Dr. Mariam earned her doctorate in Human Communication Disorders from City University of London. Her thesis examined the phonological and language skills of Gulf-Arabic-speaking children with language impairment. She completed her M.A. in speech pathology from the University of Jordan, her B.Sc in speech pathology, and her B.Sc in Audiology from Applied Science University, Jordan.
Dr. Mariam has worked as a speech and language therapist with children and adults with different speech and language conditions and in different settings and countries, such as the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan. She also worked as a lecturer at Qatar University and UAE University in Alain. Before joining Phoneme Abilities Development Centre, Dr. Mariam worked as a consultant for a leading center for individuals with autism, specializing in supporting the transitioning of these children into more inclusive educational settings. She also has extensive experience in the rehabilitation of children with cochlear implants, as she joined one of the first cochlear implant teams in the region 20 years ago.
During her Ph.D., Dr. Mariam developed the Arabic Expressive Vocabulary Test (AEVT), which is widely used by many professionals in the region. She also participated in developing various assessment tools. Dr. Mariam has certifications in Hanen’s “It Takes Two to Talk,” “More Than Words” program for children with autism, and “Talkability.” She is ADOS certified and has certification in the Lidcombe program for children who stutter. Dr. Mariam is a certified ELKAN trainer and completed the social skills training program PEERS (The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), which is world-renowned for providing evidence-based social skills treatment to adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and related conditions at University California Los Angeles (UCLA). She is also certified in providing the Lidcombe training to children who stutter.
Dr. Mariam’s main areas of interest are early detection and intervention in very young children, developing communication skills in children with autism, working with children with stuttering, and developing listening skills in children with cochlear implants.
