About Therapy ConnectMeet our Team
Co-Founders
Simone Dudley
Occupational Therapist / Co-Founder
Sue Cameron
Speech Pathologist / Co-Founder
Simone Dudley
Occupational Therapist / Co-Founder
Simone is a registered occupational therapist with 25 years experience working in a range of public and private settings including paediatric and early intervention services. She has 9 years teaching experience working in the areas of disability, behaviour and learning difficulties, with kinder and primary school aged students.Simone is experienced and passionate about providing assessment and intervention for children, particularly those who are on the autism spectrum or have developmental delays.She is passionate about “supporting children’s participation in their primary roles as players, learners and family members by providing goal based information, strategies and coaching interventions."Simone is mother to three children. She well understands the challenges of raising children and being able to access necessary services.
Sue Cameron
Speech Pathologist / Co-Founder
Sue is a certified practicing speech pathologist with more than 25 years experience working in health and education. For most of her career, she has worked in a country hospital with a varied caseload.Her passion for ensuring that country people have equitable access to high quality services has led to her interest in telepractice and telespeech therapy in particular.Sue works with children with a whole range of communication and swallowing disorders. She takes a person- or family-centred approach to therapy and agrees upon suitable goals with the client or family members before commencing telespeech therapy. Sue aims to teach parents and carers how they can help their family member reach their full communication potential.
Management
Libby Funnell
Physiotherapist /General Manager
Kirstyn O’Rourke
Allied Health Manager
Carla Jaffe
Allied Health Manager
Caitlin Vaughan
Quality Assurance Lead, Allied Health
Barbara Hirche
Human Resource Coordinator
Libby Funnell
Physiotherapist /General Manager
Libby worked as a physiotherapist in private practice and occupational rehab for a number of years before completing a Master of Commerce at UNSW to move into operational leadership and health management. For the last few years Libby has worked in the NDIS leading teams in a rapidly growing allied health organisation to deliver a high-quality service to participants whilst achieving key business objectives. Libby has a keen interest in operational process and change management. She is passionate about working in a for-purpose industry where she can build and coach teams to achieve their own personal and professional goals, whilst also driving operational efficiencies to deliver quality outcomes for clients and the business.
Kirstyn O’Rourke
Allied Health Manager
Kirstyn graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology in 2000. Her career began immediately after this when she took up a position as a speech-language pathologist working for Specialist Education Services in Dunedin, New Zealand. Kirstyn’s passion for working in new places then took her to Mt Isa in far north west Qld. Here she worked for North West Qld Allied Health Service in both the establishment of this federally-funded service and provision of services to remote communities. It was in this role that Kirstyn developed her passion and ability for working outside of the box and adapting evidence-based practice to suit her clients’ needs and individual situations.Kirstyn then set her sights on some travel around Australia, landing in Perth to work for several years at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. Here she further developed her skills working in the tertiary setting with children with complex needs and feeding and swallowing difficulties. Kirstyn then spent two and a half years working in the United Kingdom for the NHS.Kirstyn is settled on the Sunshine Coast with her husband, two sons, a rather large dog and three chickens. What she likes most about telepractice is that families are placed “in the driver’s seat”. They empowered are to deliver therapy alongside us as clinicians.
Carla Jaffe
Allied Health Manager
Carla is an occupational therapist with over 10 year’s experience working in early childhood intervention, child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and home and educational settings. Carla enjoys supporting children, families and educators to maximise children’s participation and enjoyment of daily activities. Carla has a passion for providing therapy for children with development delays, neurodevelopmental differences (autism, ADHD) and mental health concerns (anxiety, self-regulation challenges).Carla ensures that therapy is engaging, collaborative, functional and evidence-based. With a belief that therapy should be built on children and their family’s strengths, Carla utilises frameworks that aim to build capacity including Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (COOP), Learn to Play, Alert Program, Zones of Regulation and Social Thinking.
Caitlin Vaughan
Quality Assurance Lead, Allied Health
Caitlin is the quality assurance lead for Kinela and Therapy Connect. She possesses a strong commitment to evidence-based, measurable and consistent service delivery. Caitlin is an effective planner and problem solver who has spearheaded quality assurance initiatives across a number of health organisations. Caitlin, a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist, holds a Bachelor of Health Science (Speech Pathology) and Graduate Certificate of Health Services Management. Caitlin has over 10 years' clinical experience working with adults and children with communication and swallowing disorders. She has practiced in a variety of settings in rural, remote and metropolitan Australia. Caitlin also enjoys mentoring speech pathology students and is an experienced clinical educator.
Barbara Hirche
Human Resource Coordinator
As Human Resource Coordinator with Therapy Connect, Barbara brings with her valuable knowledge and experience in a variety of HR areas. Barbara is committed to ensuring the Therapy Connect team is well supported from a human, operational and compliance perspective.
Client Services
Wendy Sultana
Team Leader Client Services
Liz Anagnostou
Senior Client Services Officer
Veronica Mather
Client Services Officer
Christine Drummond
Client Services Officer
Fiona Pentland
Client Services Officer
Wendy Sultana
Team Leader Client Services
Wendy is a Therapy Connect Clinical Service Officer. She assists clients access services at Therapy Connect. Wendy has 8 years experience in Allied Health customer service and administration roles. She is passionate about working in this field, helping and providing excellent and professional customer service to our clients.
Liz Anagnostou
Senior Client Services Officer
For the past 15 years Liz has been employed predominately in community services, case management and pastoral care. Liz is committed in providing people with the necessary resources through initial contact that is both personable and professional in order to connect individuals with appropriate services that will assist them in achieving both their short and long term goals.
Veronica Mather
Client Services Officer
As a Client Services Officer with Therapy Connect, Veronica brings with her valuable case management and administrative experience gained from an extensive history within the employment and homelessness sectors.
Veronica’s approach is professional and empathic and she is passionate about linking people into supports and services that promote positive and productive living.
