Valerie is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with a wide range of experience working with young children's learning, emotional and behaviour problems. Her PhD from the Institute of Child Health, University College London, examined the language and reading development of young children with brain damage, and her work at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children centres on assessing the needs of children with neurological problems. She also holds Honorary Research Fellowships at the Institute of Child Health and at the Centre for Reading and Language, University of York. She has carried out research into children's early reading development and has a special interest in assessing and advising on children's learning problems, in particular dyslexia and related difficulties.