Sotiria Tzivinikou

Sotiria Tzivinikou, head of the Second Diagnostic Assessment and Support Center (ΚΔΑΥ) in Thessaloniki, is a special education teacher with over 20 years of teaching experience. Since 1993, she has been involved in learning disabilities and completed her doctoral dissertation on this subject at Brunel University in London. She holds a degree from the Department of Early Childhood Education at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), as well as from the Special Education Training School of the same department, and the Department of Economics at the Law School of AUTH. She has developed significant research and teaching work as a scientific collaborator at Aristotle University, the University of Macedonia, and other private and public educational institutions. She is a trainer at the Pedagogical Institute on issues of learning disabilities. She is frequently invited to workshops and training seminars as a speaker on topics related to learning disabilities, special education, and early intervention. She has a substantial number of publications on these topics in international journals and presentations at scientific conferences. She began writing "Alkis, You Are Not Alone" many years ago when she was experiencing infertility issues. At the same time, she was starting her doctoral studies and researching the literature on learning disabilities. Back then, her perspective was strictly scientific. The birth of her child profoundly affected her and changed her perspective, adding emotion to her approach. Since then, she feels aligned with the parents' side, which defines her stance as a member of the interdisciplinary team and head of one of the largest Diagnostic Assessment and Support Centers in the country. Her deep desire to speak to parents with this dual identity, as both a mother and a scientist, "gave birth" to "Alkis."