Australian Literacy Clinic

Diplom Patholinguist, PhD

Professor Saskia Kohnen is the Director of the Advancing Literacy Clinic where she leads a multidisciplinary team of clinicians who assess and treat children, adolescents and adults with reading and spelling difficulties. Saskia's research focuses on both typical and atypical acquisition of reading and spelling, how to assess and effectively treat these difficulties. Saskia gets to translate her knowledge into practice at the Literacy Clinic and when working with teachers and clinicians in Australia and overseas. This, in turn, inspires her research.

BBSC., PGDipPsych, PhD

Erin completed a Bachelor of Behavioural Science and a Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Erin has been involved in research with children and teenagers since 2008 holding research roles at Melbourne University, Sydney University, Westmead Hospital, and Macquarie University. In 2014 she completed her PhD, in which she investigated the association between working memory and children's reading development.

In her role as National Manager, Erin is responsible for the operations of the Clinics, and also works as a clinician. Her favorite aspect is literacy treatment and in particular seeing the benefits of working closely with children and their families.

With more than 20 years of experience in office administrative positions and a track record of strong performance in high volume, high-pressure environments, Sally Cawthorne manages administrative duties and client relations for the Literacy Clinic.

As the administrative assistant, she ensures the smooth operation of the Clinic with her robust knowledge of office management and efficient handling of client inquiries, consultations, financial matters, client billing, and also provides support for our clinicians.

BPsych(Hons), MClinNeuro

Thushara is a registered Psychologist, completing her Bachelor of Psychology (honours) in 2008 and a Master of Clinical Neuropsychology in 2014, both at Macquarie University. Since 2009, Thushara has been involved in reading research and remediation. She has over 10 years of experience working closely with children and adolescents including those with reading difficulties, autism, and acquired brain injuries.

In her role at the Clinic, Thushara is involved in both the assessment and treatment of children, teenagers and adults with reading and spelling difficulties. Thushara is passionate about working clinically and in finding ways to best support children in their everyday life.

BA, MSLP

Stuart is a Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia, having completed a Master of Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Sydney in 2017. He has previously worked as a writer and editor in print and digital publishing and has taught English to speakers of other languages.

In his role at the Clinic, Stuart is particularly interested in how best to support literacy in the broader context of clients' everyday communication.

BScPsych, PGDipPsych, MSpecEd

Ana completed her Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology and Master of Special Education at Macquarie University. Since graduating she has worked as a Learning and Support Teacher for over 15 years across schools in Sydney for students with diverse needs from kindergarten to year 12. Ana has also worked as a psychologist in private practice working with children and adolescents including those with reading difficulties, anxiety, language impairments, autism and gifted and talented.

Ana is passionate about working with children, their families, and teachers to improve their literacy skills.

GDipPsych, MSLP (CPSP) 

Anne-Maree completed a Master of Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Sydney in 2017 and is a Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia. She has previously worked in the school system assisting children with a range of communication difficulties.

Anne-Maree is particularly interested in supporting children to develop the literacy skills they need to succeed in their school lives, as well as in everyday communicative contexts.

BA, MS (SchoolPsych), SYC (SchoolPsych) 

Leslie completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Marist College (New York) in 2011. She then undertook a graduate program in School Psychology at Southern Connecticut State University, receiving her Master's Degree in 2013 and her sixth year Professional Diploma in 2015. In 2016, Leslie became a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) in the USA and then subsequently relocated to Sydney to continue her work in education and research.

In her role at the Clinic, Leslie particularly enjoys working with those who have special education needs, as well as with educators and families.

BA(Lang), MSLP, MSPA-CPSP 

Sophie completed a Master of Speech and Language Pathology at Macquarie University in 2017 and is a Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia. Since graduating, she has worked as a speech pathologist in private practice with children and adolescents with communication and reading difficulties, and in clinical research with adults with chronic aphasia. Sophie has also worked in a range of research support roles at Macquarie University including projects focusing on child language development and disorders.

In her role at the Clinic, Sophie is keen to support the literacy skills and communication abilities of clients of all ages and loves working with clients towards enjoyment and engagement with texts.

BA, BEd

Tomi Liddle has been educating children as a dedicated primary school teacher for 15 years. She completed her Arts degree and Bachelor of Teaching at The University of Sydney. With a wealth of experience teaching in classrooms across Sydney and the Central Coast, she has a deep understanding of how to cater for children with a wide variety of learning needs.

In her role at the clinic, Tomi loves interacting with and engaging children in the learning process, and helping them to achieve success. In addition to her role at the clinic, Tomi is an author, creating decodable texts for developing readers.

BA, MTeach, MRes

Stefani holds an Arts degree, a Master of Teaching, and a Master of Research. She is currently completing her PhD, in which she explores the relationship between language and emotional learning. Stefani has worked as an educator in both primary and secondary schools; having worked closely with students with learning difficulties, as well as those from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Stefani has a passion for education and supporting individuals with special learning needs so they can reach their full potential.

PhD, MAPS, CCN Fellow

Jessica is a registered psychologist and neuropsychology registrar. She holds a Bachelor of Science-Psychology (Honours) a Master of Clinical Neuropsychology, and a PhD. Jessica has been involved in research with children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders for the past 10 years, and has worked as a neuropsychology registrar in private practice and through NSW Health assessing children and adults who have a range of developmental disorders, including learning difficulties, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Delay and Intellectual Disability, attentional difficulties, and other neurological disorders.

Jessica is passionate about working with individuals to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and provide them (and their families) the necessary support to overcome these challenges.