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I thought this month I would give you some insights into one of the chapters of my forthcoming book. This chapter explores the various voices of those who contribute knowledge to the PDA field. So we have: academic researchers, based in universities. They provide mainly critiques of PDA from a theoretical perspective, examining the construct […]

Something completely different for this blog post! Not my usual focus on aspects of the book, or of the writing process, or indeed PDA. This time I am focussing on the next chapter of my professional and personal life. Passing the professional baton… Retiring finally from clinical assessment work at the end of March 2025

I recently enjoyed a few days away in Norfolk, on my East Anglian Cities Tour. Whilst in Ely I visited the home of Oliver Cromwell, now a living museum to his life there. His study gave me the opportunity to revisit how we wrote in the 17th century. A far cry from the modern world

I recently re-watched the film ‘Enigma’ about the breaking of enemy codes during WW2 by the amazing codebreakers at Bletchley Park. It resonated with me… The last 15 years I have spent specialising in PDA have taught me a great deal about this enigmatic presentation. I’ve been ‘cracking’ some of the hidden codes inside the

I recently spent an inspirational day with my publisher, Troubador down in Leicestershire. It was a complete antidote to a long, hard, and productive winter of assessments up here at the Derwent Clinic in York. It also provided a much-needed spark to reignite my passion for resuming the writing, and completion, of ‘New Insights into

Part 1 I’ve been spending a lot of time recently in a deep dive chamber. In fact I was going to title this blogpost ‘Hilary Dyer and the Chamber of HBOT’* Let me explain… It became apparent in January 2023 that I would need some planned, but highly risky, oral surgery, after complications set in

  ‘Can it really be that long ago?’ I asked myself, when I was looking at these photos. They are images of which I am still enormously proud, as they reflect my achievements in gaining my MA in Education degree from the Open University, in 1990, (blue gown) and my Doctorate in Educational Psychology in

  Those of us in the field of PDA will be only too familiar with Elizabeth Newson’s seminal work. As I re-draft chapter 1 – which focusses on the contribution she made to the field,  I wanted to share my thoughts about this remarkable woman. Elizabeth Newson worked for many years alongside her husband John.