Christine Drummond
Client Services Officer
Christine is an experienced administration officer, having worked for 10 years in the early intervention and disability sectors. Christine is committed to providing excellent customer service and working with families to help ensure that clients can access uninterrupted services.
Fiona Pentland
Client Services Officer
Fiona has over 30 years’ experience as an Administration and Customer Service Officer. She has worked for Local, State and Federal Organisations throughout her career. Fiona thrives on engaging with and assisting people from all walks of life to overcome barriers that will achieve their end goals.
Senior Practitioners
Julie Tan
Senior Speech Pathologist
Carol Ismail
Senior Speech Pathologist
Tracy Spencer
Senior Occupational Therapist
Lucinda Bayly
Senior Speech Pathologist
Caitlin Sinclair
Senior Occupational Therapist
Julie Tan
Senior Speech Pathologist
Julie is a certified practising speech pathologist who has worked for over twenty-five years developing, rehabilitating and improving the communication and feeding skills of both children and adults. Julie has post-graduate qualifications in both Adult and Paediatric dysphagia, with many years of experience in this field of practice. She founded with colleagues, the MEAHLS team, (Mealtime and Eating Allied Health Liaison Service), one of the first community-based feeding teams in WA. Julie has worked closely with families, carers and other health and teaching professionals, in settings such as adult day centres, training-centres, pre-school centres, schools, special schools and in the community. During her many years of working in an Assistive Technology team, Julie became an expert in the assessment and implementation of Augmentative and Alternative Communication tools. Julie developed CAMP: a training tool that teaches communication partner’ skills. In 2010 she presented on this project at the ISAAC conference in Barcelona, Spain. She has since presented on this, alongside her teaching colleagues in both NZ and Australia.Julie also created support for complex conversations around goal setting, called the “Strengths for Life Profile” with an Occupational Therapy colleague, and they went on to present workshops focused on the underlying principles of strengths-based and client-centered practice at many notable conferences including the National OT conference in 2017. Julie is currently a PHD candidate at Curtin University where her research is focused on pediatric feeding disorder, she has published a paper on this topic entitled, “Mothers’ perspectives on the support for their child with feeding/swallowing disorder.” Tan J. et al. Speech-Language and Hearing, March 2021.
Carol Ismail
Senior Speech Pathologist
Carol is a certified practicing Speech Pathologist with over 12 years clinical experience in the health, disability and education sectors in both Australia and the United Kingdom. She has worked with people across the lifespan from infancy to aged care and across a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, workplaces, day programs, group homes and nursing homes. She has recently worked in a school for students with special needs providing social, speech and language support for students with ASD, ADHD and dyslexia. She also has a keen interest in swallowing disorders and has worked with adults with brain injury to ensure swallowing safety and improvement.Carol is passionate about providing holistic and effective services which focus on her clients’ goals. She believes in providing functional support to improve quality of life and engagement in home and community. Carol is an aspiring guitarist and actor who currently enjoys long distance running, learning French and raising succulents.
Tracy Spencer
Senior Occupational Therapist
Tracy is an occupational therapist who strives to make her services meaningful, effective and fun at all times. She has more than 10 years’ experience working in a wide range of paediatric OT roles. Tracy has experience working with children in all types of schools (mainstream and various forms of special education), at home and in early childhood settings. She has supported children to achieve their goals in play, at school, at home and in the community. Tracy is strongly guided by the input from the client and their family to ensure that she supports the client in the most meaningful and effective way. Tracy has a strong interest in the areas of attachment, emotional regulation and sensory regulation. She believes that sensory and emotional regulation provide a child with an essential stable base in order to participate fully in play, learning and at home. Tracy believes her creativity and problem-solving skills emerged as a result of growing up on a farm in Western Australia. She enjoys using her problem-solving skills to come up with new and innovative ways to assist her clients to achieve their goals.
Lucinda Bayly
Senior Speech Pathologist
Luci has over 10 years clinical experience working with people across the lifespan who are experiencing difficulty with communication and swallowing. This has been gained through working in private practice, community and hospital settings. She is most passionate about working with infants and young children and their families. She strives to form partnerships with clients and values the expertise they have in their own unique situation. She believes that telepractice addresses inequity in access to services, facilitates participation and self management, functional outcomes and generalisation of therapy gains by meeting in the client's own environment. Luci is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist and longstanding member of Speech Pathology Australia. She lives in regional South Australia with her young family and in her spare time enjoys exploring all her local region has to offer.
