Embracing Complexity Panel with Elaine McGoldrick, Bláinid Gavin and John Sharry

Facilitated by Michele Van Valey

Venue: Red Room, UCD Student Centre                2:10pm - 3:10pm

This panel is facilitated by Michele Van Valey and features John Sharry, Elaine McGoldrick and Bláinid Gavin.

Bláinid Gavin

Blánaid is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with over 20 years’ experience working with young people with mental health difficulties. Blánaid has a long track record in the Youth Mental Health movement, early psychosis services, and co-led the first interdisciplinary project in Ireland almost 20 years ago exploring young people’s perspectives of services.

Specialising in ADHD and with a strong interest in neurodiversity, Blánaid has chaired UCD’s Neurodiversity Working Group and its dedicated subgroup, coleading research to inform evidence-based, neurodiversity-friendly initiatives. Blánaid co-founded the Journal of Neurodiversity with SAGE, serves as co-editor of a Routledge book series on Neurodiversity, and teaches widely on the subject, including co-developing the UCD Certificate and Diploma in Neurodiversity. Blánaid is involved in multiple research projects seeking to optimise outcomes for young people with mental health difficulties.

Alongside academic work Blánaid works with voluntary organisations to advocate for greater understanding of neurodiversity and mental health across health, education, and wider society. 

Elaine McGoldrick

Elaine McGoldrick began teaching in the mid-eighties and worked for over 30 years in a variety of Mainstream and Special Education settings. Identified at 54, she shares an autistic lived experience of physical, mental health, workplace, and advocacy challenges. Burnout led to an early retirement, but Elaine continues to pursue her passion for autistic voice in education as part of her Professional Doctorate in Education with LSBU. As an autistic teacher and mum of two amazing autistics, her research focuses on proactive parent/teacher collaboration with the autistic parents of autistic students. 

Elaine has collaborated with Middletown Autism Centre (MCA) on research projects and presented at conferences, panels, and training sessions with MCA, AsIAm and UCD Neurodiversity Masterclass series.  She played a key role in promoting autism acceptance in Clonakilty, Ireland’s first AsIAm accredited, Autism Friendly Town and in sharing these experiences with interested towns across the country.

Prof. John Sharry

Prof John Sharry is a social worker and family psychotherapist with over 30 years experience as a child and adolescent mental health professional. He is founder of the Parents Plus Charity, adjunct Professor at the School of Psychology in UCD, an Irish Times Parenting Columnist and author of over 25 positive psychology, parenting books and mental health programmes. John is co-developer of the evidence-based Parents Plus ADHD Children’s programme and is developing online mental health programmes for ADHD and Autistic adults with Silver Cloud Health. He completed his masters on a strengths-based approach to parenting autistic children and has written widely on parenting neurodivergent children through his Irish Times column publishing a well-received six part series in 2024. See solutiontalk.ie, parentsplus.ie and irishtimes.com for more information.