Kate James

Background

About Kate James

I have been working with Éirim for over 15 years. Most of my work is centred around carrying out a wide variety of assessments with children, adolescents and adults. I have extensive experience working with and identifying learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, non verbal learning difficulties, intellectual disabilities, speech and language difficulties, ADHD, dyspraxia and autistic spectrum disorders. I have also regularly work with children with hearing and visual impairments. I am highly skilled in identifying needs and recommending interventions in all of the above areas. I liaise with and advise schools and parents on a daily basis to help implement Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) and recommendations. I have a deep knowledge of the Department of Education and Skills’ guidelines for resources and exemptions in schools as well as the State Exam Commission (SEC) criteria for Reasonable Accommodations in Certificate Exams (RACE) and also the eligibility criteria for entry to third level colleges under the Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) scheme.I also develop and lecture on many of Éirim's training courses which are mostly aimed at teachers and health care professionals. These courses include the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET), approved by the British Psychological Society and training courses for psychologists in the WISC-V.I enjoy learning and regularly carry out research relating to my work. Over the past number of years I developed and standardised a test (SPaRCS) which can be used by teachers to identify students who may require additional supports in school and in exams. I regularly present pieces of research at conferences both in Ireland and abroad and publish articles relating to my research whenever possible.