Amy is a Senior Speech and Language Therapist with over 14 years’ experience supporting neurodivergent children, teenagers and young adults across Early Years and School Age Disability Services in both Ireland and New Zealand. Amy has worked as a Clinical Specialist SLT with the National Council of Special Education (NSCE) and Ministry of Education (New Zealand).

Amy completed her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Studies in University College Cork. She worked as a music teacher and Montessori preschool assistant, along with providing respite support for children with disabilities, before continuing her studies in the University of Limerick, where she completed a Masters in Speech and Language Therapy.

Amy is passionate about providing Neurodiversity affirming support to the clients and families she works with. She works alongside her colleagues in providing neurodiversity affirming Autism identification, with a particular interest in supporting late identified girls and women. She is passionate about a whole-community approach to understanding a young persons’ needs, working with siblings and grandparents alongside parents and education teams.

Amy uses a Total Communication approach to supporting communication for the young people she works with. This ethos accepts and validates all forms of communication, both spoken and unspoken. Amy enjoys exploring Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) systems for her clients, is a certified Lamh tutor and works with technology companies supporting young people using AAC devices. She provides specific, tailored communication intervention for each child she works with, including supporting those identified as Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs)

Most recently, Amy has developed a teenage peer support group which endeavours to connect Autistic teenagers and their families. This group provides a safe space for the teenagers to learn how their own brain processes the world, meet others who may think or feel similarly to them, and open discussions about challenges and solutions.

Amy is a proud ally for the LGBTQ+ community and works closely with young people in exploring their identity in a safe and compassionate space. Amy is registered with CORU and is a full member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT).