Dr Seray Ibrahim
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Email
seray.ibrahim@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 874557
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Location
2S2.3.02, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
Seray Ibrahim is a Lecturer at the School of Health and Social Care, teaching communication disability, eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties, and research methods in Speech and Language Therapy. She previously held Postdoctoral researcher and visiting lecturer positions at King's College London (KCL) and University College London (UCL). She completed her PhD at UCL (2015-2019), focusing on social interaction and technology design for children with severe speech and physical impairments and their communication partners. Her PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships were funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council. She has also contributed to EU Horizon 2020 (PI: Prof. A Vasalou) and UKRI-funded (PI: Dr P. Slovak) projects. Before her PhD, Seray worked as an NHS Speech and Language Therapist for over 10 years, specialising in neurodisability, augmentative and alternative communication, autism assessment, and paediatric eating, drinking, and swallowing difficulties. *Research Summary* Seray’s research explores how digital technologies can support social interaction, learning, and mental wellbeing. Her work examines these areas within disability and mental health contexts, with a particular interest in how people communicate beyond words—through the body and environment. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from Speech and Language Therapy, Human–Computer Interaction, assistive technology, multimodality, and psychology, she investigates the design and use of digital tools to enhance communication and inclusion. To date, her work has focused on: → Digitally-mediated in-person communication that involves non-speaking or minimally verbal children and their social partners. → Personalised learning and literacy technologies for the classroom. → Mental health interventions for children and parents. Seray has published extensively in leading international conferences and journals, receiving multiple Best Paper Awards at venues such as the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) and the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Journal. Her research has been supported by prestigious UKRI ESRC doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and UKRI EPSRC funding focused on advancing social interaction research and impact within the charity sector.
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Design and Use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Designing Technology-Mediated Supports for Child Mental Health and Parenting
Design and Disability
Educational Technology
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Dysphagia (HS233)
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Professional Enquiry (HS240)
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Dysphagia 2 (HS333)
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Speech and Language Therapy - Paediatrics 4 (HS834)
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Speech and Language Therapy - Adults 1 (HS836)
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Speech and Language Therapy - Adults 2 (HS837)
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Practice Placement 2 (HS234)
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Occupational performance and process (HS893)
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Enhancing Communication for People with Developmental & Acquired Communication Difficulties (HS331)
Publications
Journal articles (9)
Ibrahim, S., Dabrowski, J., Antle, AN., Kientz, JA., Chesters, A. and Slovák, P., (2025). Uncovering Parental Struggles: Using Digital Probes to Analyse Challenges in Applying Online Parenting Content. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 32 (6), 1-37
Beneteau, E., Hiniker, A., Tench, B., Ibrahim, SB. and Pratt, W., (2025). Aligned Co-Design: An Interdependent, Multi-Modal Method for People with Motor and Communication Disabilities. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. 41 (17), 10655-10673
Ibrahim, S., Clarke, M., Vasalou, A. and Bezemer, J., (2024). Common ground in AAC: how children who use AAC and teaching staff shape interaction in the multimodal classroom. Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 40 (2), 74-85
Ibrahim, S., Ang, JRX., Petsolari, M., Michelson, R., Dong, Y., Theofanopoulou, N., Van Kleek, M., Davis, K. and Slovák, P., (2024). Understanding Online Parental Help-Seeking and Help-Giving in Early Childhood: The Design Challenges of Supporting Complex Parenting Questions. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. 8 (CSCW1), 1-36
Benton, L., Joye, N., Sumner, E., Gauthier, A., Ibrahim, S. and Vasalou, A., (2023). Exploring how children with reading difficulties respond to instructional supports in literacy games and the role of prior knowledge. British Journal of Educational Technology. 54 (5), 1314-1331
Ibrahim, S., Vasalou, A., Benton, L. and Clarke, M., (2022). A methodological reflection on investigating children’s voice in qualitative research involving children with severe speech and physical impairments. Disability & Society. 37 (1), 63-88
Vasalou, A., Benton, L., Ibrahim, S., Sumner, E., Joye, N. and Herbert, E., (2021). Do children with reading difficulties benefit from instructional game supports? Exploring children's attention and understanding of feedback. British Journal of Educational Technology. 52 (6), 2359-2373
Ibrahim, S. and Vasalou, A., (2021). Voice and representation. Interactions. 28 (3), 38-41
Vasalou, A., Ibrahim, S., Clarke, M. and Griffiths, Y., (2021). On power and participation: Reflections from design with developmentally diverse children. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. 27, 100241-100241
Conferences (13)
Skeggs, A., Mehta, A., Yap, V., Ibrahim, SB., Rhodes, C., Gross, JJ., Munson, SA., Klasnja, P., Orben, A. and Slovak, P., (2025). Micro-narratives: A Scalable Method for Eliciting Stories of People’s Lived Experience
Viswanathan, S., Ibrahim, S., Shankar, R., Binns, R., Van Kleek, M. and Slovak, P., (2025). The Interaction Layer: An Exploration for Co-Designing User-LLM Interactions in Parental Wellbeing Support Systems
Ibrahim, SB., Klasnja, P., Gross, JJ. and Slovak, P., (2025). Designing Daily Supports for Parent-Child Conversations about Emotion: Ecological Momentary Assessment as Intervention
Ibrahim, SB., Antle, AN., Kientz, JA., Pullin, G. and Slovak, P., (2024). A Systematic Review of the Probes Method in Research with Children and Families
Boyd, L., Zolyomi, A., Hassan, S., Ibrahim, SB., Wu, G. and Kender, K., (2024). Exploring the "Freedom to be Me" through Design Sprints with Neurodivergent Scholars
Petsolari, M., Ibrahim, SB. and Slovak, P., (2024). Socio-technical Imaginaries: Envisioning and Understanding AI Parenting Supports through Design Fiction
Curtis, H., Jenkins, ADG., Ibrahim, SB. and Neate, T., (2024). Looking Past Screens: Exploring Mixed Reality and Discreet AAC Devices
Yiannoutsou, N., Vasalou, A., Ibrahim, S., Benton, L., Pulfrey, C. and Cukurova, M., (2022). Embedding digital technologies in the school practice: Schools as agents of technology integration
Ibrahim, S., Vasalou, A. and Benton, L., (2022). Understanding the Situated Practices of School Technology Leaders in the Early Stages of Educational Technology Adoption
Ibrahim, SB., Vasalou, A. and Clarke, M., (2020). Can design documentaries disrupt design for disability?
Ibrahim, S., Brulé, E., Benton, L., Hornof, A., Beneteau, E., Metatla, O., Yiannoutsou, N. and Spiel, K., (2020). What we learn when designing with marginalised children
Du, Y., Boyd, L. and Ibrahim, S., (2018). From Behavioral and Communication Intervention to Interaction Design
Ibrahim, SB., Vasalou, A. and Clarke, M., (2018). Design Opportunities for AAC and Children with Severe Speech and Physical Impairments
Contact
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