{"id":1266,"date":"2026-09-29T17:24:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/?page_id=1266"},"modified":"2026-09-29T17:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:34:45","slug":"1266-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/1266-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Natalie Hegarty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Natalie Hegarty, BSs, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been a Lecturer in the Speech and Language Therapy Department within the School of Health Sciences at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, since 2024. Prior to this role, I completed a BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Sciences at Newcastle University in 2014, followed by a PhD in Evidence-Based Practice in Paediatric Speech Sound Disorders at Ulster University (2015\u20132019). This doctoral research led to the co-production of SuSSD, an evidence-based resource designed to support speech and language therapists in the assessment and intervention of children with phonological delay or consistent phonological disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clinically, I have worked in both private practice and within the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trusts from 2019 to 2024, while continuing to maintain a clinical role alongside my academic work. During this time, I progressed to the role of Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, specialising in working with children with additional needs. I also completed a postgraduate qualification in Dysphagia at Ulster University in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My clinical and research interests include speech sound disorders, evidence-based practice, outcome measurement, and the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) across paediatric populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am an early-career researcher and joined the MISLToe_SSD team in 2025, with a particular focus on supporting the implementation of the Core Outcome Set within the Northern Ireland healthcare system. I am also currently involved with research exploring the early identification of speech, language and communication needs, as well as the co-production of an AAC resource for autistic children with speech, language and communication needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Orcid ID<\/strong>: https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-4271-6330<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LinkedIn<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/natalie-hegarty-820877120<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Gate<\/strong>: researchgate.net<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pure<\/strong>: Natalie Hegarty – Ulster University<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SuSSD website<\/strong>: SuSSD: Supporting and Understanding speech sound disorder | Ulster University Research and Innovation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natalie Hegarty, BSs, PhD I have been a Lecturer in the Speech and Language Therapy Department within the School of Health Sciences at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, since 2024. Prior to this role, I completed a BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Sciences at Newcastle University in 2014, followed by a PhD in Evidence-Based Practice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1266","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1281,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1266\/revisions\/1281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.cardiffmet.ac.uk\/MISLToeSSD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}