Caitlin Sinclair
Senior Occupational Therapist
Caitlin is an occupational therapist and is passionate about supporting each child she works with to reach their potential and empowering their parents to have the knowledge and skills to support their own child’s development and to nurture their unique relationship.Caitlin has practiced occupational therapy supporting children with developmental needs, in their homes, schools, clinic settings, and by telepractice. Caitlin has been to India and Vanuatu utilising her occupational therapy skills to support the children in these communities and strongly believes that where you live should not dictate your ability to access a quality health service.Caitlin has a particular interest in working with children with neurodevelopmental differences, including autism, and applies a relationship-based model to her therapy. Caitlin has undertaken numerous workshops and trainings, including certification in DIR/Floortime and is a facilitator of the Circle of Security parent education program.Caitlin knows how unique and special each and every child is, and loves to get to know all of her families and children and how best to use their individual strengths to support their development and achieve their goals
Practitioners
Tennille Archer
Occupational Therapist
Katie Williams
Occupational Therapist
Jessica Adler
Occupational Therapist
Skye Simons
Occupational Therapist
Dominique Hewat
Occupational Therapist
Jennifer Sperring
Occupational Therapist
Gauri Sanjanwala
Occupational Therapist
Tasneem Abdul Samad
Speech Pathologist
Annie Armour
Occupational Therapist
Kira Cranswick
Occupational Therapist
Catherine Brabrook
Occupational Therapist
Yael Rosman
Occupational Therapist
Alannah Sofianos
Occupational Therapist
Belinda Bevan
Speech Pathologist
Lavanya Thathieni
Occupational Therapist
Oriane Zarb
Occupational Therapist
Jessica Eaton
Speech Pathologist
Sarah Lang
Occupational Therapist
Ruth Seow
Occupational Therapist
Jene Luck
Occupational Therapist
Sima Hall
Speech Pathologist
Joanne Lazarus
Speech Pathologist
Leana Nichol
Speech Pathologist
Stephanie Harm
Occupational Therapist
Brooke Myrtle
Speech Pathologist
Diane Leffler
Speech Pathologist
Anna Atkinson
Occupational Therapist
Bron Conroy
Speech Pathologist
Ricci Presser
Speech Pathologist
Tania Simmons
Speech Pathologist
Amy Amberg
Speech Pathologist
Katelynd Turner
Speech Pathologist
Kate Larner
Speech Pathologist
Toneille Grant
Speech Pathologist
Chipo Juru
Speech Pathologist
Meg Tasker
Speech Pathologist
Christina Schmidt
Speech Pathologist
Katri Lindgren
Dietitian
Cate McGrath
Speech Pathologist
Emily Easman
Dietitian
Fiona Edmonds
Speech Pathologist
Jane Hepenstall
Speech Pathologist
Robbie Kearsley
Speech Pathologist
Claire Bard-Brucker
Psychologist
Adam Garrick
Psychologist
Sharon Reneaux
Physiotherapist
Tennille Archer
Occupational Therapist
Tennille is a registered occupational therapist with nearly 10 years experience working with children and their families across a variety of settings and diagnosis. Tennille has worked as an occupational therapist in multiple states and countries and what drives Tennille is celebrating the wins with families and seeing them light up at overcoming their challenges.Tennille is very passionate about working from a family centred framework and enabling families at all stages of their journey to achieve their goals in their own unique way. Tennille is a warm and welcoming therapist who loves to get to know her clients and make therapy sessions as fun and engaging as possible. Tennille enjoys building clients' skills in all areas, with a particular interest in mealtime management, equipment prescription, functional life skills and addressing complex behaviour.Outside of work Tennille is a busy mother of two young children and enjoys being outdoors, hiking, snowboarding and travelling. She always starts her day with a coffee.
Katie Williams
Occupational Therapist
Katie is a registered Occupational Therapist with a range of experience working across multiple settings. Katie is friendly and innovative with a strong passion for working with paediatric and early intervention clients. Katie values developing collaborative partnerships with families, creativity with her therapy resources and coaching families to provide the right support for their child to succeed in their primary roles of player, learners, and family members. Katie is a mother of two children and values utilising everyday resources for purposeful activities that are engaging, fun and meaningful for children.
Jessica Adler
Occupational Therapist
Jessica is a Registered Occupational Therapist with over 5 years’ experience working in paediatric and early intervention services. She has specialised in working with children and young adults who have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Jessica is passionate about early intervention and is motivated to deliver tailored supports to families and individuals that aligns with their needs and wants. Jessica aims to work with families to establish tools that they can use to reach their goals. Outside of work, Jessica enjoys being active outdoors going for a walk, gardening, or swimming.
Skye Simons
Occupational Therapist
Skye is a registered occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience working in a range of public and private settings with people of a variety of ages in Australia, the UK and the US. She is also a mum of two school aged children. Skye has 8 years of experience working in private paediatric practice, primarily based in kindergartens and schools. She is passionate about working with children and their families to create goals and plans that are uniquely suited to them to achieve positive outcomes. Skye is friendly and engaging and enjoys tailoring sessions to the individual, coming up with creative and fun ways to get the most out of sessions.Skye has experience working with children and adolescents with a range of physical and neurodevelopmental differences. She has a particular interest in sensory processing, executive function and emotional regulation. She has experience using the Social Thinking curriculum and Zones of Regulation.
Dominique Hewat
Occupational Therapist
Dominique is a registered Occupational Therapist, who has more than 5 years’ experience across a variety of roles, primarily relating to disability and mental health. With further training and the provision of mental health-specific support, Dominique has received endorsement from Medicare to offer services under the Better Access to Mental Health program.Dominique currently works with a range of children, adolescents and adults, focusing on developing or strengthening skills needed to increase functional independence in any life area. Dominique uses a strengths-based approach with the aim to empower people and families to explore manageable changes that could encourage improved participation within life.
Jennifer Sperring
Occupational Therapist
Jen is a registered Occupational and Family Therapist who has over 19 years clinical experience and training in both mental and physical health in Australia (including remote North Queensland and the Torres Straits), Papua New Guinea, and England. Her experience and expertise have extended through the public, private and NGO sectors. She holds a special interest in family and systemic therapy, working with children, adolescents and young adults. She is in the final stages of accreditation to register as a Play Therapist. Jen aims to empower families to have the skills that they need for life-long change, tailored to what is important for them. Her clinical expertise includes working with; complex trauma and disruptions in attachment (including medical). Mental health issues, including personality disorders, OCD, ADHD, social, emotional and behavioral difficulties, sensory processing and multi-cultural issues. Jen is a parent to a little boy with special needs. This personal experience allows her to empathise and genuinely appreciate the complexities of accessing appropriate and timely services. In her free time, Jen loves spending time with her family, travelling, exploring nature and challenging herself through hiking expeditions.
Gauri Sanjanwala
Occupational Therapist
Gauri is a paediatric and mental health Occupational Therapist with over 25 years of experience working across various settings including community, private and hospitals. She has worked in paediatrics and child and youth mental health. Her passion and predominant experience has been in working with school-aged children and early intervention. Gauri is passionate about empowering & educating the families she works with. She is also highly experienced in running parenting and emotional coaching workshops.Gauri is enthusiastic and fun-loving and takes on a holistic approach with the families she works with. She is very adaptable & flexible and supports families to achieve their therapy goals by making learning fun-based and engaging.
