Tailor Ed Foundation is made up of a group of trained professionals from a variety of backgrounds – including education, psychology and health – who want to improve the day to day living of autistic children and enhance their family’s quality of life.
Director
Dr Ruth Philip PhD (Roo)
Roo has worked with autistic children since 2000, primarily in home based, family run education programs prior to beginning work with Tailor Ed in 2009. She has worked with autistic children up to the age of 19, focusing on teaching communication and daily living skills. She completed a PhD at Edinburgh University in 2009 where she investigated emotion processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
During her studies Roo attended international conferences and courses on autism and has several peer reviewed journal publications in the field. Much of her research was carried out in conjunction with Number 6 – the one stop shop for autistic adults in Edinburgh, where Roo also volunteered. Roo has been involved in the Scottish Governments Autism Strategy and was part of the work group who developed the Menu of Interventions.
Early Years Service
Service Manager
Kate Langer
Kate has worked with autistic children and their families since 2001. During this time she has worked predominantly on a one-to-one basis with children with autism both in their homes and in schools. The main focus of this work has been to develop communication and daily living skills. She has worked with children from age 3 to 13 and has experience of working with many individuals with a diverse…
range of needs and capabilities. Kate is a qualified nursery nurse and has completed an Open University degree in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Senior Project worker
Eva Kriechbaum
Eva has worked with autistic children and those with other disabilities since 2011. She has supported children from 0-25 in different settings all with a person centred approach. Eva has supported children both one-to-one…
… and on a group basis and has supported children in the community and family homes. Most recently Eva has worked at The Yard where she supported many different sessions and planned and delivered sessions for one of their teen clubs. Eva has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Stirling and recently graduated from a MSc in Integrative Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh.
Project worker
Javier Roman Lopez
Javier, originally from the warm land of Seville, is passionate about education and autism. He started working in leisure activities with autistic people while studying a degree in Psychology at the University of Seville…
… Javier moved to London where he worked in specialist schools supporting children to learn communication, social and daily living skills. Since moving to Edinburgh he has worked with kids at home and in group settings working closely with families to develop skills and supports for everyday life. He’s an expert at bringing fun to every learning opportunity and has the boundless energy required for all our early learners.
Project worker
Megan Tibbo
Megan has worked with children with complex support needs since 2014. She has supported young people from 4 – 18 in various settings including nursery, school, community, and home, in both one-to-one and group settings…
…Most recently she has worked with the ‘Inclusive Support Team’ in East Renfrewshire to bridge gaps present between children with additional support needs, their families, and their local community. Megan has an undergraduate degree in Immunology, and a master’s in clinical psychology, both from the University of Glasgow.
Target Specific Service
Service Manager
Kirstin Brady
Kirstin loves music and she focused her undergraduate degree on music therapy which ignited her passion to work with autistic children and their families. Kirstin has worked in home-based education programmes as a behaviour therapist and supervisor since 2013 with children and adults. Specialising on developing communication and daily living skills.
Most recently Kirstin graduated with an MSc in applied behaviour analysis with distinction from Queen’s University, Belfast, writing notable works on behavioural gerontology and implementation of communication devices. She has a strong background in service management, research, and training. Kirstin has worked with leading national charities supporting carers and families using CBT and ACT based models.
Project worker
Kirstie Glen
Kirstie is originally from the Isle of Man but currently lives in Belgium with her husband and daughter. Kirstie is part of our Target Specific team, contributing to our remote offer of services. Kirstie completed her…
… undergraduate psychology degree and masters in Applied behaviour analysis at Bangor University in 2011. Kirstie has worked in various special education school and clinics in London and Wales, working with children from the ages of 18 months to 18 years. She has also supported children and families in home, nursery, mainstream school and community settings. Kirstie is a board certified behaviour analyst since 2018. Since then she has been a supervisor in a Maidenhead SEN school. She has a wide range of experience from multi disciplinary teams and has a wide range of interests from mental health (AIM/ACT curriculum) to early years development.
Project worker
Alina Danilowa
Alina has worked with children and young people with complex needs since 2017. She has supported young people ages 5-25 across leisure, educational and residential settings to learn communication, emotional regulation…
and daily living skills and participate in their communities.
In her previous role as a Residential Worker in a short breaks service, Alina worked as part of the multidisciplinary team to deliver person-centred interventions that promoted the young people’s wellbeing and independence by supporting their sensory, emotional, daily living and communication needs.
