Self-EDvocate
Education and Diagnosis Center
Accepting clients January 2025!
At Self-EDvocate, we empower students and their parents to advocate for their learning. When parents are educated about their child’s learning strengths and challenges, they are more prepared to provide support. When students know how their brain learns best, they can achieve greater success in school and in life.
We conduct detailed psycho-educational assessments for students ages 6 to young adult. We assess for Specific Learning Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Intellectual Developmental Disorder. As part of our service, we offer a follow-up personalized consult for our clients and/or their parents, to help them partner with the school to advocate for their learning. Please visit our Services page for more details.
Dr. Zuhra (Zora) Teja is a Registered Psychologist and award-winning educator. She has dedicated 25 years to improving the social-emotional and academic development of children locally and internationally. For the past 7 years, she served as Vice-Principal of the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders, supervising a team of health care professionals, behaviour analysts, and specialist teachers, who provide consultation and training to educators across BC.
Dr. Teja earned her PhD in School Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed an internship with the International Rescue Committee, providing psychotherapy to refugee mothers. She earned her MA in Special Education and BEd in Teacher Education from UBC.
In 2024, Dr. Teja received the UBC Faculty of Education Alumni of the Year award for her dedication to children at risk in BC and internationally. Her commitment to expand school psychology services in resource deprived areas globally has been recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative.
Dr. Teja is described as an educator who makes children of varied neurological abilities “feel valued and heard” and makes families of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds “feel right at home with her”.