Tasneem Abdul Samad
Speech Pathologist
Tasneem is a registered Speech Pathologist with 11 years experience working in a range of public and private settings including paediatric and early intervention services. She has experience both within Australia and internationally. She is a passionate about providing assessment and intervention for children, particularly those with concerns with speech clarity and developmental delays. She is committed to meeting the individual needs of each child and family.
Annie Armour
Occupational Therapist
Annie comes to Therapy Connect with a Bachelor of Health Science (Rehabilitation Counselling [Honours]) and a Master of Occupational Therapy Practice. Annie has experience working as a therapist in both private practice and schooling systems, working with children from varying backgrounds, aged 2-18 years. Annie has experience supporting children and their families with a variety of diagnosis’ and has a special interest in, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Delays, Intellectual Disability, Developmental Coordination Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Anxiety, Gender Dysphoria and Rare Congenital Disorders. Outside of her clinical Occupational Therapy practice, Annie has worked in public health and art therapy research as well as teaching university students. Annie is a super enthusiastic and fun-loving therapist and has a keen interest in evidence based practice, supporting children and their families in all day-to-day occupations, including play, social-skills, self-care, fine and gross motor skills and self-regulation. She loves collaborating with families to achieve great outcomes for children and their loved ones.
Kira Cranswick
Occupational Therapist
Kira is a registered occupational therapist with experience working in government, non-government, and private organisations, across a variety of settings; including paediatrics, child and youth mental health, refugee settlement and Indigenous health. Kira is very passionate about educating and empowering clients to understand their minds and bodies so they are able to engage actively in their therapy journey. She has worked across the age range and is specifically passionate about women’s and children’s health. Kira is highly experienced working in the areas of mental health, complex developmental and childhood trauma, attachment, emotional and sensory regulation, complex behaviours, and ASD. Kira works with a range of evidence-based therapeutic modalities from a mental health lens as well as a developmental occupational therapy lens. She is also trained in a range of alternate therapies which she includes in sessions if it suits the family and benefits on their journey. Kira works in a client-centered and client-lead manner, working collaboratively with each individual who is present in the therapy sessions, she understands and acknowledges the uniqueness of all of her clients and tailors her sessions to best fit the needs of each family at that point in time.
Catherine Brabrook
Occupational Therapist
Catherine is a registered occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience working with community-based clients to improve their participation in their life roles. Her experience lies particularly in the areas of acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, chronic disease management and stroke rehabilitation. Catherine takes a wholistic approach to working with people to ensure they are supported with person-centred therapy goals as well as their overall health and life goals. She particularly enjoys assisting people to improve their sleep and fatigue management and to taking a creative approach to resolving issues related to rural and remote living. Catherine has spent most of her working life in rural NSW and lives on a farm with her family and a menagerie of animals.
Yael Rosman
Occupational Therapist
Yael is an Occupational Therapist with over 10 years of experience, after gaining her degree from The University of Sydney. She is also a Mum to two busy, young children. Yael has experience working with children across a range of settings including not-for-profit early intervention services, private practice and the government disability sector. She has worked with a variety of different children in their homes, schools/childcare settings, therapy clinics, and within the broader community. Yael is passionate about working from a family centered framework and values working collaboratively with each child’s family/caregivers, teachers, and other health professionals involved in their care. She enjoys helping families achieve realistic goals and loves sharing their ‘wins’ no matter how big or small. She strives to make therapy sessions engaging, creative, motivating, productive, informative and rewarding. Through her evidence-based interventions, she delivers quality Occupational Therapy which aims to support families and enable children to maximise their full potential.
Alannah Sofianos
Occupational Therapist
Alannah is passionate about working with children and their families and has worked in the Pediatric field of Occupational Therapy for several years. In particular, she has specialised in early intervention with children who have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Global Developmental Delay, and those with a variety of occupational performance issues including sensory processing and regulation, sensory-motor development, social-emotional regulation, engagement, play and communication, and building independence in a range of functional goals and activities of daily living. She works with children throughout a wide range of ages, including pre-school and school-age, with a high emphasis on the periods of transition for children moving into new stages of their life. Alannah is passionate about advocating for inclusion, equal access and equal opportunities for all children.
Belinda Bevan
Speech Pathologist
Belinda is a certified practicing Speech Pathologist with over 10 years of experience working in rural, remote and metropolitan areas of Queensland. She has worked across state primary, secondary and special schools, as well as within a small private practice, focusing on speech and language difficulties in early intervention and school-age clients. Belinda enjoys working with children with Autism and other disabilities and is Hanen certified in More Than Words, as well as Learning Language and Loving It programs. She is passionate about providing clients with communication options and has developed an interest in Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). She has also completed further training in PODD, PECS and LAMP: Words for Life. Belinda enjoys a busy family life with her husband and young toddler and spends her free time camping and exploring her local area in rural South Australia.
Lavanya Thathieni
Occupational Therapist
I see my role as a Pediatric OT as assisting people to work on their strengths to overcome their challenges, in order to help them to learn more about what is happening in their body so that they feel empowered and able to live a full, purposeful and meaningful life. I strive to achieve better for every child and their families I work with and the service I provide. I am wholly committed and passionate about serving the children and the families I work with as best I can.
Oriane Zarb
Occupational Therapist
Oriane has been working as an Occupational Therapist since 2015. Over this time she has worked in early intervention, private practice, schools, telepractice and under the NDIS. She has a strong passion for child development, communication, connection and creativity. Oriane believes in empowering children and their families to develop the tools to support their own unique needs. She believes that this process can be made fun through flexible, playful and creative therapy sessions. This method of thinking is supported through her extensive training inprograms dedicated towards child development, sensory processing, play, DIR floor time and trauma. Outside of work Oriane can be found travelling, bushwalking, camping, singing, doing yoga and reading.
