Clinical Lecturer with specific responsibility for adult acquired neurological disabilities modules within the BSc Speech and Language Therapy

Externally:

Associate Editor of the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders

External Examiner: MRes Applied Research in Human Communication Disorders UCL

I am from Dublin, where I studied Linguistics and Philosophy at University College Dublin, and Linguistics at Trinity College Dublin.  I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) at City University London in 1993 and had clinical jobs in Liverpool, London and Shropshire.  I specialised in adult acquired neurological disorders (aphasia, dysphagia, dysarthria) as Specialist SLT in Neurosciences at King's College Hospital, where I also spent a brief stint as the Co-ordinator of the King's MND Care and Research Centre.  My last clinical post was as lead SLT with the Shropshire Enablement Team (multi-disciplinary community neuro-rehabilitaiton team) after which I undertook a PhD at the University of Manchester.  I became a full time Clinical Lecturer in November 2008.

My research interests relate to aphasia and acquired communication deficits more broadly. Within aphasia, I am specifically interested in naming therapies, verb processing, writing therapies, sentence and discourse therapies. I investigage the relationship between impairment therapies and functionally significant outcomes, particularly with regard to discourse and conversational data. I was funded by a Stroke Association Allied Health Professional Therapy Research Bursary to complete a PhD on the topic of 'Errorless learning as a treatment applied to verb and sentence impairments in aphasia'. The project was supervised by Professor Matt Lambon Ralph in the Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit.  Previously, I completed an MSc in Human Communication in 2003 at City University London which was funded by the HSA and the Speech and Language Therapy Department at Kings College Hospital, London; the dissertation for this degree was on the topic of discourse analysis of aphasic narratives.

Module Co-ordinator: Acquired Speech and Swallowing Disorders (year 2, BSc Speech and Language Therapy)

Module Co-ordinator: Acquired Language and Communication Disorders (year 3, BSc Speech and Language Therapy)

Advanced Study Options I & II (year 4, BSc Speech and Language Therapy)

HCPC

RCSLT