Zara Awan

Bio

Zara has a post-graduate qualification in dyslexia from the University of Birmingham. She is an Associate Member of The British Dyslexia Association and a Member of the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with SpLD (PATOS-UK). Zara is currently studying towards a Master of Education in Inclusion with the University of Birmingham (UK) with a focus on autism in children. She has over seven years of experience working with children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and specific language impairments in the UK and the UAE. The acquisition of literacy and communication skills is a human right, and this passionate belief drives her professional practice, community advocacy, and academic research. Zara is trained and experienced Orton-Gillingham professional, and is also proficient in the use of Colorful Semantics, COGx, and the SCERTS model. Coming from a proudly neurodiverse family, Zara is a passionate and active advocate for the autistic community and their loved ones. She is an inclusion board member for Kings’ School, and a frequent speaker at local and international events advocating for greater representation of neurodiverse voices in research and interventions aimed at the autistic community. Her postgraduate research interest is in increasing the reliable and effective representation of complex needs autistics in the current narrative of the Neurodiversity Movement.