Fiona Southall

I hold an undergraduate degree in History and Welsh history, and I qualified as a primary school teacher in 1995. Since 2003, I have specialized in neurodivergence, including autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. I have a postgraduate diploma in Dyslexia/Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) and am a full member of the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (PATOSS).

Throughout my career, I have gained extensive experience across all four Key Stages, working with students aged 4 to 16 in mainstream education. Since September 2021, I have been working as a remote freelance Specialist Study Skills Tutor/Mentor for neurodivergent university students aged 18 to 55.

I am skilled in supporting university students with interpreting assignment briefs, enhancing critical writing skills, providing guidelines to avoid plagiarism, teaching effective notetaking strategies -including the use of abbreviations - and guiding them in properly citing sources such as books or journal articles.

With younger students, I conduct simple reading and spelling assessments to establish a baseline and subsequently focus on areas requiring improvement. I align my support with the texts that students are working on in class and assist in expanding their answers to help them achieve the highest possible marks. However, students need to engage actively and commit to their work to maximise the benefits of our tuition sessions.