Britta Biedermann
Senior Lecturer at Curtin University | Dementia & Ageing, Mental Health and Optimising Health & Wellbeing Researcher
Professional Area: Communication & Language
My research focuses on
- The language breakdown after stroke, also known as aphasia.
- Understanding multilingual language difficulties since a diagnosis of aphasia is more complex for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations.
My research aims to
- Understand the mechanisms underlying speech errors in bilingual speakers to improve diagnosis and treatment planning -an essential prerequisite for effective and cost-effective multilingual treatment.
- Explore effects meditation techniques on the well-being and cognitive mechanisms of people with aphasia. Meditation can offer a person with aphasia a break from the challenges faced when living with a language impairment.
I work closely with
- Aphasia WA
- Meditation Aphasia Group – Curtin Clinic
- Sympatico Community Practice Group
Britta’s Story
I am fascinated about languages and how people communicate. When language develops or tragically breaks down (e.g., after stroke), the underlying language organisation reveals itself. This knowledge can help to understand how to assess, and treat developing and acquired language disorders (e.g., developmental and acquired dyslexia and aphasia). I studied psycholinguistics, and the neuropsychology of language at Göttingen and Freiburg University (Germany). After I completed my Masters in Research, I took up a 5-months internship with a leading aphasiologist Prof Lyndsey Nickels, at Macquarie University (MQ). A 5-months stint at the Macquarie Centre of Cognitive Science turned into a 12-year period at this research centre, including the completion of my PhD in 2007 and two subsequent research fellowships (2008-2011: Macquarie Early Career Research Fellowship; 2011-2014: ARC post-doctoral fellowship). In 2015, I took up my first lectureship at Curtin.
My research has always been concerned with the language recovery of people with post-stroke aphasia, hence, I have been working with people with aphasia, their partners and their communities since I took up my studies at Freiburg University as a master’s student. When I arrived at Curtin, my main interest shifted to understanding multilingual language difficulties since a diagnosis of aphasia is more complex for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations.
Being able to work with people with aphasia and other likeminded people across cultures around the world keeps me motivated as a researcher. Over ¼ of Australia’s population is bilingual and the majority of Australians will be multilingual in 2025 (ABS, 2016). Speech Pathology Australia’s strategic plan (2016) for 2030 is to provide for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, acknowledging that current services predominantly target monolingual English clients. To achieve this, we need to understand the mechanisms underlying speech errors in bilingual speakers to improve diagnosis and treatment planning -an essential prerequisite for effective and cost-effective multilingual treatment.