Submissions

STEP 1 - Confirm fit before you write
Check the journal scope: speech and language disorders, audiology and hearing sciences, voice and fluency, neurogenic communication disorders, dysphagia, AAC and assistive technology, screening and community programmes, and evidence-based rehabilitation practice.
Confirm the work is original, not under review elsewhere, and not previously published. Preprints are permitted if cited with DOI and licence.
For interventional studies, confirm prospective trial registration before first enrolment. Retrospective registration is not acceptable.
Confirm ethics approval exists with committee name, approval ID, and date. A letter obtained after data collection will not satisfy screening.

STEP 2 - Select article type and lock the limits
Original Research: structured abstract, ≤250 words; main text 3,000–3,500; references 25–40; tables + figures ≤5 combined.
Systematic Review / Meta-analysis: structured abstract, ≤300 words; main text 4,000–5,000; references ≤80; tables + figures ≤6.
Narrative Review: unstructured abstract, ≤250 words; main text 3,500–4,000; references 50–70; tables + figures ≤4.
Case Report / Case Series: unstructured abstract, ≤200 words; main text 1,500–2,000; references 10–20; tables + figures ≤3.
Single-Case Experimental Design: structured abstract, ≤250 words; main text 2,500–3,000; references 20–35; tables + figures ≤5.
Short Communication: unstructured abstract, ≤150 words; main text 1,200–1,500; references ≤15; tables + figures ≤2.

STEP 3 - Match the manuscript to a reporting checklist

Sex and gender reporting should follow SAGER across design, analysis, results, and interpretation.

STEP 4 - Prepare the file set (five separate uploads)
Title page as a separate file.
Blinded main manuscript with no author names, affiliations, institution names, city, ethics committee name, acknowledgements, or funding.
Tables file or embedded tables after references.
Figures as separate files, one file per figure.
Supplementary bundle: reporting checklist, ethics approval letter, consent form template, trial/PROSPERO registration proof, and corresponding-author declaration.

Before uploading, strip document metadata, remove tracked changes, and delete comments.

STEP 5 - Build the Title Page
Include full title, running title, each author’s full name and details, corresponding author contact information, author contributions using CRediT taxonomy, word count, number of tables and figures, funding statement, conflict of interest declaration, ethics approval details, registry details if applicable, AI-use disclosure, and acknowledgements where relevant.

STEP 6 - Write the Abstract and Keywords
Use a structured abstract with Background, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
Keep the background concise.
State the objective in one sentence.
Describe design, setting, sampling, sample size, outcomes, and statistical approach in Methods.
Report sample size, key results, effect sizes, 95% CI, and exact p-values in Results.
Conclusion must be supported by the results only.
Add 4–6 MeSH keywords in alphabetical order.

STEP 7 - Write the main text (IMRAD)
Introduction should cover burden, existing evidence, the gap, and the study aim.
Methods should be detailed enough for replication, including design, setting, recruitment period, ethics, consent, sample size, eligibility criteria, instruments, procedures, interventions, outcomes, and statistical analysis.
Results should report participant flow, demographics, primary and secondary outcomes, effect sizes, and confidence intervals without interpretation.
Discussion should explain findings, compare with literature, state clinical implications, and present limitations honestly.
Conclusion should answer the objective only and avoid new data.

STEP 8 - References
Use Vancouver style with numbered references in order of first mention.
Abbreviate journal titles according to NLM.
List all authors up to six, then et al.
Include DOI where available.
Verify each reference against PubMed or the original source.
Do not cite retracted, predatory, or AI-generated sources.

STEP 9 - Tables
Use editable Word tables only.
Number tables in citation order and give each a self-explanatory title.
Use n (%), mean ± SD, or median (IQR) as appropriate.
Include test statistic, df, exact p-value, effect size, and 95% CI.
Expand abbreviations in footnotes.

STEP 10 - Figures
Use one file per figure.
Legends should be compiled at the end of the manuscript, not embedded in the image.
Clinical photographs require written consent.
Previously published figures require permission from the copyright holder.

STEP 11 - Declarations block
Add ethics approval and consent, consent for publication, data availability, competing interests, funding, author contributions, acknowledgements, and AI-use disclosure.

STEP 12 - Pre-submission self-check
Check similarity, table and figure citations, reference sequence, abstract consistency, title-page removal from the blinded file, metadata stripping, checklist completion, ethics letter attachment, registration proof, and signed corresponding-author declaration.

STEP 13 - Submit, revise, proof
Submit via OJS as corresponding author.
On revision, return a tracked-change file, a clean file, and a point-by-point response letter with page and line numbers.
At proof stage, only typographic corrections are possible.