Our Story Begins Here
Fiona Higgins
Dyslexia Specialist & Dyslexia Assessor (AMBDA, APC)
Orton Gillingham Practitioner (A/OGA)
Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist (C-SLDI)
Fiona is a certified Dyslexia Specialist and Dyslexia Assessor with the British Dyslexia Association and an Associate Member of The Orton Gillingham Academy. She is also a Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist with the Centre for Effective Reading, International Dyslexia Association.
Originally from Ireland, Fiona has worked in both public and international schools in Ireland, England, Italy and Spain over the past 20 years.
As a dyslexia assessor and dyslexia specialist, Fiona has extensive training and experience in identifying, treating, and managing dyslexia in both monolingual and multilingual children, enabling her to support hundreds of international families across Barcelona.
She has contributed to the development of early years literacy programmes, delivered teacher training workshops, and provided whole-class modelling as well as individual student support. Fiona has a particular interest in supporting multilingual learners and is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Meritxell Alquezar
Child Neuropsychologist
Meritxell Alquezar, originally from Catalunya, is the Founder and Director of CUIDA.
She holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Barcelona and pursued postgraduate studies in Functional Neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, where she was awarded the Concurrent Enrolment Distinction and completed a postgraduate degree in Child Development. Meritxell later earned a Master’s in Psychobiology and Cognitive Neuroscience from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Master’s in Child Neuropsychology from Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville, Spain.
Upon returning from the United States, Meritxell worked for several years at the renowned pediatric Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, as well as in mant other clinical centers and international schools across Spain.
For over seven years, she has combined her private practice with teaching as an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Barcelona.
Her professional focus lies in applying the latest advances in neuroscience, child development, psychology, and education to foster cognitive growth, learning, and well-being across the lifespan.
We supports students, educators, and families as a offering comprehensive educational psychological assessments and delivering evidence-based intervention sessions. We work closely with international families living in Barcelona and the surrounding areas, helping them navigate the challenges of supporting learners with specific needs.
In addition to assessments and intervention, we provide tailored workshops and training sessions designed to empower those working with learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs). Each session is customised to meet the needs of the group and can be delivered in person at your school or workplace or virtually, making them accessible to both educators and parents.
Our goal is simple: to ensure that every participant leaves our trainings feeling confident, informed, and equipped with practical strategies they can use right away.
Get in touch to learn how we can collaborate to support the learners in your community.
Our Community
We understand that international family life comes with unique trials and tribulations, from adjusting to new cultures and languages, to navigating unfamiliar education systems. It can be overwhelming to find the right support for your child, especially when you're far from home.
That’s why we regularly collaborate with professionals across education and child development to provide expert guidance tailored to the needs of globally mobile families.