Research Staff

Jennifer Harte

‌‌Name:  Jennifer Harte

Position: Research Assistant and Speech & Language Therapist

Telephone: +353 (0)21 490 1609

Email: j.harte@ucc.ie

IRIS Profile: http://research.ucc.ie/profiles/C025/jharte

 

Jennifer Harte

 

Biography

Jennifer Harte graduated with a BSc. Hons Degree in Speech and Language Therapy at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences here at UCC in 2010.  In September of that year she commenced working in Matt Talbot Services Youth Enterprise Scheme, where she taught a Fetac communications course to high risk males aged 16-19 years and targeted literacy skills in one-to-one sessions.  In the summer of 2011 she co-conducted a social skills group for children aged 2-6 years with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  During her time after graduation she also volunteered with the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), providing one-to-one literacy tutoring for adults, and the Altrusa Literacy Scheme in St. John’s College Cork, carrying out a dyslexic intervention program.  In July 2012 Jennifer began working as a therapy assistant in Bridgeway, COPE, until she returned to UCC in November 2012 to work as part of a research team in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. In January 2015 Jennifer commenced work on her MSc study "The effect of different speaker accents on comprehension of instructions in children with speech sound disorder" and graduated in October 2016.  Jennifer is a member of the Irish association of speech and language therapists and certified by CORU.

 

Positions Held

May 2016-present: Research Assistant in Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, UCC (HRB Prosody Study)

Sep- Mar 2016: Problem-based learning (PBL) tutor

Nov. 2012- Jan. 2016: Research Assistant in Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, UCC (HRB Accent Study)

July- Nov. 2012: Therapy Assistant in North Lee Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Service, Bridgeway, Cope Foundation, Cork.

2010- 2012: Youth care worker/Tutor in Matt Talbot Services’ Youth Enterprise scheme

2012- Tutor adults in association with NALA and Altrusa Adult Literacy Scheme

Summer 2011: Lead Research Assistant in NUI Galway Wizards of Words Research Study

Summer 2011- Speech & Language therapist, weekly social skills group for children aged 6 and under with ASD

 

 

Research

Current research

Jennifer worked as a research assistant for the HRB funded research project exploring children’s understanding of unfamiliar accents. As part of the 3-year funded research project the research team were investigating whether children with a delay in their language development find it difficult to understand instructions spoken by a person with an unfamiliar accent.  They also investigated this topic with typically developing children.  Jennifer is also working on a MSc project examing the effect of accent on sentence comprehension in children with speech difficulties.

In May 2016 Jennifer commenced work as a research assistant on a 2-year funded HRB study, examining receptive and expressive prosodic skills in children with spina bifida hydrocephalus and typically developing children.

 

Areas of Interest
o Accents
o Speech rate
o Children’s speech & language
o Literacy skills in adults

Deirdre O'Leary

‌Name: Deirdre O'Leary

Position: Research Assistant & PhD student

Telephone: +353 (0)21 4901609

Email: deirdre.ol@ucc.ie

 


Deirdre O'Leary

 

Biography

Deirdre graduated with a BSc. Hons Degree in Speech and Language Therapy at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences here at UCC in 2013.  She then went on to complete a Masters by Research in UCC also. The title of her study was “The impact of an unfamiliar accent on thr sentence comprehension of children with Down syndrome.”

Deirdre then worked as a speech and language therapist in a variety of settings with both adults and children. She also worked as problem-based learning tutor in UCC.

Deirdre recently began working as a research assistant in UCC for a HRB funded research project exploring prosody skills in children with spina bifida hydrocephalus.

Deirdre is a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists and certified by CORU.

 

Positions Held:

Speech and language therapist- Down Syndrome Ireland (adults and paediatrics)

Problem-based learning tutor in UCC

Speech and language therapist- HSE South-South Lee (adults and paediatrics)

Speech and language therapist-South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (adult acute)

Speech and language therapist-HSE South-Kerry (paediatrics) 

 

Research

Current research

Speech in Down Syndrome

Investigating prosodic skills in children with spina bifida

Previous Research

Investigating effect of speaker accent on comprehension in typically developing children and children with Down syndrome

 

Areas of Interest
o Accents
o Down syndrome
o Children’s speech & language
o Prosody

O Spina Bifida

Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences

Eolaíochtaí Urlabhra agus Éisteachta

1st Floor, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, U.C.C., College Road, Cork.

Top