Anna Harvey

Overview

Anna is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) who has spent 15 years working in mainstream educational settings to support children and young people with a variety of communication needs. Anna has a passionate interest in autism, both as a clinician/researcher and as the parent of a child on the autistic spectrum.

Anna spent several years working in the Education sector as a Learning Support Assistant before training as a Speech and Language Therapist at City, University of London. After qualifying as an SLT, Anna worked for Whittington Health NHS Trust between 2015 – 2020, with roles in both the primary and secondary mainstream schools teams in the London boroughs of Haringey and Camden. During this period, Anna developed a particular interest in working with young people on the autistic spectrum. Whilst on maternity leave in 2017, Anna returned to City to complete her MSc qualification, with a project focused on analysing eyewitness narratives produced by children with ASD. This led to her applying for a PhD studentship to continue conducting research in this area.

Anna began her SHS PhD Studentship in February 2020, supervised by Professor Lucy Henry, Professor Nicola Botting, and Dr. Helen Spicer-Cain. Her project focuses on narrative skills in adolescents with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Anna is carrying out a study to investigate how autistic young people talk about things that they have seen, and whether autistic narrators have more difficulty producing a coherent account of events than non-autistic children of the same age with similar cognitive and linguistic abilities. Difficulties with narrative coherence can have a negative effect on social interactions, limit academic success, and disadvantage young people who encounter the criminal justice system. Anna is also researching links between narrative ability and underlying cognitive differences previously observed in autism (relating to ‘Theory of Mind’ and ‘Executive Function’).

Qualifications

1. Introductory Certificate in Academic Practice, City, University of London, United Kingdom, May 2021
2. MSc Speech and Language Therapy (Conversion), City, University of London, United Kingdom, Jan 2017 – Jan 2018
3. PGDip Speech and Language Therapy, City, University of London, United Kingdom, Sep 2012 – Jul 2014
4. MSc Social Anthropology, University College London, United Kingdom, Sep 2008 – Sep 2009
5. BA (Hons) French and Spanish, University of Bristol, United Kingdom, Sep 2002 – Jul 2006

Employment

1. Graduate Teaching Assistant, City, University of London, Mar 2021 – present
2. Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Whittington Health NHS Trust, Feb 2016 – present
3. Speech and Language Therapist, Whittington Health NHS Trust, Jan 2015 – Feb 2016
4. Learning Support Assistant, St Mary Magdalene School, Jan 2011 – Jul 2012
5. Teaching Assistant, Tidemill School, Sep 2007 – Sep 2008

Languages

French (can read, speak and understand spoken) and Spanish; Castilian (can read, speak and understand spoken).

1^st supervisor

• Professor Lucy Henry, Professor of Speech & Language

2^nd supervisors

• Professor Nicola Botting, Professor of Developmental Disorders
• Dr Helen Spicer-Cain, Lecturer and Research Fellow

Publications by category