» Rett UK NCP – Profiles

Dr. Gillian Townend

Gill is a Speech and Language Therapist with longstanding clinical and research experience, particularly in the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). She worked for Sheffield Speech and Language Therapy service from 1989 – 2008 when she moved to the Netherlands. After working as a researcher on a number of AAC-related and research projects (both English and Dutch) she began work as a researcher at the Rett Expertise Centre Netherlands-GKC in March 2013. Since the summer of 2018, she has also been working as the lead of Rett UK’s Communication and Education Support Project. She currently works across both countries.

Gill was awarded her PhD by the University of Maastricht in July 2019, for a thesis entitled: Rett syndrome: Recognising the communication challenges, needs and potential of individuals living with a rare disease. Her thesis is available for download from: https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/publications/rett-syndrome-recognising-the-communication-challenges-needs-and-