The SPELD NSW Member spotlight shines a light on individual, school and professional members.
This month Katrina of PosAbility Psychology and Learning Clinic shares why they joined SPELD NSW in 2017.
Why did you join SPELD NSW?
PosAbility Psychology and Learning Clinic joined SPELD as a professional member in 2017 and highly value our membership and relationship with SPELD NSW.
As a multidisciplinary clinic with experienced staff offering specialised learning intervention for children with a range of learning difficulties, many children of ages 4 to 18 year with a range of needs, such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder or Dyspraxia have benefited from our involvement as a professional member with SPELD.
Which SPELD NSW services have you accessed and found useful?
We have been fortunate to receive a number of referrals each month from SPELD for our services, including assessments, allied health therapy and educational intervention. We highly value the high-quality training opportunities we have chosen to attend. It can be difficult to find training that goes beyond the basics and offers experienced staff evidence-based methods, something new or ways to enhance their knowledge and skills.
We have had staff attend the Sounds Write, Talk for Writing, Singapore Maths and other development opportunities offered throughout the year and this has enhanced the work we do with our students. Upskilling our staff and adding further evidence-based methods to the programs and methodologies to our services has benefited many students that attend our intervention sessions and we are excited to look at the SPELD calendar each year to see what new training workshops will be on offer.
What have you implemented since joining SPELD NSW?
Over the last few years, we have been fortunate to draw on SPELD’s knowledge, library and online shop in increasing our resources with evidence based materials, particularly the decodable readers, such as the Dandelion series.
The decodable readers have made a significant contribution to the programs for our students, particularly our older low progress readers. We have also enjoyed the networking opportunities through member morning teas and events, where we have connected with other tutors and organisations to share ideas and keep up to date with our knowledge of new programs and resources.
How have your families and students benefited?
Many of our students and their families have benefited from the use of the parent hotline, in seeking advice on how to advocate for their child, gaining referrals to other professionals that may be of assistance and in general advice regarding their child’s needs. It is fantastic that we can offer our families the SPELD contact details, knowing that they will have access to a reputable source of advice based on scientific evidence.
Why would you recommend SPELD NSW membership?
We would strongly recommend becoming a SPELD NSW Professional member for other educational services, allied health therapists or similar multidisciplinary clinics. Such a wonderful resource for high quality training opportunities, networking with other professionals, access to great evidence based resources and a source of information and support for our clients and their families.
