Licensed Affiliate of Davis Dyslexia Association International
Empowering Those
Who Learn Differently
Dyslexia – Dyspraxia – Maths – Attention Focus – Autism
Meet Our Team
Richard Whitehead
Director, Davis Workshop Presenter and Davis Specialist
Davis Learning Strategies Workshop Presenter
Davis Life Concepts for Autism Workshop Presenter
Richard has been a Davis Dyslexia Programme Facilitator since 2002. Having been a classroom teacher for several years, he originally discovered the Davis methods when looking for a solution for the son of some friends.
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His extensive background in education includes time spent teaching in both the adult and mainstream secondary educational sectors.
Richard has a keen interest in holistic approaches to health and learning; alongside his dyslexia work, he has run workshops on effective parent/child communication based on the work of Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
In recent years, Richard has lectured and presented on the Davis learning methods in countries and cultures as diverse as the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Italy (Sardinia), New Zealand and the United States.
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Richard's original university education was as a linguist, and he speaks several European languages. Alongside Richard's work with the Davis methods, he is also a Patoss-accredited Specialist Teacher Assessor, specialising in multilingual SpLD assessments for non-native speakers of English in the UK.
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Richard is author of the book Why Tyrannosaurus But Not If ?, together with an accompanying free fifteen-part e-mentoring course for teachers and parents of struggling learners, a six-week practical course for parents and a practical workshop for teachers. He has written articles on the dyslexic learning style for publications as diverse as Literacy Today, Green Parent Magazine and Personnel Today magazine and has recorded video presentations on dyslexia for the Dystalk project.
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Richard is also a Davis Autism Approach Facilitator and Coach and a Davis Life Concepts for Autism Workshop Presenter.
Fionna Pilgrim
Head of Licence Renewal, Davis Specialist
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Fionna has been a licensed Davis Dyslexia Programme Facilitator since 2003. Her daughter was defined as being dyslexic and dyspraxic and had issues with visual stress and Attention Deficit Disorder. Fionna discovered Ronald Davis’ book, “The Gift of Dyslexia” when her daughter was 15, after which her daughter followed a Davis Programme and went on to achieve an Honours Degree in Music in 2006.
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In 2017, Fionna was honoured to receive a Highly Commended Award in the Teacher’s section of the British Dyslexia Association Awards. That year, one of Fionna’s Davis Programme clients was nominated – by Giggleswick School in North Yorkshire, where he is a student – for the Children’s Award. He, too, received a Highly Commended Award.
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Fionna is also a Davis Autism Approach Facilitator and Coach. In her words, “My object is to enable people to use the talents that the dyslexic/autistic thought process gives them without needing to be hampered by the difficulties that often develop at the same time. To allow autistic individuals, in particular, to participate more fully in life.”
Jane Heywood
Davis Learning Strategies Workshop Presenter
Davis Autism Approach Supervisor
Jane completed her training as a Davis Dyslexia Programme Facilitator at DDAI in San Francisco. Since then, Jane has also become a presenter for the Davis Learning Strategies and gives training to teachers to take the Davis methods into the classsroom. She is also a qualified Davis Autism Facilitator and Coach. Her background is in psychology and she also works in counselling and trauma therapy.
Smrati Mehta
Davis Learning Strategies Workshop Presenter
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Smrati Mehta is licensed and certified Davis® professional based in Mumbai, India. She started her journey as Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator after completing her training from California, USA, in 2012. Since then she has helped many children and adults to overcome learning challenges and release their true potential.
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A passionate learner and facilitator, Smrati is driven by the desire to kindle the joy of learning in people so they can lead a happy & productive life. An engineer and MBA by education, having worked for almost 20 years in key leadership positions in the corporate world, she feels lucky to have found her true calling in making a difference at a grass-roots level.
Her long stint in corporate career, with experience of mentoring teams for mission critical projects and her training in Davis Methods, has enriched her innate skills to work with individuals to realise their best in them. In her own words: ‘’Every individual is gifted. Some are fortunate to know it and they utilise it; others are yet to figure it out. I am here to help the latter ones”.
Priti Venkatesan
Davis Learning Strategies Workshop Presenter
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Priti heads up the Heartful Kids-Indigo Unit of Lalaji Memorial Omega International School(LMOIS), Chennai (INDIA) and was licensed as a Davis® Dyslexia Program Facilitator in 2014. She founded the “Indigo” unit in the school to support the learning of struggling learners and those with SpLD using Davis Learning Strategies. Since then, the school has
successfully trained more than 800 students in the art of learning independently.
In 2006, Priti gave up her successful career in the corporate sector to follow her passion for working with children. Apart from being a Davis Facilitator, she is also a licensed Neuro-linguistic Program Practitioner.
She has trained almost 150 teachers in India and abroad in Davis Learning Strategies and mentored them in taking these strategies into the classrooms. Her areas of expertise include curriculum design, assessments to assess the learning issues in children, and teacher training. She believes that every child can learn and optimize his potential if he is provided a loving, nurturing learning environment in which his learning needs are met.
Marta Jarosiewicz
Personal Assistant to the Director
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Marta has been a licensed Davis Dyslexia Programme Facilitator since 2017 and runs a busy and successful Davis practice in Warsaw, Poland. She is a Professional Member of Davis Learning Foundation as well as an active member of the Davis Dyslexia Facilitators' Association (UK).
Her previous professional experience in business management helps her to support Davis Learning Foundation in administration, organisation and strategic development.