Academic Support Specialist
Book an appointment
Printing House Square Appointments Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 5pm during term time.
Alison has worked in association with the Disability Service at Trinity College since 2007. Her current role is to provide specialist academic support to students who present with a neurodiverse profile, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADD, ADHD, Dyscalculia, and Dyspraxia.
Alison is an independent educational psychologist with more than 35 years of experience in special and inclusive education, supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and disabilities (SEND) to manage the educational transition. Alison also designs and delivers bespoke pre-entry transition programmes for individuals and groups, and regularly provides seminars and workshops to parents and institutions.
Her research work includes the transition from school to higher education for students with disabilities, the transition from school to further education, training, and employment for students with intellectual disabilities, pre-entry transition programmes for students with ASD, the transition from primary to post-primary school in the Dublin 1 area, and she is currently Principle Investigator for a national study - Mapping the Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance in Ireland - funded by the Irish Research Council.
Alison is a visiting Lecturer with Trinity College and Dublin City University and a course tutor with the Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe. She is a Director of Prism DLR, a peer-led support service for families affected by conditions on the autism spectrum in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, and co-manages a weekly Foroige Youth Club for teenagers with ASD, and a monthly parent support group for parents of children who present with Pathological Demand Avoidance, a distinct profile on the autism spectrum.
Work is ongoing on the transition to new offices in Printing House Square, this is an exciting time with many changes proposed and a new identity, see more here.