Jessica Eaton
Speech Pathologist
Jessica is a certified practicing Speech Pathologist with over 5 years experience working with people with communication and swallowing difficulties. Jessica has worked in community disability, NDIS, early intervention, private practice and child development services. Jessica enjoys working with clients and their families and supporting them to reach their goals. She uses a holistic approach which is fun, motivating, evidence based and functional to ensure clients enjoy their sessions whilst also achieving their goals. Jessica's family are originally from a small country town in Western Australia, and understands the importance of providing health services and therapy supports to rural and remote locations. She has a strong interest in working with people with communication difficulties, in particular motor speech disorders. Jessica is PROMPT trained.
Sarah Lang
Occupational Therapist
Sarah obtained her Occupational Therapy degree in 2004 in Scotland, with her honours research project being in the area of paediatric palliative care. Sarah has a wide range of experience, including community OT (which included equipment provision, minor and major modifications), palliative care, stroke rehabilitation and also paediatrics. Sarah loves to work with children and has 2 young children of her own. Her special areas of interest include autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing, emotional regulation and managing anxiety. She has experience in utilising the Alert Program, Social Thinking curriculum and creating sensory diets.Sarah is passionate about supporting families to build their confidence in understanding their child and uses a collaborative approach, working closely with parents/caregivers to ensure that the recommendations and strategies are tailored specifically to her clients needs and ensuring they can be transferred out of therapy and into daily life. Sarah is also a qualified children's yoga instructor and uses' creative ways to engage her clients and ensures the sessions are fun and meaningful. Sarah moved to Australia around 10 years ago and her family currently live on a remote island in the Torres Strait.
Ruth Seow
Occupational Therapist
Ruth is an Occupational Therapist with a passion for working with children and their families. She strongly believes in working with each individual’s strengths and enjoys getting to know her clients and their families to better understand their world. Ruth has experience working with children and adolescents with a diverse range of neuro-developmental and physical differences including individuals with cerebral palsy, ASD and sensory processing difficulties. She believes in the power of a therapeutic partnership with a family/support network and is passionate about creatively incorporating therapy into play and daily routines. Ruth has recently taken a special interest in the development of skills in the areas of social emotional learning and self-regulation and incorporates concepts from the Alert Program, Zones of Regulation and the Social Thinking curriculum into her sessions.
Jene Luck
Occupational Therapist
Jene Luck received her bachelor’s in occupational therapy at the University of Witwaterstrand, in South Africa. She has 20 years’ experience working as an Occupational Therapist, having specialised in the field of Paediatrics. She has worked in South Africa, United Kingdom and Australia. Jene has done further advanced training in Sensory -integration Therapy and Bobath Neurodevelopmental Techniques (NDT). She has been trained in Therapeutic Listening, School Amps, ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Assessment) and the SIPT (standardised test for diagnosing Developmental Co-ordination Disorders). Jene has experience in assessing and prescribing specialised equipment (including vehicle modifications). She also has experience in assessing and providing switches to improve independent play, communication and all participation in all activities of daily living (including mobility). Jene has a special interest is treating children with Autism and Cerebral Palsy but has a vast experience in all ages across the lifespan, with different diagnoses.
Sima Hall
Speech Pathologist
Sima Hall is a qualified Speech Pathologist with experience working with children and adults to help them develop confidence in their communication and build their linguistic skills.She obtained her qualification from La Trobe University and then went on to work in Melbourne in the rehabilitation setting with adults, and in a paediatric clinic with children.In 2006 Sima relocated to Dubai, where she worked for 13 years in general medical clinics and then in the paediatric setting with children and teens. During that time she also had the opportunity to provide services in the British and the American education systems, working with children and their families from around the world.Sima is a mother to two young boys, and loves spending time with her family, and in her spare time enjoys sewing, crochet and bike riding.
Joanne Lazarus
Speech Pathologist
Joanne is a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist. She graduated from City University in London, UK in 2006 after completing a post-graduate diploma in Speech and Language Therapy and a BA in Linguistics and Phonetics prior to that. Joanne has over 12 years of experience working with children and their families in the UK and Australia and is certified in both countries. She has experience in working for the NHS, not for profits and private practice. She is a passionate Speech Pathologist with experience in assessing and treating children with a range of speech, language and communication difficulties. Her special interest is in autism, social communication difficulties, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and also pre-school stuttering (Parent Child Interaction - Michael Palin Centre). Joanne’s approach to therapy is family centred, involving parents and carers in every aspect of treatment and ensuring that therapy is realistic and can be built into daily routines to enable maximum effectiveness.
Leana Nichol
Speech Pathologist
Leana graduated from the University of Queensland with a Master of Speech Pathology Studies in 2011. Since then, she has worked with both children and adults in a variety of settings. She started off with Education Queensland, providing services to primary and high school students. After moving to Adelaide in 2013, she expanded her skill set while working at a private practice with a mixed adult/paediatric caseload. She had had further experience working for SA Health and Country Health SA. She also has experience working as a lecturer and topic coordinator in the university setting, and an interest in research, particularly in technology/telepractice. She believes speech therapy should be person/family-centred, evidence-based, functional, interesting, and fun. Leana originally comes from Canada but has made her home in the beautiful Clare Valley, where she has enjoyed providing services to the local population. She loves living in a regional area and is passionate about increasing access to health services for people all around Australia.
Stephanie Harm
Occupational Therapist
Stephanie Harm graduated from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. She enjoys working with children and their families in a variety of locales with a particular interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder and complex physical and neurological conditions. She strongly believes in a client-centered approach without neglecting the importance of thorough assessments to determine and provide individualised intervention plans that cover a range of developmental, academic and self-care skills.Stephanie aims to deliver high quality and evidenced based interventions in the areas of gross and fine motor skills, executive functioning, sensory processing, activities of daily living and social skills.Stephanie is a certified provider of the ‘SOS: Basic Approach to Feeding’ and is registered to provide complex home modifications. Through collaborative consultation with her clients, family and all significant others she strives to accomplish the best possible outcomes and goals for her clients.
