David A.

Private tutor in Kotka, Finland

Education

B. A. Sc.-equivalence (180 ECTS; many universities): -psychology -mathematical sciences -archaeology -Finnish (Everyday Communication) Master of Education (90 ECTS; University of Birmingham, UK): - special education (educational psychology; specialism: autism - adults) Certificate of Professional Specialisation in Education (30 ECTS; Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Jyväskylä, Finland): - educational & organisational ethno-psychology Level C Test User (Psychological Assessment Resources Inc., Lutz, Florida, USA)

Experience

A- KAKSPY Ry - Assistant Mental Health Worker, 2009 - 2010 B- Autismiliitto Ry - Office Assistant, 2009 - 2009 C- University of Birmingham - Visiting Lecturer - Autism (Psychology); - Tutor/Supervisor, 2008 - 2010 D- AutSpect Education Tmi - Psycho-Educational Consultant, 2007 - present E- International Associate Editor (Finland) - Good Autism Practice (journal; BILD/UoB, UK; 2002 - 2014) F- Freelancer - Psycho-Educational Consultant, 2001 - 2006 G- Adult Education College, Kotka - Associate Teacher (Social Studies/English), 2006 - 2009 H- Barnsley DGH NHS Trust - Honorary Research Technician (Remediation Engineering), 1995 - 1995

Subject Expertise

Applied Mathematics, Archaeology, Engineering, Physics, Psychology, Special Education, Statistics

Availability

Weekdays

Can Meet

Up to 15 minutes away for no additional charge

Hobbies

Hobbies include: music, reading, listening to speech radio on the internet and watching documentaries on YouTube. I am rather passionate about science - yes, this would make me a nerd. I don't mind that: that is how my dad brought me up. I've had an all-round interest in sciences, engineering and technology, and this has included the history and archaeology of these parts of human social and cultural development. I am an autistic adult. This, even though many are tempted to see it as a negative thing, was always seen by my university staff at Birmingham as something positive: because I specialised in working with autistic adults in particular, I understand very well the experiences and challenges that many others on the spectrum face in educational settings. My honorary appointment as international associate editor in Finland for the journal Good Autism practice indicates the high esteem in which I am held by the main editors of that journal. I tend to approach individual tutorial sessions in a rather different way from that used by many tutors, and this stems from my training in rational emotive counselling. I find out how the student understands a topic under discussion, what s/he knows about it and how s/he expresses that knowledge. Then I explain what is understood on the topic (or, maybe - if appropriate, individual aspects of it) generally, using either the course text or available research. I then guide the student through a process of checking his/her understanding and knowledge against this evidence base. The aim is to create a modicum of cognitive dissonance and then, gently, guide the student in how to adaptively reduce the anxiety that this dissonance causes. Given it's status as the international language for just about everything, I tutor in English, even if the student's texts are in Finnish or Swedish. This is because, in the modern world, portability of knowledge and expertise is extremely important; and this is not helped by tutoring only in Finnish or in Swedish.