School should be a place where kids feel safe and like they belong. Unfortunately, for many children this isn’t the case. Coming from different backgrounds and having different learning abilities will vastly change the experience and enjoyment a child has in school.
This discrepancy in experience is something today’s guest noticed early on and has been working hard to change. Dr. Bibi Pirayesh views these learning disabilities and discrepancies as a social justice issue. She doesn’t believe the system is broken, just that it’s designed to benefit certain people more than others. Through her work as an educational therapist, Dr. Pirayesh has found and created hope for children who wouldn’t have had the same opportunities otherwise.
Listen in to learn more from her transformative journey into educational therapy and social work, and how communities can work together to evolve the public education system into something more accessible for all.
About Dr. Bibi Pirayesh:
Dr. Pirayesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Education from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University where her work focused primarily on children’s development of mathematical thinking and cognitive neuroscience. She has worked as a learning specialist and educational therapist in private practice for over a decade.
While the emphasis of her work is on remediating learning disabilities in a one-on-one setting, she is also a sought after speaker and community advocate for children and families around learning rights. She works with children grades 1-12 and covers a wide range of learning difficulties including dyslexia, ADHD, and spectrum disorders. In 2020, Dr. Pirayesh launched The Difference is Not Deficit Project to help promote the importance of seeing learning disability as a social justice issue, the cornerstone of her doctoral dissertation. In addition to her private practice and advocacy work, she is also adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology.
To learn more, you can connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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Transcription:
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Lindsay Recknell | Expert in Hope | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
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