Biography:
With her gentle and approachable nature, Dr. Naoisé O’Reilly is an Irish woman who has become a Global Expert working with men, women, and children around the World. She can quickly take her clients out of their rut and turn a downward spiral into an upward one. Indeed, one of the more rewarding aspects of her work is showing clients, who had previously been written off by society, the basic steps they need to take flight and soar.
When she isn’t enjoying the company of her family and friends, Naoise will usually be found with a book in her hand or creating She also derives much pleasure from her Podcast, Purple Psychology, which was nominated for The People’s Choice Award and enjoys the encouraging comments and insightful questions she receives from her listeners on every continent.
In Naoisé’s words:
Seriously, I never wished to be pigeonholed as a Specialist Educationalist or a Dyslexia Expert but over 10 years later the scope of people coming to see me is right across the board.
I passionately strive to take literacy and intelligence out of the same sentence. This is particularly important to me as a person with severe Dyslexia. Ironically, I have managed to achieve a very high level of education myself with a background of a First in Marine Science and a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography. Despite hating School I obtained an excellent Leaving Cert and also have 3 A Level Sciences. I realize that I approach education in both a very ordered creative and scientific way, always looking for the reasons below the surface, very like my oceanography studies. I always see patterns, almost like animal behaviour and I constantly strive to observe and understand the reasons for these.
Whole Spectrum of Disorders:
I have, in the past and currently deal with everything from (and as diverse) ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, Dyslexia, Audio Processing Disorders, Hearing Impairments, Visual Impairments, Speech Difficulties, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Confidence, Bullying, Self Harm, Anxiety, Depression, Sexual abuse, Addiction, Attempted Suicide, Chronic Illness, Crisis Pregnancies, Sexuality, Gender Identity, Learning Disabilities, Gifted Children, Exam Fears, Mental Illness, Schizophrenia, Child Development, People Development, Team Development, Stress and Bereavement. In fact, I’ve probably seen every story known to Humanity across a whole spectrum of backgrounds, cultures, countries and ages. Initially, I worked with 12 to 18-year-olds. Then 5 to 25 years olds and now 18-month-old babies to 72-year-olds and the ranges just keep expanding month by month. I now have clients in 12 countries internationally: Australia, Singapore, India, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.
My Teaching Methods, Education Profiling, Exercises, and Inventions are done in record time. They can be Individual or Group orientated.
Life Changing Results in 90 Minutes:
In the beginning, it took 4 hours, 4 weeks of 1-hour classes to see groundbreaking results with students. But I have now refined this to positively change students forever within 90 minutes of meeting. I know from my own personal experiences how traumatic many assessments are and as a result, I have strived to create a system that is both positive and with real practical impact that can make a difference at once. By the time I meet people, they have lost too much of their lives already. They need results now. A week is a lifetime to a child. Too many assessments focus on what we can’t do. I always say “that it doesn’t matter what you can’t do only what you can”. In this way, I take peoples skills to help them succeed in school.
“I find it incredible that students spend years in resource classes and in just 3 weeks are able to make massive literacy breakthroughs for life – a fact, I think people find it hard to believe!”
Dr. Naoisé O’Reilly is referred by national health organizations and national and international associations. She has helped numerous families with very young children with speech and expression difficulties to achieve advances in their speech development and expression in 3 weeks. Dr. O’Reilly endured 3 traumatic psychological assessments since she was 4 years old given her own diagnosis of a severe learning difficulty. As a result, Dr. O’Reilly’s sessions with children, teenagers and adults are purposefully non-stressful and set up to be anti-traumatic. For her, there was never a box in her assessments that said she was good at anything. Her reports highlight all that a person can do brilliantly now and in the future, regardless of existing labels. Dr. O’Reilly never labels people. Everything she works on is about creating confidence and conquering fears.
More to Life than Exams:
There are so many other ways that Dr. Naoisé O’Reilly has an impact on the lives of students. Sure, students can move up to doing honours subjects but children have started in mainstream schools where families previous thought this was impossible. Others have returned to school after not only dropping out of education but society as a whole. Students have moved forward instead of schools keeping them back a year. They learn how to read, write and do maths in a way that suits their brain, ability, and personality. Many students have learned to deal with extreme anxiety in school and others have opted for homeschooling. She has helped students pick exam subjects that suit their natural abilities and talents for careers later on. Students have done much better academically – even students with dyslexia. Many students have taken up reading and became avid readers after avoiding literature for most of their lives. Dr. O’Reilly says, “I just want students to be happier in themselves and to feel more balanced.”
Asperger’s Breakthroughs:
Dr. O’Reilly’s results with people living with Asperger’s Syndrome have been nothing short of remarkable. I wonder if anyone else alive has been able to get people living with Asperger’s to express themselves is such profound ways in record time. This is not just in a verbal and physical manner but more strikingly in their artistic expression, personal appearance, style, fashion and hair sense etc. truly life-changing. ASPIRE The Asperger Syndrome Association of Ireland is one of the greatest advocates of Dr. O’Reilly’s Methods.
To date, Dr O’Reilly has set up 4 Educational Projects to give me the environments to observe, document, research and study ways that people of all ages can achieve their true potential. The Homework Club™ set up in 2009 was to prove all of the whacky ideas in her head with students aged from 5 upwards and to develop and prove her own teaching methods which led to the creation of the Purple Learning Project™ to leave a legacy of methodology behind. Dr O’Reilly has always been aware of the balance of helping people now and leaving real change behind for the future.
In 2012, Dr O’Reilly started a project called Confidence Club™ which allows us to work with students and families on an individual basis to create confidence in learning in the home environment. This project like The Homework Club has attracted students for miles, even from across the world, whom everyone else has either given up on or failed to find the root reasons for the difficulties.
