Biography
Miriam has a background in teaching and research in the fields of Early Intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual and Developmental disabilities. Miriam completed her M. Litt and Doctoral Degrees at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin and has worked as a Post Doctoral research associate, lecturer and research supervisor there. Miriam holds the position of Assistant Professor in Early Intervention at the Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID), at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. Miriam is leading the Masters in Education [Early Intervention] which is designed to provide post graduate level study for those who wish to develop or enhance knowledge and experience working with young children with disabilities or at risk of developing additional needs and/or Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the 0-6 age group.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
- Miriam Twomey and Clare Carroll, 'Seen and Heard' Participation, Engagement and Voice for Children with Disabilities. Edited Volume. , First, UK, Peter Lang, 2018, XXXX - XXXXppBook, 2018
- Miriam Twomey and Michael Shevlin, Parenting, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Inner Journeys: Early Intervention through a parental lens in the Republic of Ireland, Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs (JORSEN), 2016Journal Article, 2016
- Miriam Twomey, Transitions: Space and Place, Children's Research Digest, Children's Research Network, Ireland and Northern Ireland, 2016Journal Article, 2016
- Why participation, engagement and Voice? in, editor(s)Miriam Twomey and Clare Carroll , 'Seen and Heard' Participation, Engagement and Voice for Children with Disabilities, UK, Peter Lang, 2018, [Miriam Twomey ]Book Chapter, 2018
- Children speak through their bodies in, editor(s)Miriam Twomey and Clare Carroll , 'Seen and Heard' Participation, Engagement and Voice for Children with Disabilities, UK, Peter Lang, 2018, [Miriam Twomey]Book Chapter, 2018
- Rose, R. Shevlin, M. Twomey, M. and Yu Zhao, Gaining access to support for children with special educational needs in the early years in Ireland: parental perspectives, International Journal on Early Years Education, 2017Journal Article, 2017
- Kubiak, J. and Twomey, M., , The use of 'voice' as a research approach. , Inter University Symposium Journal, Approaches to Inclusive Research in Education: Opportunities and Challenges, School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, June 2014, edited by Dr Paula Flynn , 1, Inclusion in Education and Society [IES] Research Group, School of Education Trinity College Dublin, 2014Conference Paper, 2014
- Miriam Twomey, Spaces and Places and Identities, Trinity Education Papers Special Issue, Trinity College Dublin, Volume 2, (2), 2013, p52 - 59Journal Article, 2013
- Perceptions of Inclusion: Students with Special Educational Needs in, editor(s)T. Grenham. & P. Kieran , New Educational Horizons in Contemporary Ireland - Trends and Challenges, UK, Peter Lang, 2012, ppChapter 13 , [Anne O' Byrne and Miriam Twomey]Book Chapter, 2012
- Kubiak, J. and Twomey, M., , The use of 'voice' as a research approach. , Approaches to Inclusive Research in Education: Opportunities and ChallengesIntra-University Research Symposium Journal, 1, 2014, p11 - 30Journal Article, 2014
- Miriam Twomey, Parent as Nomad: Journeys, In-betweenness and Identies, Education Studies Association of Ireland [ESAI] Changing Research: working the spaces between education policy and practice, University College Cork, Ireland, April 2017Conference Paper
- Miriam Twomey and Michael Shevlin, Parents need to Play, Educational Studies Association of Ireland [ESAI] Changing Research: working the spaces between education policy and practice, University College Cork, IrelandConference Paper
- Miriam Twomey, Parents as Nomads: Outer Journeys Inner Resources, Building resilience, enhancing social support: What research tells us., Dublin, Ireland., December 2016Conference Paper
- Miriam Twomey, Early Intervention and Education for children with autism in Ireland, International Society for Early Intervention Conference , Stockholm, Sweden, June 2016Conference Paper
- Miriam Twomey, Using Puppetry as a Research Method to address the Challenges of Engaging and Communicating with Children with autism, OMEP Ireland Conference, University College Cork, IrelandConference Paper
- Miriam Twomey and Noirin Hayes, Learning to Be - Moments matter in Early Childhood', Children's Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland Conference [CRNINI] , Dublin, Ireland.Conference Paper
- Miriam Twomey and Noirin Hayes, Learning to Be - Relationships and Movement in the under 3s, Play on the Brain - Early Childhood Ireland [ECI], Dublin, Ireland., April 2015Conference Paper
- Miriam Twomey, Can you hear me? - Accessing the voice of the child with autism and their parent, Revista de Educação, 43, (1), 2020, p1 - 13Journal Article, 2020, URL
- Miriam Twomey, Navigating the river: supporting young children with ASD through transitions, Foster, (8), 2019, p23 - 34Journal Article, 2019, URL
- Doing Things Right or Doing the Right Thing: The case of inclusion in the Republic of Ireland in, editor(s)D. Griffiths, & J. Ryan (Eds.) , Case Studies for Inclusive Educators & Leaders , Canada, Word & Deed Publishing, 2018, [. O' Síoráin, C.A., Twomey, M., Shevlin, M., and Mc Guckin, C. ]Book Chapter, 2018
