Ahmet KONROT, Ph.D

Prof.  Ahmet Konrot, Dip.Ed., Dip. ALPTE, PhD, LCST, Lidcombe Cert., DKBUD

Professor of Special Education/Speech and Language Therapist

Born in Eskişehir in 1948. Mr. Konrot graduated from Eskişehir Maarif College in 1967. Attended Gazi Teachers’ Training Institute English Department. He worked for Siirt Batman Lyceé and Eskişehir Economic and Commercial Sciences Academy as an English teacher. He was awarded with a grant from the Turkish Ministry of Education to study abroad and received his Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics, Phonetics and Teaching of English (1978) and PhD in Linguistics -Experimental Phonetics (1982) at Essex University (UK). During his doctoral studies, he was awarded with a grant by the British Government to study speech and language therapy. He attended a post graduate course at The School for Human Communication Studies in London and became a licenced speech and language therapist (LCST) in 1984. He returned to Turkey and worked for Anadolu University. There, he was first appointed at the Education Faculty and assumed an active role in the establishment of Special Education Department. At the same time, he founded a small speech therapy unit first, at Anadolu University Hospital, then at the Education Faculty of the same university. Initiated a movement to transform this unit as an applied research and education center (DİLKOM) accredited by the Turkish Higher Education Board (YÖK). Initiated a postgraduate program in speech and language disorders to train the first speech and language therapists in Turkey, hence established the core faculty to support this center. He worked for the same university for many years as an Assistant Professor (1984-1988), Associate Professor (1988-1993) and Full Professor (1993-2005) in the fields of special education and speech and language disorders.He also had administrative duties and served as the deputy head of the Educational Sciences Department (1985-1989), Special Education Department Head (1989-1994), Deputy Dean (1991-1996) and Dean (1996-1999) of the Education Faculty. He taught undergraduate and graduate level courses at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal, Ankara and Osmangazi Universities. He offered in-service certificate courses for the Turkish Ministry of Education. Together with his ENT colleague Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bekir Altay (MD), they performed the first cochlear implant operation in Turkey in 1986. As a speech and language therapist member of the cochlear implant team, he assumed responsibility in pre-operative evaluation and post-operative rehabilitation of cochlear implant patients. He served at the Higher Board for Disabled Persons affiliated to the Prime Minister’s Office upon his appointment by the Prime Minister to represent the Universities in Turkey (1998-1999). He was a member of the College of Speech and Language Therapists (1982- 2000). In order to start his private speech and language therapy clinic, he retired from his posts at the Anadolu University. During this period, he attended The Lidcombe Program of Early Stuttering Intervention certification course run by Mary Kingston in Norwich, UK (2000). He returned back to his teaching post at Anadolu University Special Education Department in 2002 and also worked for DİLKOM (Speech and Language Disorders Applied Research and Education Center) as a lecturer and a clinician. He taught courses to post graduate speech and language therapy students attending Anadolu University Health Sciences Institute. He also served as the director of the Integrated College for the Disabled (2003-2005). Dr. Konrot, accepted an invitation to work as a visiting full professor for Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus (2005-2013). During his full- time stay, he served as the Dean of the Arts and Sciences Faculty (2006-2007), Vice Rector (2008), and Curriculum Committee Head (2009-2012). In February 2013, he founded a private center for speech and language disorders (kkm- Konrot Konuşma Bozuklukları Merkezi) in Bostancı, İstanbul, Turkey. In 2014, he was invited to establish the speech and language therapy department at Üsküdar University, İstanbul. Since then, besides working at his own private clinic, he works for Üsküdar University as a full professor, runs the speech and language therapy clinic.

He travels around the country to give speeches on special education and speech and language disorders. Recently, he has developed a computer-based interactive lip-reading program for Turkish speakers titled BAK-GÖR-DUY (LOOK-SEE-HEAR). He enjoys working with preschool children who stutter and their families.

He is the founder member and vice president of The Turkish Association of Specialists in Speech and Language Disorders (DKBUD). He is also a member of The Association of Special Education Professionals in Turkey.

Primary academic interests: Human Communication Disorders, Education of the Deaf, Cochlear Implants, Phonetics and Phonology, Visual Aspects of Speech (Lip Reading), Oesophageal Speech Therapy, Stuttering and Stuttering Therapy, Specific Learning Disorders, Dyslexia.