It is of huge importance to Dr O’Reilly to remain in touch with all her students. She takes great joy in that some of the first students she worked with have now passed their driving tests, started college and reached their careers.
International Purple Profiling & Mentoring:
It may seem strange to people that she works with a span from 18 months to 70’s. From a development point of view this makes perfect sense to Dr O’Reilly. She can see the patterns of development within personalities. What stopped people from succeeding later in life? What didn’t they do at 15? What element was missing for them? It gives the ability for her to study patterns from childhood to adulthood. She puts it as; “I’m able to meet someone at 40 and know what they were like at 15 or 17.”
Dr. Naoisé O’Reilly has also applied her work, methods and systems as a consultant at very high levels around the World through consulting with Fortune 200 ranked Companies right up to Fortune 5 listed Companies, Universities. Also as a Psychological Profiler to Athletes at the highest levels of success including Olympians, Paralympians, Special Olympians, Gold World Champions, European Champions, Grand Prix Winner, Barclays Premier League Football Club First Team in the U.K. etc. Though she has moved away from this work to concentrate on her passions in education and writing.
World Media Spotlight:
Dr. O’Reilly’s successes in the Business World and her various Methodologies have been documented by top Media across the Planet from CBS Money Watch, ABC, NBC & FOX to The L.A. Daily News, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Houston Chronicle, Hawaii News Now, The Kansas City Star, The San Jose Mercury News, The Cincinnati Enquirer, American Banking News, RTÉ, News Talk, The Sunday Independent, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Irish Examiner, The Evening Herald, International Business Times, Bio Space, Bio Med Reports, Green Technology, Yahoo News etc. Dr. O’Reilly continues to rock the boat and is a much sought after Media Interviewee. She’s known internationally as a Global Expert on homework due to starting a media campaign in November 2011 in Ireland to abolish homework, which she still gets called on to comment every time the debate continues to a new level. It’s now at policy discussion stage.
Experiences:
Dr O’Reilly has been a student advocate as Disability Rights Officer for Union of Students of Ireland (USI) and Anti-Discrimination Officer for the NUI, Galway Students Union. She sat on the Equality, Disability and Computer policy committees in college. She has been a Lecturer in Remote Sensing in Southampton University, U.K. and at the European Space Agency, Frascati, Italy. She was a personal Tutor in Ireland and the U.K. Studied at Oxford and Cambridge. Dr O’Reilly worked in Education Management, Project Management for both the Director of Academic Studies and the Director of International Students and Course Development for a University in Ireland and has been Course Manager for International M.B.A. and M.S.C. programmes.
Previously she worked as a Sound Technician in Theatre which led her to be a Technical Director for a Theatre Festival. She balanced her academic world with a keen interest in painting and photography. Since April 2018 Naoisé has become an avid writer. She started by writing a series of articles for Family Friendly HQ parenting site.
Dr O’Reilly had her first teaching job at the age of 12 as part of the North Dublin Summer School Project. As She puts it, “All of these diverse experiences have led me to where I am today.”
The Homework Club™ has won Best Start-Up followed by Best Small Business with Dublin 15 Chamber Of Commerce and gained Ability Company Status in 2010 along with Microsoft, Citi Bank and Eircom. The Purple Learning Project™ was nominated for an A.I.B. Innovation in Business Award with Fingal Chamber Of Commerce in 2011 and was shortlisted for the National Newspapers Of Ireland Press Awards in 2011.
The Homework Club received a Business Priming Grant from Fingal Enterprise Board in 2010.
Expression Developist™
No one, not even those who’ve experienced Dr O’Reilly’s wizardry, can agree on a job title. Some just joke she’s a wizard.
She developed a new genre of education. We focus so much on success of results – but what are results & what’s success? What are the real points of learning? To very simply and importantly learn to express oneself in a way that takes you to success in whatever field you have aptitudes. Reaching your true potential by being able to communicate with the world in your unique way. Expression’s the fundamental basis for all education. On the flip side – it’s lack of expression that can also be seen as the root of all difficulties within this environment.
Inspirations & influences:
My Idol is Dr. Seuss and favourite toys as a child were the Fisher Price School House and the Fisher Price Printing Press.
Youdon’t have to love or agree for them to inspire you – but many of these are my heroes. Not in any order – just as they came to mind.
Francoise Dolto, Maria Montessori, Eleanor Roosevelt, Katharine Cook Briggs, Isabel Briggs-Myers, Carl Jung, David Keirsey, Jane Goodall, David Attenborough, Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Maya Angelou, Sister Consilio, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Marie Currie, Daniel Bernoulli, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Pina Bausch, Eileen Grey, Jack B. Yeats, Beatrix Potter, Céline Sciamma, Cédric Klapisch, François Ozon, Ethan Hawke, Alexandre Desplat, Emma Watson, The Matrix, Charlie Chaplin, Rebecca Miller, Lionel Logue, Dr Seuss, Paddington, The Giver, Eckhart Tolle, Dan Millman, Albert Espinosa, Rumi, Rupi Kaur, Madeline L’Engle, John Berger, Robert Webb, Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese , Star Belly Sneetches, Miss Marple, Poirot, Harry Potter, Fannie Flagg, J.K. Rowling, Stella Cottrell, Oprah Winfrey, Pamela Druckerman, Edward de Bono, Howard Gardner, Anna Gavalda, Roody Doyle, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Susan Hampshire, Sarah Crossan, Angie Thomas, Gary Zukav, Paulo Coelho, Man Ray mime from revolving doors 1916-1917, All INFJ’s.
Man
Ray mime from revolving doors 1916-1917.