Alina has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and a PgDip in Speech and Language Therapy from Queen Margaret University. She has a particular interest in AAC and is passionate about ensuring that every child and young person has access to their preferred method of communication.
Project worker
Laura Connor
Laura has worked with children and adults with autism, additional support needs and adverse childhood experiences since 2011. During this time, she has supported individuals with daily living skills, social skills, emotional literacy, communication….
…and education using a person-centred approach. She has worked across a variety of settings including home, school, residential, community and within a transitional education project. In her previous role as an education tutor Laura gained experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing staff training and creating and implementing individual learning plans. Laura completed her undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology at Heriot Watt University and has a SVQ 3 in Social Services (Children and Young People). She has a particular interest in emotional literacy and giving young people the tools to be able to recognise, understand and communicate emotions in themselves and others.
ND:well
Service Manager
Michelle Appleby
Michelle joined Tailor Ed in September 2023 as ND:Well Service Manager. Michelle has worked with children and young people since 1999 in a variety of settings, including home based, education, social care, community services and the third (voluntary) sector, in both individual and group work.
She has a particular interest in supporting children and young people with additional support needs, including autism, attachment difficulties and trauma. Michelle is passionate about emotional literacy and positive health and well being for all children and young people (and their families!). She adopts a person centred, rights based approach to encourage self acceptance and personal contentment. Michelle is a keen learner and relies on both research and the lived experience of families to guide her practice.
Michelle has two children and two cats but is unclear which cause her the most stress!
Senior Project worker
Martha Homberg
Martha has worked with neurodivergent children and young people since 2014, having focused on working with the autistic community from 2015 onwards. She has since had the opportunity to work with groups …
… and one-on-one in a variety of settings, including clinical research, residential services, home based and centre-based support, as well as out in the community. They have worked with a wide age range with young people of varied profiles, on a variety of goals going from communication systems and safety in the community, co-regulation and meeting sensory needs, all the way through to self-knowledge and advocacy. Martha is late diagnosed autistic herself. She studied Psychology and Play Therapy in Mexico, and more recently obtained an MSc with distinction in Neuropsychology with the University of Edinburgh. Martha is passionate about young people finding joy and pride in themselves and their life, she’s an avid learner who cherishes the community’s wisdom and centres lived experience in her practice.
Project worker
Tara Beazley
Tara has been working with children and young people since 2013, in various third sector organizations and NHS/CAMHS specialist services within England. This has been with children (0-18) who have experiences of complex trauma and a focus on increasing wellbeing, helping to advocate for children and their families and supporting them through criminal justice processes.
…They hold an MSc in Cognitive behavioural psychotherapy, a qualification as an ISVA, a diploma in integrative counselling using the arts and are currently completing their Art psychotherapy MSc. Tara has a professional passion for working with and advocating for marginalized groups including LGBT+ and neurodivergent people. They are passionate about working with the arts, nature, being playful and curious in their approach and treating all children with compassion and patience.
East Lothian Schools Project
Senior Project Worker
Pete McNaughton
Pete has worked with autistic children and young people since 2008. He has supported children both on a one to one basis and with group work in a variety of settings including family homes, schools, holiday play schemes, social clubs and in the…
… wider community. He has worked on various targets including communication skills, self help skills, play skills and social skills. He has helped run social clubs for children with aspergers syndrome and high functioning autism aged 8-18. He used to run a respite service for children and young people with a wide range of disabilities, including autistic children. Pete completed an honours degree in psychology at Edinburgh University.
Office Personnel
Fundraising Manager
Stuart McCallum
Stuart joined the team on April Fools day 2019! He has worked in youth and community work for nearly 30 years. In the past decade he has focused on fundraising, helping charities to secure essential funding from trusts, National Lottery, donors and community events…
… We welcome Stuart on board and look forward to the fruits of his labour sustaining and developing our services. Stuart has lived in Leith for nearly 40 years and is an active member of Lochend Golf Club. His two daughters have now flown the family nest and he assures us he has almost recovered financially and emotionally from his eldest daughters wedding last year!
Finance Officer
Avril Duff
Avril has joined Tailor Ed following 6 years as the Office Administrator for a charity supporting brain-injured adults. She has some awareness of the challenges facing autistic children from her four years as a volunteer call-taker with Parentline…
… Scotland and is looking forward to widening her knowledge. Her role at Tailor Ed will be primarily involved with financial management.