Brooke Myrtle
Speech Pathologist
Brooke is a certified practicing speech pathologist with more than 15 years experience. Brooke has worked in hospitals, Early Intervention services, private practices, schools and under the NDIS. Brooke enjoys working with children and families to meet their goals and their potential. She enjoys supporting children and their families to grow and learn together using fun, flexible, individualized and informative therapy. Brooke has training in a number of programs including PECS, LAMP, PROMPT, Hanen ‘It takes two to talk’, DIR floortime, social thinking, Secret Agent Society, as well as professional development training in sensory processing, and paediatric feeding. Brooke is enjoying travelling around Australia with her 3 kids, husband and cat while still being able to provide speech pathology services. Brooke is also a practicing Bowen therapist and enjoys natural health and reading.
Diane Leffler
Speech Pathologist
Diane has over 20 years experience working with school-aged children and young adults with various communication needs, including speech sound errors, receptive and expressive language difficulties and disorders, social language/pragmatic language disorders, and stuttering. She is a fun-loving educator who believes that all children should have access to high quality educational supports and should not be limited by rural locations or the lack of Speech Language Pathologists in their area.Diane is Hanen certified in "It Takes Two to Talk" and enjoys working closely with young children and their families. She also has extensive training in Social Thinking and is passionate about teaching children and adolescents with social language difficulties, how to navigate the social world. Diane is dedicated to helping children and adults communicate effectively, so that they can share their thoughts and ideas clearly and make meaningful connections with their family and friends.Diane is from Canada and currently lives in Western Australia. She has also lived and worked as a Speech and Language pathologist in the USA as well as Indonesia. Diane spends her free time doing Pilates, yoga, learning to sail and traveling as much as possible.
Anna Atkinson
Occupational Therapist
Anna is a registered occupational therapist with seven years’ experience working in a range of public, private and not-for-profit settings in Melbourne and regional Victoria/NSW. She has worked in various areas of paediatrics including early Intervention, school, kinder and home-based services. Anna has experience providing support to children with diverse backgrounds and challenges including; developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, vision impairment, intellectual disability, social skills and feeding issues.Anna is passionate about improving developmental outcomes for children using a strengths-based approach. She believes that telepractice is a positive method for supporting children and family to develop everyday routines in the natural environment.Anna aims to empower families by working collaboratively with them to achieve family-centred goals.
Bron Conroy
Speech Pathologist
Bron has 11 years experience working across the private and public sectors with a focus on early intervention and delivering therapy in schools. Bron loves being a speech pathologist, it is the perfect synergy of her playfulness, analytical mind and caring nature. Bron adores the no-filter honesty, complexity, quirkiness, and fun of working with children, as well as getting to know them and their families.Bron has training in a number of programs e.g. Hanen "It Takes Two to Talk", PROMPT, PECS, and has worked with children with a range of diagnoses. She enjoys the challenge of finding the perfect treatment to help children overcome their difficulties with communication.Bron loves plants, animals and fresh air! When she is not at work, she enjoys riding her horse, running and hiking.
Ricci Presser
Speech Pathologist
Ricci Presser is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist with over 20 years’ of experience working with clients who have communication and / or swallowing difficulties. She has worked across the lifespan, from early intervention to palliative care. During her career she has gained clinical experience within hospital and community settings in metropolitan, rural and remote communities around Australia.She is a caring and supportive clinician and leader who always seeks to achieve the best outcomes for her clients. She is passionate about quality care and tailors her programs to meet the needs and roles of her clients. Her qualification in Training and Education is also testament to her ability to coach clients and families to reach their potential. Ricci’s love of learning ensures she keeps up to date with the latest research and therapy techniques.Ricci was instrumental in designing and leading the establishment of a telehealth community clinic in 2021. Her work has been recognised at various Allied Health research conferences and she has been successful in receiving research grants to support her interest in developing telehealth services.
Tania Simmons
Speech Pathologist
Tania is a dual qualified Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and Teacher. She has over 20 years’ experience working with children and young adults in preschool and T-12 school setting as a teacher, and more recently training and qualifying as a Speech Pathologist. Tania has a passion for early intervention and delivering high quality speech pathology services that focus on the unique needs of each client and their family. Tania has been a Language, Literacy and Numeracy Specialist for students with disabilities and gained extensive experience working with children with a variety of needs and diagnoses, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anxiety/Trauma, Cerebral Palsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and learning disabilities. Tania has had extensive professional development and is trained in MultiLit Programs, Lidcombe Program, Camperdown Program, Paediatric Feeding and Systematic Phonics Education. Tania lives near the Southern Highlands and has two children. She understands the challenges families face of parenting children with additional needs. Tania has a strong desire to build capacity within families so that they can implement strategies learnt in Speech Therapy in their daily routines to enhance communication and participation in life activities.
Amy Amberg
Speech Pathologist
Amy is a certified practicing speech pathologist with over twenty years of clinical experience. In her early years of practice, Amy combined her speech pathology career with a love of travel, working at hospitals, schools, and early childhood centres in New Zealand, Darwin, and Ireland. For the past 16 years, Amy has been based in Brisbane working with children who present with a wide range of speech, language, and literacy delays. Amy has completed postgraduate training in Hanen ‘It Takes Two To Talk,’ PROMPT, and Sounds-Write (an evidence based, highly structured phonics approach to literacy learning).Amy enjoys working with both paediatric and adult clients. She has a particular interest working with children who have ASD, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, SLD- Reading (‘dyslexia’), and children with PANS/PANDAS. She also provides support for adults experiencing communication difficulties after stroke or other acquired injuries.Amy’s personal philosophy towards speech pathology is to make sessions fun and motivating for her clients and their families, to enable them to develop their speech and language skills to the best of their ability.
