About us
Inclusive Education Partners strives to bring families and schools together to enable neurodiverse children to learn and thrive. We foster relationships between students, caregivers and teachers. A shared commitment enables children to learn in the way that they learn best. Inclusive Education Partners provides specialist consultation and knowledge of evidence-based practices to parents, caregivers and educators.
Inclusive Education Partners was founded in response to a gap in the educational system which leaves many children with “invisible disabilities” behind. Upon moving to New Zealand from the US in 2012, I was shocked to find so many children attending school only a couple of hours a day or being sent home for being “too hard” or worse yet, being excluded altogether from their primary school. I saw teachers working very hard and caring deeply about their students. Many children with enormous potential were being marginalised because their schools were not able to create an inclusive culture or provide needed resources. The children were expected to be like everybody else and fit into the school, rather than the school changing to fit them and be inclusive.
One size does not fit all. Some children find a classroom with 30 students to be very stressful. Auditory and visual stimulation can be overwhelming. Unclear or unrealistic expectations for how to behave socially and academically can heighten this stress. The noise and chaos of school hallways and playgrounds, while exciting for some, make others anxious. Some children need explicit teaching of social and emotional skills, like most need explicit teaching of maths and reading. Every child can learn to regulate their emotions. Every child can learn how to navigate the social world and solve problems. Sometimes, they need support to do this. We can all learn along the way.
”Concerning behavior occurs when the expectations being placed on a kid exceed the kid’s capacity to respond adaptively.”
- Ross Greene, PhD
Our Team
Founder and Director
Tami has a Master’s Degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago and a Post Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Education from the University of Auckland. She is an NZ Registered Psychotherapist and an NZ Registered Social Worker.
Tami has twenty five years of experience providing parent guidance, child and family therapy, and school consultation specialising in autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma and learning disabilities.
Tami consults to schools regarding social, emotional and behavioural learning. She provides training for teachers around creating inclusive learning communities. Tami has worked in foster care, special education, early intervention and community mental health in the United States and New Zealand. She currently oversees the well-being programme at The Forest School and is the Managing Director at Acorn Autism Charitable Trust. Tami has three wonderful neurodiverse children who keep her on her toes.
Expertise.
Autism
ADHD
Anxiety
Trauma
Learning disabilities
Approaches.
Collaborative Problem Solving - Ross Greene
Social Thinking - Michelle Garcia Winner
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Family and Systems Therapy
Qualifications.
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology University of Michigan
Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work
University of Chicago
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Inclusive Education) University of Auckland
Affiliations.
Psychotherapists Board of NZ
NZ Social Workers Registration Board
NZ Nature Education Trust, Trustee
Australasian Society for Autism Research
Enquire now for your child, family or school.
“Tami’s support and expertise have been life changing for so many children and families at The Forest School. The students, parents and teachers have been so fortunate to learn from her.”
— Tennille Murdoch - Director at The Forest School