Educational Psychology Otago

03/07/2025

Dyslexia Evidence Based (deb) has posted a great resource for parents with a variety of ideas to support literacy learning over the term break.
Their website and page both have a wealth of information too

13/11/2024

Educational Psychology Otago is now taking bookings for 2025.
Assessments will be on hold from December 18th until 6th January. Currently fully booked until the end of the year, with bookings now available for 2025.
See www.epotago.co.nz for more details on services offered.

02/11/2024

I was privileged today to be asked to join the monthly parent education group at Fern Collective discussing neurodiversity, navigating the education system, and educational psychology. Thanks for allowing me to be part of the group and sharing your stories.

13/10/2024

One of the main reasons parents and schools contact Educational Psychology Otago is for a dyslexia assessment.
October 7th - 13th is Dyslexia Awareness Week and is celebrated internationally.
The following link has some great resources for parents and schools on signs of dyslexia, ways to support them, and the pathways for diagnosis from the British Dyslexia Association.
https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/support-us/awareness-events/download-an-information-and-resources-pack

Educational Psychology Otago offers tailored learning assessments, including dyslexia diagnosis, throughout the lower South Island.

06/09/2024

For parents of neurodiverse children, this may be of interest…

Tomorrow guys!

We are focusing on social interactions and family struggles around that.

Remember kids are welcome. We have activities set up and a youth worker to support them.

08/07/2024

For assessments during Term 2, clients were from a diverse range of towns and cities in the lower South Island - Dunedin, Oamaru, Invercargill and Balclutha.

Some families chose to travel to Dunedin for the assessment and others opted to pay an additional travel fee for the assessment to be completed in their location.

Bookings are now open for assessments. See www.epotago.co.nz or email hello@epotago.co.nz for more details.

Education Psychology - Otago

22/04/2024

A recent parent comment sums up perfectly why I love my job.
Assessments can provide answers as to what is going on for a child and strategies for home and school to support them.
For some who have been searching for answers for years an assessment can be life-changing.

Education Psychology - Otago

16/04/2024

Dyslexia research using MRI imaging shows that those with dyslexia do not use the same neural network route when reading as those without dyslexia.
It is not a result of lack of effort or low intelligence.
Dyslexia has no connection with a person's intelligence, and those with dyslexia often have a strong ability to think outside the square, be observant, be empathetic, and have strong conversational skills.
Richard Branson, Jamie Oliver, Jennifer Aniston, and Albert Einstein
Dyslexic thinking is even now a skill that can be added to a Linkedin profile https://youtu.be/D5Phdr6wUMs?si=jj2JaP_1X7paV_9B
Assessment and diagnosis can provide information on interventions to support learning literacy, as well as support self-esteem and confidence that their difficulty with literacy is not because they "are dumb"

20/03/2024

It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week
https://www.neurodiversityweek.com
has a great range of free resources for schools, parents, universities, and students.
Different online events available all week

Neurodiversity Celebration Week aims to bring about worldwide neurodiversity acceptance, equality and inclusion in schools and workplaces.

17/03/2024

What does an educational psychologist do?
As part of an assessment we gather information from a variety of sources.
Some of the standardised assessments used can only be administered by people with specific qualifications, such as psychologists.
The different information act as pieces of a puzzle, which are then analysed to work out how the pieces fit together, and give us a clear picture of a child and their learning and/or behaviour.
Every puzzle piece is different and this is why recommendations included in the final report from EPOtago are always individualised.

Education Psychology - Otago

28/02/2024

Excited to see an expansion in the neurodiversity support services offered by Fern Collective in Dunedin
This video offers a great explanation of what neurodiversity is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHzIQxhtY6U

27/02/2024

A common question I am asked is "Where are you based?"
The answer - everywhere!

One way I have found to reduce overheads and pass this saving on to clients is to not have a dedicated office.

My aim is to complete assessments either at the child's school or at home. This also helps to reduce anxiety as it is a familiar place for them.
I do have a space I can use if neither of these is suitable for any reason.

For pre-assessment discussions these can be arranged for anywhere that is convenient - home, school, cafe, or over Zoom.

Note - Dunedin-based only. Travel to Southland, Queenstown, and Canterbury can be negotiated.