ABOUT US
About us
Asimina Ralli is a Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Her research focuses on the developmental trajectories of language, as well as the relationships between language skills and the cognitive and socio-emotional development of children and adolescents. Her work also addresses school readiness and the impact of digital technologies on child development. She has published more than 100 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. She is the author of three books, the editor of six books and special issues, and the co-creator of six psychometric instruments designed to assess preschool children’s language skills and school readiness, including the Preschool Children’s Skills Assessment Scale and the Preschool Children’s School Readiness Assessment Scale. She is a member of the Hellenic Psychological Society of Greece.
Olympia Palikara is a Professor of Educational Psychology and Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Social Sciences (External Engagement) in University of Warwick. Her research interests concern the educational and psychosocial outcomes of neurodivergent children and young people. She is also particularly interested in the effect of educational transitions, including from primary to secondary education and secondary education to post-compulsory education on children's mental health and wellbeing. Previous studies have been funded by Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council and Williams Syndrome Foundation. Olympia has written over 60 peer-reviewed articles and two co-edited books. Olympia is past Convener of the Psychology in Education Standing Committee of the European Federation of Psychologists' Association (EFPA) and past co-chair of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) of the British Psychological Society.
Eleni Kalliontzi is a Speech and Language Therapist working at the Community Mental Health Center for Children and Adolescents (KOKEPSYPE) in Nea Smyrni, Athens. She completed her undergraduate studies in the Department of Philology (Department of Linguistics) at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Athens, her postgraduate studies in the Department of Clinical Communication Studies at City, University of London and her PhD in the Department of Psychology at the University of Athens. Her research interests focus on the study of typical language development and Developmental Language Disorder in children.
Vicky Irinaki is a graduate of the Department of Psychology at Panteion University and holds a Master’s Degree in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Roehampton-University of London, on language disorders in conjunction with child and adolescent psychopathology. Specifically, the aim of her doctoral dissertation is to explore how the existence of language disorders in adolescents with psychological problems affects their psycho-therapeutic process. Finally, she works as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton in Developmental Psychology.
Dimitra Karagiannopoulou is a greek literature teacher and special education teacher. Her field of research is language and learning disabilities. She specializes in the development of written language and in addressing the difficulties that affect written expression. Dimitra Karagiannopoulou works in public schools as a language arts teacher and as a school life counselor, providing psychosocial support to students. She also she collaborates with an interdisciplinary team at special education centers to holistically address the needs of children and adolescents with special educational needs. She assesses and designs an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each child, based on their individual needs and abilities.
