Biography

I am a cognitive consultant specialising in developmental, learning- and educational problems, as well as the application of thinking skills. Using a cognitive approach I also provide counseling on other problems, e.g. relationships. My practice is based in Boston (Cape Town), South Africa.

Previously, I was professor in Orthopedagogics and Specialised Education at the University of Stellenbosch training teachers, therapists and psychologists in identifying and treating children with learning and educational problems; as well as other dysfunctions and disabilities. I also served on various provincial and national planning committees in special education advocating the abandonment of labeling children with disabilities and rather see them as learners with special educational needs who need special support.

As a researcher in cognitive neuropsychology I focus on the relationship between brain processes that relate to learning and development, and are recognised internationally as an expert in this field of study. I published several articles, specifically on the role of left and right hemispheric functions of the brain with regards to learning. I managed to prove that children with learning disabilities should rather be seen as children with learning differences and that the curriculum should be flexible enough to accommodate these differences.

Having thirty five years of experience in diagnosing and supporting children with disabilities, I’ve seen various models of intervention and therapeutic approaches coming and going. I am alarmed by the present proliferation of outdated approaches dealing with processes in learning skills which had been discarded as invalid by research done so far back as in the eighties. rather than the skill directly The tendency ,despite the basic premise of inclusive education to address the child’s special needs without labeling, is sabotaged by going from therapist to therapist, compiling “diagnosis’s” and reports with no direct indications how to differentiate the instruction and teach the child according to learning barriers, styles and learners’ differences. I advocate thus looking at the child in his /her totality in school and home context, determining strength and weakness in learning and education and give guidelines for support at home and school with the improvement of scholastic skills as such.

I was an external lecturer in Human Development at Hebron Theological College until 2011 and continue to present lectures, seminars and talks on developmental issues of relevance and the prevention of developmental-. learning and educational problems

I am also an experienced counselor and author on relationship issues. I follow a cognitive approach broadening the way people think about their problems and how to change their thinking and false beliefs before trying to change the situation. The focus is thus on personal growth and adjustment.