Grant, 2016 ‑ 2018, $25,000.
  • Very Early Rehabilitation in SpEech: An RCT of aphasia therapy after stroke, National Health and Medical Research Council, Project Grants, 2013 ‑ 2018, $742,000.
  • Stroke survivors and staff informing Very Early Rehabilitation in Speech (VERSE-Q): a VERSE qualitative sub-study., Edith Cowan University, ECU Collaboration Enhancement Scheme - 2016 Round 2, 2017 ‑ 2018, $10,000.
  • Medical and Health Research Infrastructure Fund 2016 (Round 20), Department of Health WA, Medical and Health Research Infrastructure, 2017 ‑ 2018, $29,305.
  • Very Early Rehabilitation in SpEech: An RCT of aphasia therapy after stroke, Tavistock Trust for Aphasia, Grant, 2017 ‑ 2018, $243,000.
  • Medical and Health Research Infrastructure Fund (MHRIF) 2015 (Round 19) , Department of Health WA, Medical and Health Research Infrastructure, 2016 ‑ 2017, $19,560.
  • The Wangi (talking) project: a feasibility study of a culturally sensitive rehabilitation model for Aboriginal people post stroke., National Stroke Foundation, Seed Grants, 2016 ‑ 2017, $49,779.
  • Missing voices: Communication difficulties after stroke and traumatic brain injury in Indigenous Australians, National Health and Medical Research Council, Project Grants, 2013 ‑ 2016, $634,088.
  • 2015 NHMRC Equipment Grant, National Health and Medical Research Council, Equipment Grant 2015, 2015 ‑ 2016, $6,798.
  • Standard Equipment Grant 2012, National Health and Medical Research Council, Equipment Grant 2012, 2012 ‑ 2014, $5,744.
  • Learning not to talk: Is communication "learned non-use" following stroke a reality?, Edith Cowan University, ECU Early Career Researcher - Grant, 2011 ‑ 2012, $23,622.
  • Communication difficulties after stroke in Indigenous Australians: Issues and attitudes, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, AIATSIS - Grant, 2010 ‑ 2011, $35,541.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Investigation of the role of dynamic assessment in the diagnosis, referral and language outcomes of multilingual children with developmental language disorder

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Investigating communication enhanced environments after stroke

Completed Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Master of Social Science, Face-to-face: An exploratory study of how people with aphasia and speakers of English as a second language perceive their interactions with government agencies
  • Master of Social Science, Speech and swallowing rehabilitation in the home: A comparison of two service delivery models for stroke survivors
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