Rate My Professor Chantelle Highman

Dr. Chantelle Highman serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Curtin School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. She holds a PhD (2010) and BSc (Speech and Hearing) from Curtin University, along with CPSP certification as a practising speech pathologist. Her doctoral research examined early speech motor and language skills in childhood apraxia of speech, presenting evidence for a core deficit in speech motor control. With extensive clinical experience as a speech pathologist, Highman transitioned into academia, where she lectures, researches, and supervises higher degree students. She contributes to Curtin’s enAble Institute Disability and Inclusion team in the area of speech pathology and has been involved in collaborative research projects, including those funded by Apraxia Kids.

Highman’s research focuses on childhood apraxia of speech, infant vocalizations, speech sound disorders, and prelinguistic communication development. Her key publications include “I Just Want Him to Be Understood”: Parent Perspectives of the Long-Term Desired Outcomes and Experiences of Early Intervention for Children With Childhood Apraxia of Speech (2025); Research Priorities for Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Long View (2024); Update on Identification and Treatment of Infants and Toddlers With Suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech (2023); The Need for Increased Study of Infants and Toddlers Later Diagnosed With Childhood Apraxia of Speech (2021); Early Development in Infants at Risk of Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Longitudinal Investigation (2013); and Prelinguistic Communication Development in Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Retrospective Analysis (2012). These works, cited over 100 times, inform early identification, intervention strategies, and parent experiences in the field. In recognition of her teaching, she received the Curtin University Faculty of Health Sciences Teaching Excellence and Innovation Early Career Award in 2021.