Alison McInnes

Assistant Professor

Educational Pscyhology
mcinnes2@ualberta.ca

Research Interests

My early professional background as a school-based Speech-language Pathologist set the stage for my doctoral and post doctoral research, completed at the University of Toronto. My research to date has focused mainly on discourse level language comprehension and production, and their cognitive correlates in children who have difficulties with behaviour/attention, oral language, and literacy skills. In particular, I am interested in how individual differences in working memory and executive functions influence school-age children’s skills in listening comprehension, and oral and written language expression. I am also interested in collaborative work with schools and teachers in upper elementary and secondary levels to increase capacity and expertise in assessment and instructional interventions in the classroom for students with ADHD, both with and without language-based learning disabilities.

Key words: Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, speech/language disorders, reading disorder, selective mutism, learning disability, listening and reading comprehension, executive functions; strategy-based learning; differentiated assessment and instruction, knowledge transfer for practitioners in education and health, pre-service education

Selected Presentations & Publications

McInnes, A. Comprehending and summarizing expository texts in children with ADHD. Poster presentation. American Speech Language Hearing Association Annual Conference, San Diego, Ca., Nov, 19, 2011.

Tobin, R., & McInnes, A. (2008). Accommodating differences: Variations in differentiated literacy instruction in Grade 2/3 classrooms. Literacy, 42(1), 3-9.

Manassis, K., Tannock, R., Garland, J., Minde, K., McInnes, A., & Clarke, S. (2007). The sounds of silence: Language, cognition, and anxiety in selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 46, (9), 1187-1195.

McInnes, A., Bedard, A..C., Hogg-Johnson, S., & Tannock, R. (2007). Preliminary evidence of beneficial effects of Methylphenidate on listening comprehension in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 17 (1), 35-49.

Martinussen, R., Tannock, R., Chaban, P., McInnes, A., & Ferguson, B. (2006). Increasing awareness and understanding of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in education to promote better academic outcomes for students with ADHD. Education Exceptionality Canada, 16 (3), 1-22.

McInnes, A., & Manassis, K. (2005). When silence is not golden: an integrated approach to selective mutism. Seminars in Speech and Language, 26, 201-210.

McInnes, A., Fung, D., Manassis, K., Fiksenbaum, L., Tannock, R. (2004). Narrative
abilities in children with Selective Mutism: An exploratory study. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 13, 304-313.

McInnes, A., Humphries, T., Hogg-Johnson, S., & Tannock, R. (2003). Listening comprehension is impaired in Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder irrespective of Language Impairment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 31(4), 427-443.

Other publications for educators:

Martinussen, R., Tannock R. with McInnes, A., & Chaban, P (2006). Teach for Success: TeachADHD: Teachers Resource Manual and website: www.teachadhd.ca

Courses Taught

EDPY 410 Individual Differences in Education
EDPY 454 Teaching Students with Challenging Behaviour
EDPY 468 Assessment and Instruction for Adolescents with Special Needs
EDPY 903 Special Projects (M.Ed. Course-based Master’s program in Special Education)
Oral Language Foundations of Reading
(Module 1: Advancing Adolescent Reading Initiative, J.P. Das Centre)

Academic Background and Professional Affiliations

I completed my graduate education in Speech-language Pathology at the University of Western Ontario, followed by several years of work in the public school system in special education and student services. I completed my doctoral work in Human Development and Applied Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Brain and Behaviour Research Program (Department of Child Psychiatry) at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto), under the supervision and mentorship of Dr. Rosemary Tannock.