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Educational Psychology

As an educational psychologist, I work with both primary and secondary schools (more specifically anyone over 6 years of age). Educational psychologists work with students, parents, teachers and schools when there is a concern with learning, behaviour and emotional development.

I can also conduct assessments as Gaeilge for those wishing to complete the process through Irish.

Assessment Intervention Literacy

Assessment

Does your child need an assessment?

If you are concerned about your child’s progress at school, or if they have failed to make progress through individual or small group support in school, you may decide to seek support from an educational psychologist.

How does it work?

The first step is to have a meeting to establish what the young person’s difficulty is and decide whether further information is needed to understand why the difficulty is occurring. Parents and teachers may gather more information on the child’s performance at home and school and I will meet with the child individually and explore the child’s strength and weakness. I may do this through talking with the young person, helping them complete a questionnaire to understand their feelings and emotions, or setting them some tasks to see how the child might approach, engage with and complete a task. I may also, with your permission, contact other professionals (e.g. speech therapist) if it’s thought they may have helpful information. Once the information is gathered, I will work to establish what difficulty your child is experiencing, and why.

I carry out cognitive assessments on primary school children, secondary school students and adults.  I can help identify: behaviour difficulties, learning difficulties, social and emotional difficulties, anxiety, learning disabilities, dyslexia and dyscalculia.

My office hours are flexible with availability for evening and weekend appointments. Please contact me on cal@calmccarthy.ie or 086 1776462 for any queries you may have.
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Intervention

When I have a good idea what difficulty your child is experiencing and why they are experiencing it, I will design an intervention plan to make a difference to your child’s life in school and at home. I will work with parents and teachers to set targets for your child and we will agree on how to record progress to see if things are improving for your child.

Recording progress

I will work with parents, teachers and your child to decide on how and when we will review the success of the intervention plan at home and at school. If there are concerns about progress or specific aspects of the plan, we may meet and see what needs to be changed or adapted. We will continue to work together to monitor the child’s progress and ensure that the plan is working for them.
My office hours are flexible with availability for evening and weekend appointments. Please contact me on cal@calmccarthy.ie or 086 1776462 for any queries you may have.

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Literacy

I have a particular interest in the area of English reading and writing and have done extensive research in this area. I believe that learning to read is one of the most critical skills that every child needs to master to manage their life in the classroom. Poor reading skills can affect behaviour in school, while students who master reading skills have greater career opportunities.

Research has shown that children who experience reading difficulty can be supported to overcome the challenges that learning to read puts before them. Research also shows that the earlier the intervention takes place, the better chance the child has in developing good reading skills.
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Following an assessment, I can design an intervention in collaboration with teachers and parents which can be implemented within the school with teachers’ agreement. Alternatively, I can work with the child on an individual basis outside of school time.