I know both sides of the room

I am a child psychologist working in the Amsterdam, Schiphol, Leiden and The Hague area. Most of my week is spent with children who find reading hard, and with families who are rebuilding their lives in a new country.

I am a polyglot, and that is not a line on a CV for me. Moving between languages taught me how much of a person stays behind when they can only use their second or third one. Children feel that most sharply: they can be funny, sharp and imaginative at home, and go quiet the moment they step into a classroom.

So I listen in whichever language works. Sometimes a child starts a sentence in one language and finishes it in another, and that is perfectly fine here.

In my work I am direct with parents. I will tell you what I see, what I am unsure about, and what I think is worth doing next — without jargon, and without promises I cannot keep.