A Bridge

A Bridge

Ms Deborah Pullicino graduated from the University of Malta with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 2012. Later that same year, she started her teaching career in Maltese schools. She continued her musical studies, concentrating specifically on classical singing and music theory. 

In 2019, Ms Pullicino was awarded an Endeavour Scholarship and started the MA course in Music Psychology in Education, Performance and Wellbeing at the University of Sheffield on a part-time basis. She completed her Master’s degree in 2021. In her dissertation, she researched the singing practices favoured by nonverbal or minimally verbal children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the effect of these singing practices on their expressive and receptive communication skills.

During her teaching experience in a primary special education school, she won a Tertiary Education Scholarship Scheme (TESS) and started her doctoral studies at the Department for Human Communication Sciences at the University of Sheffield. Ms Pullicino’s PhD studies focus on how singing affects the communication and speech skills of children on the autism spectrum, including children who are minimally verbal. Currently, she gives sessions called Singing to promote and enhance communication aimed at children who benefit from help to improve their communication skills.