Dr Sean Pert
Consultant Speech and Language Therapist
Biography

Dr Sean Pert qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1995. He has a range of postgraduate qualifications:
- PhD in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, previously Specific Language Impairment) in a Bilingual Context
- PG Dip Healthcare Management,
- PG Cert Higher Education teaching, and
- PG Cert Gender Identity Healthcare Practice.
Sean’s PhD examined code switching (the use of bilingual utterances) and how errors in this domain could be used as a clinical marker for identifying Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in bilingual children.
Sean has published research and presented at national and international conferences. Sean’s publications include papers, book chapters, assessments in languages other than English (LOTE), and textbooks. ‘Working with Children Experiencing Speech and Language Disorders in a Bilingual Context: A Home Language Approach’ draws on Sean's pioneering work on home language assessment and therapy, along with Dr Carol Stow, spanning 30 years of prompting home language / mother tongue in Speech and Language Therapy. Sean worked in one of the few services in the UK to provide a home language assessment and intervention care pathway.
Sean has extensive clinical experience in the National Health Service and the Charity Sector. Sean set up the Indigo Gender Service Voice Exploration service in Greater Manchester, starting as a pro bono evening and weekend service before being commissioned by the NHS.
Sean has been a Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester since 2014, where he teaches Foundations in Phonetics and Phonology, Clinical Phonetics (IPA Clinical Transcription), Speech Sound Disorder (SSD Analysis and Intervention), Clinical and Professional Practice, Bilingualism, and Voice & Communication Therapy (VCT) for trans and gender diverse individuals.
Sean is the first 'out' gay person, and the first man to hold the position of Chair of RCSLT (October 2022 to October 2024). Sean has been a Clinical Adviser for RCSLT since 2004.
Sean has also been the Representative for Large Affiliated Societies for IALP (September 2023-August 2025).
Sean has provided professional training via Course Beetle to Speech and Language Therapists since June 2018. CPD courses offered include:
- Building Early Sentences Therapy (BEST) - Listen to Learn
- Speech: Assessment and Therapy in Practice
- Speech Transcription Refresher Workshop
- Working with Speech and Language Disorders in a Bilingual Context
Sean has been awarded the Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation on an unprecedented three occasions. His online teaching methods were recognised with the Pandemic Pedagogy Teaching Award. Sean has also been nominated by his students for Most Inspiring Lecturer. His pro bono work with students and VCT was recognised with the Staff Volunteer of the Year and Making a Difference Award for Social Responsibility. See a full list of his awards here.
Sean is the Chair of Out In The Valley, a Social Group based in the upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire for LGBT+ people, which he helped set up in February 2020.
Sean has talked extensively on social media and in LGBT+ project interviews about the AIDS crisis and the impact it still has on him and other gay men through this highly traumatic period.
Find out more about Dr Pert’s professional interests and activities, below.
LOTE* Assessments
The Bilingual Assessment of Simple Sentences (BASS) and the Bilingual Speech Sound Screen (BiSSS) are available in the Pakistani heritage languages Mirpuri, Punjabi and Urdu. There is also an adaptation of the BASS in Malayalam.
Adaptations are available in
- Mirpuri, a Pakistani heritage language,
- Sylheti, a Bangladeshi heritage language, and
- Polish
*Languages Other Than English
Social Media
Professional Organisations
Certified Practising Full Member (1995-Present; Student member 1992-1995)
Chair of the Board of Trustees (2022-2024)
Deputy Chair (October 2020 to October 2022)
Chair of the Board of Trustees (2022-2024)
Deputy Chair (October 2020 to October 2022)
International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP)
Individual Member (21/08/2023 to present)
Board member: Representative for Large Affiliated Societies (04/09/2023 to present)
Individual Member (21/08/2023 to present)
Board member: Representative for Large Affiliated Societies (04/09/2023 to present)
Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
British Association of Gender Identity Specialists (BAGIS)
Full Individual Member (17/09/2019 to present)
Full Individual Member (17/09/2019 to present)
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
Full Individual Member (21/03/2022 to present)
Full Individual Member (21/03/2022 to present)
Advance HE (Formerly the Higher Education Academy)
- Senior Fellow (2020)
- Fellow (2017)
Open University (2020)
Take your teaching online
OpenLearn free course as part of the move to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Completed 29th June 2020
Take your teaching online
OpenLearn free course as part of the move to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Completed 29th June 2020