- Clare Caroll and Miriam Twomey, Voices of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Qualitative Research: a Scoping Review, Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities , 1, (16), 2020Journal Article, 2020
- Shevlin, M., Smith, R., Winter, E., and Twomey, M. , Creating Inclusive Learning Environments in Irish Schools: An Ethnographic Study, National Council for Special Education [NCSE], National Council for Special Education, 2008Report
- Miriam Twomey, Autism and Humour, 2020, -Miscellaneous
Research Expertise
Miriam is passionate about Early Intervention, Autism, non verbal communication, movement, embodiment and engagement. Miriam has worked on projects with children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, Intellectual Disability and Special Educational Needs. Miriam has worked on research projects with the School of Education and the Children's Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin. She has worked as a researcher with Project IRIS (Inclusive Research in Irish Schools), a School of Education, TCD project commissioned by the NCSE (National Council for Special Education). In 2013, Miriam received a Post Doctoral Award and bursary and worked as a post Doctoral Research Associate at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. Miriam's research interests include utilising the creative Arts in the engagement of young children with ASD. Miriam is guided by a participatory framework in her research with children. She is committed to pedagogical development and innovation in Early Intervention and Family Centred research and practice. She is dedicated to ongoing research into the development of parent mediated intervention, parent empowerment and parent training. Miriam collaborates with colleagues in the field of Early Intervention in the development of transdisciplinary pedagogy and innovation. Miriam is actively collaborating with colleagues in the School of Education in the areas of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual Disability and Inclusion.
-
TitleEvaluation of Education for Adults with DisabilitiesSummaryThis project seeks to develop understanding of educational and learning provision in adult day services for adults with disabilities who have left school and are accessing day services including range and scope of provision, how it is delivered, outcomes achieved The project will develop framework to provide structured approach to collect evidence about provisionFunding AgencyNational Council of Special EducationDate FromJanuary 2018Date ToCurrent
-
TitleEvaluation of Access and Inclusion ModelSummaryThe Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education. This project evaluated the impact of the supports provided by this model across a number of stakeholders.Funding AgencyDepartment of Children and Youth AffairsDate FromSeptember 2017Date ToAugust 2018
Education, Education,
Recognition
- Post Doctoral Award and Bursary from the School of Education, TCD September - 2013 - September 2014
- Shortlisted as finalist for U.S. International Ruderman Inclusion Prize for 'Creative Arts Based Interventions' CABI - and sessional activities entitled Motion and Emotion. This intervention seeks to explore if the creative arts 'Creative Arts Based Interventions' (CABI) specifically (Music, Dance Movement Therapy, Art and Puppetry) would improve social, communicative and affective [specifically engagement] variables in young children with Autism. December 2016. A further focus is on developing parent mediated ASD interventions and parent training December 2016
- Member of Autism Europe
- Member of the International Society on Early Intervention (ISEI)
- Member of Irish research group convened by Professor Noirin Hayes, Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin - Researching Early Childhood Education Collaborative (RECEC)
- Member of the European Association on Early Childhood Intervention (EACEI) convened by EURYLAID the European Agency responsible for Education for Special Educational Needs in Europe
- Member of Global Task Force on Early Childhood Development [ecdtf]: Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities
- Reviewer for the Children's Research Network, Ireland and Northern Ireland (CRNINI).
- Reviewer for the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. BILD. Blackwell Publishing
- Invited Associate Editor of the new International Journal: Challenging Exclusion: The International Journal for the Promotion of Inclusive Societies. An International peer reviewed journal [CE:IJPIS] [February 2018 - present]
- Reviewer for European Early Children's Education Research Association Journal (EECERJ)
- Invited Associate Editor of the new International Journal: Challenging Exclusion: The International Journal for the Promotion of Inclusive Societies. An International peer reviewed journal [CE:IJPIS] [February 2018 - present]
- Reviewer for the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. BILD. Blackwell Publishing
- Reviewer for Journal of Autism and Additional Developmental Disorders, (JADD). Yale University.
- Reviewer for European Early Children's Education Research Association Journal (EECERJ)
- Reviewer for Journal of Autism and Additional Developmental Disorders, (JADD). Yale University.
- Reviewer for the Children's Research Network, Ireland and Northern Ireland (CRNINI).