Brigid McNeill

Brigid McNeill serves as Associate Professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Development at the University of Canterbury, where she leads groundbreaking research in childhood literacy development. An internationally recognized expert in childhood apraxia of speech, her work has been supported by prestigious grants including the Fast-Start Marsden from the Royal Society of New Zealand. Her research spans multiple areas including phonological awareness intervention, classroom spelling instruction, and teacher preparation for literacy education. As theme leader for A Better Start's Successful Literacy and Learning initiative, she has contributed significantly to understanding early reading development and intervention strategies. Her influential publications include studies on phonological awareness in children with speech disorders, teacher preparation for language and literacy instruction, and integrated intervention approaches. Her work has earned numerous citations, with over 4,300 references to her research, reflecting her substantial impact on the field. Currently, she focuses on enhancing literacy outcomes for children with speech sound difficulties while developing innovative methods to prepare teachers for supporting early literacy development in at-risk populations.