Andy Smidt

Biography

Andy qualified as a speech pathologist in the UK in 1988 and has worked as a clinician in the UK, South Africa and Australia. Her area of clinical interest is adults with severe intellectual disability.

Research

Andy's research interests include

• Training staff who work with individuals in severe intellectual disability and challenging behaviour
• Training communication partners to use AAC and Key Word Sign
• Functional Assessment of people with severe disabilities
• Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education

Community Engagement

Andy has a long history of community engagement. Her recent involvement includes

• Editor in Chief Journal of Clinical Practice for Speech-Language Pathology
• Research Consultant Key Word Sign Australia
• SAGE Self Assessment Team member (USYD)
• Chair of Digicon and part of Leadership group at UDLHE

Teaching

Andy is a passionate teacher with a focus on embedding Universal Design for Learning into her teaching and supporting all students to be able to access higher education. In 2022, Andy was awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.