Katelynd Turner
Speech Pathologist
Katelynd has 20 years’ experience in the disability and out-of-home care sectors. She has worked for both non-government and government agencies here in Australia and overseas. Her focus is on children, young people and their families. In particular that focus is on safety, relationships and communication. Katelynd’s intention is to highlight the skills already being used, the skills that are needed next and how interactions can support ongoing development and quality of life. What she does is highly individualised, strengths based and very practical.
Kate Larner
Speech Pathologist
Kate is a speech pathologist with over 20 years of experience. Since graduating from Curtin University, she has worked in education, disability, health and private practice settings in country towns and cities in NSW, Tasmania and the UK. Kate has worked with children with a wide range of speech, language and social communication needs. She has a key interest in working with clients in developing their literacy skills. Kate has completed professional development in many areas, including Sounds-Write training and Talk4Writing. Kate enjoys meeting and getting to know clients, their families and support networks so she can make therapy individualised, meaningful and useful to children’s daily lives.
Toneille Grant
Speech Pathologist
Toneille is a certified and practising speech pathologist with 8 years’ experience working with paediatrics and adults in the hospital and community setting. She is experienced in providing assessment and intervention as a generalist therapist as well as additional training and experience in rehabilitation and complex communication. She is passionate about providing tailored intervention to each individual and their families to ensure services are accessible to all.
Chipo Juru
Speech Pathologist
Chipo is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with extensive experience working as a paediatric Speech Pathologist and in Early Intervention in both Australia and Zimbabwe, assessing and providing intervention for children and teenagers with a broad range of communication and learning difficulties including Autism Spectrum Disorders and Global Developmental Delay. She has worked in hospitals, schools, private practice, community health, specialist early intervention services, and kindergartens/child care centres. In New Zealand and Zimbabwe Chipo’s work experience included working with adults presenting with disorders such as progressive neurodegenerative diseases impacting their communication, voice, feeding and swallowing. In pursuit of clinical excellence, Chipo is constantly updating her skills through training and workshops. She completed the BLADES Framework for language therapy, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), training for paediatric feeding problems and is certified in the Hanen programs It Takes Two To Talk. Chipo’s passion for speech pathology is backed by more than 15 years of matching experience working collaboratively with families to support the inclusion of children and adults with speech, language, social and pragmatic skills disorders. Her training in Strengths-based practice, Key Worker Training, Trauma and Violence informed practice and Family Partnership Training ensures a unique family participation and empowerment. As part of community engagement Chipo has sat on the Board for Wavecare Counselling and the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s Regional Advisory Council for the Eastern Metropolitan Region in Melbourne.
Meg Tasker
Speech Pathologist
Meg has 20 years of experience working as a speech pathologist and teacher within Australian and International settings. She has supported children, adolescents, adults and their families in school environments, hospital settings, the non-for-profit sector and private practice.Meg believes collaboration with parents, primary caregivers, teachers and other team members is essential in assisting clients to communicate independently, maximise their learning potential, and create positive social relationships at home and in the community. She also believes that individuals learn best when they are having fun and utilises an evidence based, wholistic, play based approach to create interventions that are individualised, engaging, motivating and functional in supporting communication development across multiple settings.Meg is a warm, compassionate and caring clinician who has a deep gratitude for being able to support clients to better connect and communicate to and with the people and world around them. Meg currently lives by the ocean, in Torquay, with her little boy.
Christina Schmidt
Speech Pathologist
Christina is a certified practicing speech pathologist and originally comes from the US. She has experience in the early intervention setting where she has worked with preschool to school-age children with a range of abilities and from a beautiful array of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In 2011, Christina graduated with her bachelor degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Redlands in the US. Shortly after completing her undergraduate degree, she received the unique and wonderful opportunity to live for a year in Salzburg, Austria where she worked as a university study abroad program assistant and student coordinator. Following this, Christina was driven to continue her studies and commenced the Master of Speech Pathology course at La Trobe University where she earned her qualification in 2016. Christina has had a passion for working with children as well as strong technology skills since she was young. She enjoyed playing school with her young cousins where she pretended to be their teacher and spent time helping them learn to read. Fast forward to today as a speech pathologist and Christina’s unwavering passion has led her to develop special interests in autism, augmentative and alternative Communication (AAC), literacy and language and social development. With over four years of research background, Christina firmly believes in evidence-based assessment and intervention. She also strives to ensure that clients are supported well in speech therapy that is person and family-centred, accessible to all and of course fun. She works on a close team with families and carers by building trust and a strong working relationship to develop functional and achievable goals for children’s communication development. Christina is trained in Hanen ‘It Takes Two to Talk’, PROMPT, PODD, LAMP WFL, Key Word Sign and Lidcombe. Outside of her clinical work, Christina enjoys travel, music, adventures outdoors and going to op shops and markets.
Katri Lindgren
Dietitian
Katri is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian with over 9 years’ experience working across clinical and community nutrition. Katri has completed additional training in paediatric feeding and is a Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) trained feeding therapist as well has having completed training in Responsive Feeding Therapy and Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility approach to feeding. Katri is passionate about empowering individuals and families to support their nutrition and reduce stress around mealtimes. As a mother to 2 young children, Katri understands the challenges and the opportunities that mealtimes can present. Katri loves that the telehealth platform allows families to access the support they need in their own environment.
Cate McGrath
Speech Pathologist
Cate is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist with ten years’ experience supporting children with speech, language and literacy difficulties in both the public and private sectors. Cate has worked to support children within the school settings from kinder to high school. She has worked with families and educators to best support the child in the learning environment.A passionate learner, Cate has completed PROMPT, Hanen “Learning Language & Loving it”, and the literacy-based intervention program ‘Sounds-Write’. Cate believes in a holistic, fun and engaging type of therapy where every step can be enjoyed and celebrated as an achievement towards the goals she is working towards with her clients and their families. She recognizes the importance of making therapy manageable in busy family settings, and particularly for clients whose location or circumstances could provide challenges in them accessing support services. Outside of her work, Cate enjoys spending time with her 5 nieces and nephews, yoga, reading and being involved in training her family’s School Therapy dogs.
