Naomi Cocks
Senior Lecturer at Curtin University | Dementia & Ageing Researcher
Professional Area: Speech Pathology
My research focuses on
- Parkinson’s disease
- Management of communication, swallowing and drooling difficulties associated with Parkinson’s.
My research aims to
- Improve the lives of people living with Parkinson’s and their families
I work closely with
- Park C, a group of researchers whose research aims to improve the quality of life of people living with Parkinson’s and their families
- Parkinson’s WA
- People with Parkinson’s and their families
Naomi’s Story
I completed my speech pathology degree in 1999 and went on to work in a range of health settings across Perth. I mostly worked in acute hospitals, rehabilitation and outpatient services with adults who had acquired communication and swallowing difficulties. I completed my PhD that focused on stroke and communication difficulties that then took me to City University London to work as a lecturer and researcher in the field. I was surrounded by amazing researchers mainly in the area of aphasia and got to work with many people with lived experience of aphasia.
After missing the Perth sunshine, I returned in 2012 and took up my post at Curtin. I shared an office with Associate Professor Andrea Loftus, head of ParkC, and began to talk about our research, realising that a lot of the research that had done with people with aphasia, was very relevant to people who had Parkinson’s. I began attending Parkinson’s WA support groups and realised that there was a need for more research in the areas of communication, swallowing and drooling. So began my collaboration with ParkC and my interest in Parkinson’s research. As I continue my research journey, I hope that the solutions that I find improve the lives of people living with communication and swallowing difficulties.