Guest post: A research stay in Sogndal

As most members of the EST-project are having some well earned time of this summer, the EST blog will take a short break. As a last post before the holidays, we have asked Ria Bernard to be a guest on the blog! The PhD- student normally situated at the UCL have been working together with EST group member Hilde this spring. In this blog entrance she writes about her research and research stay. Thank you for sharing, Ria!

I first met Dr Hilde Hofslundsengen during her visit to University College London (UCL) in the autumn term 2018, when she was visiting my supervisor, Professor Courtenay Norbury’s, lab. Only a few months into my PhD, it was exciting to hear about the fantastic work Hilde was doing with the EST Project team and her passion for stuttering research.

My PhD is looking at whether there is an association between anxiety & depression and stuttering in children and young people. It is very much set in the context of preventative healthcare in terms of firstly identifying whether children who stammer are more likely to present with anxiety/depression relative to their non-stammering peers, and potentially identifying risk factors that could guide effective early intervention to offset later adverse mental health conditions in this population.

The first project in my PhD involves completing a systematic review of the literature that has explored anxiety and depression in young people who stammer. You can imagine how delighted I was when Hilde, with all her experiences within the EST project and beyond, agreed to co-author the review – and even more thrilled when she invited me to visit her at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences to work on the review together!

In late May 2019, I arrived in the spectacular town of Sogndal. It was incredible to be surrounded by such breath-taking scenery while undertaking our research - and quite a change from the hustle and bustle of London. I was overwhelmed by everyone’s friendliness at the university and their ability to lapse effortlessly between Norwegian and English (amongst other languages!) over lunch in the staff canteen.

Following an initial literature search, we now settled down to the task of screening over 

13,000 articles. While overwhelming in the beginning, our persistence paid off and we managed to get down to just under 500 articles for the full text screening. With a week and a half to go, we worked hard to get through the second stage of the review process, each of us screening all 481 articles with a day to spare before I had to return to London. Exceeding the personal goals we had set for my four-week visit, I was very proud to be returning to UCL with 21 articles for the third coding stage of the review.

Alongside all the work on the review, I also managed to explore the stunning nature that Sogndal – and Norway – has to offer. From making the most of the long light evenings with mountain walks overlooking the Fjords to visiting Jostedalsbreen Glacier, nature offered a mesmerising solace from our computer screens. 

Hilde, making every effort to include me in the team, invited me to Bergen where I had an opportunity to be a tourist for a day, and to accompany her research team on their writing retreat in the most picturesque surroundings. Hilde’s colleagues were equally welcoming – inviting me to the cinema and to sample the cultural delights of the summer market in Lærdal. While we didn’t make it to Oslo, I was very pleased to meet Linn and Åse over a virtual coffee on Skype!

The last four weeks in Norway have been unforgettable and I want to say a big thank you to Hilde and her family for making me so incredibly welcome and giving me the chance to visit. Needless to say that having the opportunity to work side-by-side and systematically sift through decades of research literature had huge benefits not only for our project but also for me as a researcher learning from Hilde’s wealth of experience.

I hope one day I’ll have an opportunity to return!

Ria Bernard, UCL PhD student

My research is funded by ESRC UBEL DTP and Action for Stammering Children Charity

What I’ve learned in my first year as a PhD student in the EST-project

The summer holiday is about to start. That marks the end of my first year as a PhD-student in the EST project. During this year I have gotten to know the field of stuttering better through countless discussions in our group, writing, experiencing peer review, attending a symposium, and reading research. The research on treatment for preschool aged children who stutter is fast evolving. Just in the last year Millard, Zebrowski & Kelman (2018) Trajkovski, N., O'Brian, S., Onslow, M., Packman, A.,Lowe, R., Menzies, R., ... & Reilly, S. (2019) and Druker, Mazzucchelli & Beilby (2019) have added to the evidence. It is without doubt a truly interesting and exiting field to dig into.

However, being a PhD- student, I’ve discovered, also means classes to take, teaching to do and worries to have. I’ve spent this year trying to figure out how best to handle a #phdlife. Here are six things I’ve learned this year:

1) Planning is key!

The line “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it” has never been true for me. With a lot to do at work, my short-term memory has definitely not approved. I use my calendar for all things I need to do, and I write “to do” lists on my phone, on stickers on my desk and in meetings. I’ve learned this keep me sane and helps me to worry less about things I need to remember.

To keep track of the longer run I keep a four-year plan that I often check in on and change accordingly. In addition I make a detailed plan for every week a couple of months ahead so that I can have a more simple plan to look at than my calendar to make sure I meet my small goals set for that time. This also helps me to see that I am actually getting things done! 

As for writing things down, I have also learned I should always write notes from meetings, classes as well as methodological reflections, references and thoughts I have for future papers. Along with other PhD-students at my department, I have tried writing every day. This has been a very interesting experience. Although I have not always succeeded, the post about ways to write more taught me that many activities are relevant in the writing process, not only writing on a blank page.

2) Imposter syndrome is real

Surely, I am not alone about feeling misplaced in academia at times. I’ve learned that worrying about being exposed as incompetent is not unusual. In fact, it has a name: Imposter syndrome. To manage the feeling in order to get things done, I have learned it is not always helpful to compare myself to others. Every PhD project is different, and every PhD student do things differently. Instead of worrying about my own process when hearing about what others manage, I try to be happy for them and notice when I am doing something right as well, which leads us to the next point:

3) No victory is too small to celebrate

Working long hours, and always having the feeling that I need to start on a new task, it is sometimes hard to slow down and notice that I am making progress. I’ve learned to notice and celebrate small milestone. That might be submitting a paper for a class, having that paper accepted, doing a presentation, or finishing a draft. Celebration might be finishing a little earlier, enjoying lunch outside or splurging on the good coffee. Paying attention to the small milestones along the way reminds me that I am in fact moving forward.

4) Teaching is fun!

Growing up with two teacher parents, I was determent never to become a teacher. So I became an SLP, started my PhD and found out I love to teach! 

Frankly- I have had a sneaky feeling I enjoyed it also prior to the PhD. Through my last job, I was able to teach at our department. Teaching student both in speech and language but also seminarian in special education motivates me and gives me a opportunity to look at the field from the outside. Also, meeting students and getting them excited about the world of stuttering is truly rewarding.

5) Doing a PhD is a learning experience

I often need to remind myself that the PhD position is not only a job, but also an education. I tell myself this when I have the feeling I know nothing on the first day of a lecture, or don’t understand anything of the first chapter of a new book. It takes some time to shake the feeling of being stupid. However, thinking about things that I didn’t know about when I first started a year ago really helps.  

6) It is a marathon, not a sprint!

I’ve learned that not all days are productive days. Some days I’ll only make it half way through my to do-list and feel like I am doing zero progress. Moreover, although days like that are unhelpful, I realize that my thesis does not break into a thousand pieces because of a day or two like that. Luckily!  Similarly, I have learned to take advantage of good days. To close the door to the office in order to not be disturbed when I feel like I’m in a good flow. Tick of all the boxes on the “to do” list, and perhaps, go back to point 3.

-Åse