Biographical Information
Dr Stewart Sykes has a distinguished career in special education and developmental, educational and clinical psychology. Beginning his professional life as a qualified primary and special education teacher, Stewart established the first experimental,“opportunity-remedial” grade in a Melbourne primary school in the 1960s. Following a brief period teaching in a “regular” primary school, Stewart joined the then Education Department’s Curriculum and Research Branch as a research psychologist. Topics investigated including reading readiness, reading and spelling strategies and methods of instruction in special schools. In 1971, Stewart was appointed as a teaching fellow in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Teaching and research activities were basically in the fields of special education and educational psychology.
During Stewart’s last 10 years at Monash University he held the joint positions as an Associate Professor of Psychology and Special Education and Director of the Krongold Centre for Exceptional Children. The Centre provided direct clinical experiences for students studying in the fields of special education and educational and clinical psychology. Children and adolescents with special needs including those with learning difficulties and behavioural problems, and gifted and talented students attended the Centre. Services provided included assessment, program planning and implementation, teacher training, practica for psychologists and parenting programs. Staff included special teachers, psychologists, audiologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
Following his time at Monash University, Stewart has continued to run a private practice as a special education teacher and an educational and clinical psychologist. He provides advisory and consultative services to Universities and Colleges, clinics, schools, the Department of Education and Training, other Educational Institutions and Professional Organisations including The Australian Psychological Society.
Stewart’s psycho-educational reports have been highly valued by teachers, psychologists, medical practitioners and parents as they provide a clear description of test results and interpretations and explicit instructional guidelines and recommendations.
Stewart’s areas of special interest include the following-learning difficulties and specific learning disorders, dyslexia, attention-deficit disorders, behavioural problems, Autism Spectrum Disorders, intellectual disability, giftedness and parenting.
Stewart has also provided psychological therapeutic services for children, adolescents and adults under the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
Much of the information presented on this Website has been drawn from several decades of clinical practice and research. Stewart has some 4,000 files on individuals he has assessed. In addition, he reviews over 500 psychological reports annually on students seeking special funding or special examination provisions.
I commenced writing this website in 2015. As mentioned, the material was gained from several sources, primarily my work as a teacher, psychologist and academic. Due to health and “ageing”, I decided to retire from private practice and my professional roles with the Australian Psychological Society and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Fundamentally, I was unable to continue the demanding and arduous, although immensely enjoyable and rewarding work, keeping abreast of research to the high standards I had set myself. Hence, I ceased working on my website in 2019.
Naturally, I was extremely disappointed not being able to be so energetically and excitingly productive in my professional interests. However, I would like to hope that my website can continue to be helpful to parents, teachers, psychologists, and other relevant professionals. While obviously lacking recent currency, it should provide an accurate chronology and history of relevant special education and educational and clinical psychology writings up until 2018 and continue to be a useful collection of timeless information.
Although I greatly miss my professional work, I continue to read avidly and widely in my many fields of interest and assist students with their studies and research.
Finally, I take immense satisfaction knowing that my website is reaching readers, not only in Australia but also in many other parts of the world. For this, I am gratified.