Emily Easman
Dietitian
Emily is an accredited practising Dietitian with over 15 years’ experience working with children and adults across a range of settings. Emily has specialised in paediatrics, and has extensive experience providing nutrition support to children of all ages. She has worked in a tertiary children’s hospital and provided care to children with a range of medical conditions and feeding difficulties including autism spectrum disorder, developmental delay, food allergy, neurological and genetic disorders and other complex feeding issues. Emily is an SOS-trained feeding therapist and has also undertaken additional training in the Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility Approach to Feeding. Emily is skilled at helping families to implement evidence-informed, individualised strategies to help improve the nutritional outcomes for their child. As a mother of two, Emily is familiar with both the joy and challenges that come with feeding a family. She has a practical, fuss-free approach and is passionate about empowering families to bring the fun back into family mealtimes.
Fiona Edmonds
Speech Pathologist
Fiona is a speech pathologist who started as a preschool/primary/adult education teacher. She believes if you’re not having fun, you’re not learning! After 20 years in education, she retrained as a speech pathologist. Fiona is certified in HANEN ‘More Than Words’ and has completed the evidence-based literacy intervention program Sounds~Write. She has worked with young children and their families in early intervention and is interested in empowering parents to develop their children's communication skills and independence. Fiona has also worked with school aged children, adolescents and even young adults to help them develop their speech sounds and their receptive and expressive language skills. Her overall intention is to develop their social language skills and literacy skills including spelling, writing and comprehension (using the StoryChamps program to help reluctant writers – google it! It’s good!). Most importantly, she believes in creating a supportive and really, really good fun learning environment for all ages!Fiona is married with two adult daughters and lives on the NSW Central Coast.She loves ocean swimming, reading, walking, cooking, watching movies and all things crafty!
Jane Hepenstall
Speech Pathologist
Jane feels privileged to be a part of enhancing the communication and/or swallowing abilities of any individual. Her clinical approach draws on 38 years of clinical experience and evidence-based practice combined with a strong functional focus. Jane is a certified practicing speech pathologist whose area of expertise is the assessment and management of acquired cognitive-communication impairments. However, Jane has worked with a broad range of clients in terms of age and diagnosis and provided speech pathology services in acute, rehabilitation, aged care, school, and community settings, including 10 years as a senior speech pathologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and 16 years as a community-based speech pathologist in private practice.
Robbie Kearsley
Speech Pathologist
Robbie Kearsley graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at La Trobe University in 2008 and is a practicing member of Speech Pathology Australia. Since graduating, Robbie has worked with children, teens, and adults in schools, homes, and clinics.
Robbie’s extensive range of experience includes articulation, phonological awareness, language skills, fluency, social skills, functional skills, auditory processing and working memory. Additionally, she has worked with adult voice and accent modification.
Robbie came to speech pathology later in life, studying when she was already a parent, so she understands that families have incredibly busy schedules, and helps families to support learning in ways that best suit their lives, whether the therapy is for a child or an adult in their family.
Robbie believes that when working with children, therapy needs to be fun and engaging, so brings her range of experiences – as a therapist, a parent, and a creative – into the therapy space. She works to make sure everyone she sees leaves their session looking forward to the next one!
When working with adults, Robbie knows that it is important that there is a strong partnership throughout the therapy journey, working towards the goals that her clients are aiming to achieve.
Claire Bard-Brucker
Psychologist
Claire is a registered Psychologist who has completed her Master of Psychology (Educational & Developmental). She has experience working with children presenting with emotional and behavioural issues, particularly children diagnosed with Autism and disability as well as those experiencing difficulty in managing their emotions. Claire has previously worked in private practice settings, school counselling services and an early intervention service. She utilises Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in her work with clients and supports parents in developing their skills to help children manage their emotions and behaviours. Claire ensures to make therapy sessions fun and engaging for children. She can support children with issues such as anxiety, anger, emotional regulation, social thinking, resilience and self-esteem and confidence.
Adam Garrick
Psychologist
Adam is an engaging and accomplished psychologist with over 8 years’ experience in both the public and private sector. He has provided effective therapeutic support to a range of diverse clients including children, adolescents, adults and couples. He has completed a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) degree and Master of Clinical Psychology degree. Adam brings warmth and compassion to his work and enjoys working with children, adolescents and their families. He is committed to helping his clients build confidence and develop effective strategies to address their concerns and overcome barriers. Adam provides a nonjudgmental environment where clients feel safe and encouraged as they engage in the counselling process. Each session with Adam is tailored to meet the clients’ personal therapeutic needs. He incorporates many models of counselling into his practice and in particular has extensive training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Sharon Reneaux
Physiotherapist
Sharon is a registered physiotherapist and has over 15 years experience working in private practice, aged care, occupational health and child services. Sharon is passionate about promoting independence for people of all ages and assisting those most in need.Sharon has spent time in Katherine, Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek working within Indigenous communities, treating a range of disabilities, co-morbidities and intellectual delays. These experiences have helped her gain deep understanding, knowledge and experience of rural communities. She has confidence that telepractice is a beneficial method for supporting patient care and continuity of services.Sharon’s passion is empowering people living with disability to achieve their best physical potential and she is committed to working collaboratively with families, allied health services, educators and caregivers to provide the best patient care in order to achieve their best outcomes.Sharon thrives on her innovative style, positive approach and extensive background working across a variety of age groups and settings. She believes treatment should utilise participants’ strengths, building on the ‘can do’ and working towards achieving individual goals.