ACU Researcher

Natalie is a qualified speech pathologist with over 15 years of experience working with children and adults in community settings. Her research focuses on communicative competence in children with complex communication needs, with particular interests in agency, cultural and linguistic diversity, and family-centred communication practices. Through conversation analysis and thematic analysis, her PhD examined social interaction in school environments and speech pathologists’ experiences supporting multilingual families. Natalie currently leads an ISAAC-funded project investigating multilingual family interactions involving children with complex communication needs. Her work aims to advance inclusive communication practices and support professionals and families to foster meaningful participation and interaction across diverse communication contexts. 

Select publications

• Skinner, N. & Barnes, S. (in press). Exploring agency and communication disability in childhood using multimodal conversation analysis. In R. Khamis & Y. Hyter (Eds.), Language development in context: Toward inclusive and decolonized approaches for speech-language pathologists. Routledge.

• Skinner, N. & Barnes, S. (2026). Exploring peer interactions in a special education setting: Alignment and affiliation in reciprocal registering sequences. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2026.2718312

• Skinner, N., & Barnes, S. (2026). Co-construction of transitional spaces in lesson-time: An exploration of registering in special education classrooms. Linguistics and Education. 94, 101544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2026.101544

• Skinner, N., & Barnes, S. (2026). Australian speech-language pathologists’ perspectives on service delivery to children with complex communication needs in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2026.2685836

• Skinner, N., & Barnes, S., (2026). What Influences Speech Pathology Practice for Children with Complex Communication Needs from Multilingual Families? An Australian Perspective. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 61(3), e70244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.70244

Conference presentations:

• International Conversation Analysis Conference (Edmonton, Canada), June 2026, Distribution of agency in peer interactions: Responses to registering in a special education primary school.

• 19^th International Pragmatics Conference (Brisbane), June, 2025, Registering as an action in the co-construction of transitional spaces in special education classrooms.

• Australian Linguistics Society Annual Conference (Canberra), November 2024, Exploring responses to registering in peer interactions: Children’s communicative competence and agency in a special education setting.

• Linguistics Inclusion Today – Macquarie University (Sydney), December, 2023,  Cultural and linguistic diversity in children with communication disability: Speech pathologist perspective.

• International Conference on Multilingualism for Epistemological Diversity and Inclusion (Sydney), September 2023, Cultural and linguistic diversity in children with a disability affecting their communication: Speech pathologist perspective.

Projects

• 2026-2027 ISAAC Small Grant – Multilingual Family Interactions with Children who have Complex Communication Needs: An Exploratory Qualitative Study 

Awards

• NSW Department of Education Waratah Scholarship

Appointments and Affiliations

• Macquarie Linguistics Conversation Analysis Lab
• International Society for Conversation Analysis
• Australian Linguistic Society

Editorial roles

• Member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (2024-Present)