Jessica Cheesman Educational Psychologist

02/04/2024

Richard Branson recently share one of his school reports from Primary school.. have a look at the comments... Do any of these sound familiar?

I stumbled across this school reports from the Easter break, 65 years ago. It felt very fitting to hear that I was “very backward” in spelling and reading – as I get set to launch my audiobook next week! In case you can’t read the handwriting, here are a few highlights:

Classics: “Very keen, but handicapped by a bad memory. Some progress.”

Mathematics: “The first half of the term saw a great improvement in his work, but once he began to get onto really new processes his keenness declined, and his standard dropped.”

French: “A slight improvement this term but his work is still below standard.”

English: “He is still very backward in this subject, especially in spelling and reading - constant practice in the latter is necessary.”

Drawing: “If he took a little care he could be good.”

Going through school with undiagnosed dyslexia wasn’t at all fun, but I’m glad I didn’t let it squash my big ideas. I hope this inspires anyone out there who might be struggling at school right now. Just remember there’s a whole lot more to life out there, and one day you’ll be able to look back on these reports and smile.

02/12/2023

This morning we held the final ADHD support group for 2023. It has been another year of successful and hopefully beneficial ADHD support group sessions. The group continues to grow and next year will be the 6th year of the group which is kind of crazy to thing of! I started the support group as an initiative to nurture connectivity and community among similar family systems. It has and continues to be a gift from myself to this community as there is no charge and is open to everyone.

Today we had a practical and informative presentation by Emily Van der Westhuizen who is a psychometrist with many years experience working with ADHD families. She described practical strategies to support emotional regulation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Emily!

Wishing everyone a relaxing weekend 🌈💜🌸

10/10/2023

Sneak peek at the sensory calming corner I created in my office space. I made use of tactile as well as visual sensory stimuli to support diverse sensory needs. My hope is that this special little nook will be use for play therapy or even during talk therapy to ensure my clients feel calm and comfortable and that their sensory needs are understood and supported.

I enjoyed creating the stormy clouds that soften the space and create another element of sensory relief. Thank you to Lisa Van Deventer for donating the tactile sensory unicorn plushie 💜🌈🦄

Although this space was very much created with my clients needs in mind... I will admit I snuck in there and enjoyed staring up at the stormy 'clouds' on my first day back at the office for term 4 😂

02/09/2023

🍀🌈🌷🌸🌼🦋 Spring rocks 🍀🌈🌷🌸🌼🦋

Painted and gifted at the ADHD support group this morning. We meet once a month to connect and share experiences. If you are a parent of a child with ADHD and would like to join our support sessions you can WhatsApp me on 0728670885 to be added to our mailing list.

13/08/2023

I love the idea of a "glimmer" as opposed to a "trigger". A glimmer is a moment of sensory joy. I love all of the glimmers below, I'd add the sound of waves crashing. Let me know some of your glimmers below....

03/08/2023

I'm seeing more and more need for emphasis on supporting sensory needs within school and home environments, be it to support anxiety or attention. These are some lovely practical ideas to support sensory regulation. I love the idea of scratchy velcro under desks.

26/06/2023

Cuteness overload from the latest therapy guests who made full use of the play room Play therapy is hard work and a nap was needed!😺😺

14/06/2023

Small acts of kindness can make a huge impact. A difficult Wednesday brightened up by this special letter 💕💜🤍 It's so easy to focus on 'negative' moments of our day... Taking a moment to look for and acknowledge the positive moments is important to help rewire our brains to seek out positives. Thank you to this special little person who helped remind me of this!

03/06/2023

Such a cosy and lovely sensory space and such a special school Michael Academy

08/05/2023

Another special little therapy guest 🐶

04/05/2023

Highly recommended!

STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOP
Bookings and more information:
mandyed@mweb.co.za

25/04/2023

A recent scenario had me reflecting.... My brother who is quite the Marie Kondo of decluttering, found his wife's small blue porcelain bird shattered by their energetic Dachshund. Instead of throwing it away as he normally would... He attempted to glue it back together . He said to my mom " It would be such a pity to throw away this special artefact, maybe Jess can paint over the flaws.." So I sat with the piece, and instead of painting it, and covering the cracks, I worked with the flaws ... In my mind a beautiful intricate vine of flowers emerged .... This was the end result. It had me reflecting on my career as an educational psychologist and acknowledging challenges but also embracing differences so an individual's true potential can be seen. It also made me think of Kintsugi.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item like new, the 400-year-old technique actually highlights the "scars" as a part of the design. Using this as a metaphor for healing ourselves teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually create something more unique, beautiful and resilient.

It just takes one person to notice the potential....