Administrator
Annabel Davies
Annabel joined Tailor Ed in 2021 to help with general administration and office management tasks. Having graduated from the University of Edinburgh, she worked for many years in Property Management and Lettings, both in London and Edinburgh
… before more recently running an online Community group around time spent looking after her young children.
The Board
Our Board is a comprehensive mix of people, providing a range of skills, expertise and perspectives that guide Tailor Ed.
Susie Harding
(Chairperson)
Susie is a clinical psychologist and has worked in applied psychology for several years with children, young people and families. She has previously worked as a researcher for a children’s charity and as a behavioural therapist with children with autism on home intervention programmes.
Matthew Day
Having worked with adults on the autistic spectrum since 1991, Matthew is currently the service coordinator for Number 6, Autism Initiatives. He has previously served as treasurer on the board of Changes Community Project (an East Lothian mental health charity). Matthew has had extensive training in autism, mental health and managing challenging services, and has a diploma in employment law
Chris Brown
(Treasurer)
Chris is a Finance Analyst who has previously worked in the voluntary sector for a large Edinburgh based childcare organisation.
Dr Andrew Stanfield
Andy is an NHS consultant psychiatrist and co-director of the Patrick Wild Centre at the University of Edinburgh – a research initiative which focuses on autism and intellectual disability.
Jo McDermid
As a parent who has a son with Autism, Jo has had experience with a variety of different services that Tailor Ed work alongside. She adds a parent perspective to the Board, as well as supports Tailor Ed’s ethos that learning practical skills are the things which have the biggest impact on families.
Liz Murphy
Liz was Tailor Ed’s first administrative assistant and worked with the organisation for two years. She went on to do a masters in social work and is now working as a social worker.
Firsthand Lothian provides support to families with children with disabilities living across the city of Edinburgh. Tailored 1:1 support for children and young people (up to 16 years) is delivered in their local community – engaging them in activities and going to places of interest that are both stimulating and fun. At times we team up with Firsthand Lothian so that our services run in parallel. A support worker from Firsthand Lothian can take care of siblings while we work with the child in the family with autism and their parent(s). http://www.firsthand-lothian.org.uk/
The Yard is an adventure play centre specifically designed for children with additional support needs. They aim to provide care, support, fun and friendship in equal measure whilst encouraging families to let go and promote challenge, personal growth and supported independence for their children. They offer regular play sessions for special schools as an integral part of their curriculum and offer Early Years sessions on weekdays during term time. There are family sessions twice a week which couple respite with peer support for mums, dads, and siblings alike. They also run youth groups and a young adults club on weekdays. These give young disabled people the chance to socialise and try out new things with support from the Play team but independent from parents and carers.http://www.theyardscotland.org.uk/
Time Twisters is a soft play centre located in the West of the city. Time Twisters was developed and created by Edinburgh couple Andy & Shirley Hixon and opened in the early summer of 2006. From the outset the goal has been to offer a higher quality, clean and safe play facility that also offers a better experience for the parents, grandparents and carers that visit.
In November 2014 we began working with Time Twisters to provide a monthly autism friendly play session. These are held on the last Wednesday of every month, 4pm-5.45pm. The sessions cost £2 per child. More information about our sessions can be found here and the Time Twisters’ website can be found here http://timetwisters.co.uk/
Dr Patrick McGreevy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 30 years of experience with children and adults of all ages with developmental disabilities. In 2012, Roo attended training from Pat in London on his functional life skills curriculum, Essential For Living. Seeing the benefits of a curriculum focused on the skills children need for day to day life and the overlap this had with Tailor Ed’s work, we invited Pat to Edinburgh in 2013. Pat joined us for a week during which time we ran a 2 day seminar for professionals on Essential For Living and the team also received direct tuition from Pat. We have embedded much of this training in to our practice and focus on teaching the ‘Essential 8’ – the fundamental life skills required for day to day life to run smoothly. More information on both Pat and this curriculum can be found below and by following this. link.
Charlotta Holenstein is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and has a Masters degree in Positive Approaches to Challenging Behaviour. Charlotta is based in Edinburgh and has particular experience in working with young people with social and emotional difficulties. Given this area of expertise, Charlotta has provided our team with training on cognitive behaviour therapy methods and we will at times consult with Charlotta on specific cases or target areas.
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