Meet the team
At Moving Mountains we specialise in helping young children reach and exceed their expected potential no matter how high the mountain may seem. Our clinic is custom-built to ensure the children we service have the best possible chance of achieving their goals.
Marie - OT & Director
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Marie is a certified Occupational Therapist, nationally registered with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia and AHPRA.
Marie has always had an interest in helping people and working with children. Marie's paediatric experience first began when she started working as a support worker with children and adults with varying abilities and disabilities. This is where Marie’s passion for paediatrics grew. Marie founded Moving Mountains Therapy in 2016 to empower parents and provide a therapy service with a focus on developing functional skills for children and parent child relationships whilst collaborating with educators and other health professionals.
Through educating teachers and parents, they are able to build an understanding of the implications of health issues on a child’s learning, emotional, social and play development. She is able to achieve outcomes in a number of areas while using a collaborative approach. These areas include fine motor development, gross motor development, postural control, balance and coordination, sensory processing, visual-motor integration, motor planning, proprioception and organisational skills.
Marie has over 8 years experience working with children with a range of diagnosis’ including Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental delay, ADHD, ADD and learning difficulties.
Committed to professional development, Marie has completed numerous courses to stay update to date within the industry. With a special interest in children with cerebral palsy, Marie travelled overseas to train in specialised intensive therapy. An intensive therapy block can bring about progress that may normally take 6 to 12 months using traditional therapy methods for children with cerebral palsy. Marie has also completed a range of courses and workshops including the M.O.R.E Protocol, Therapeutic Listening, Key Word Sign, Handwriting Without Tears, Therasuit Method & Therasuit Method Advanced and ‘The Traffic Jam in My Brain’.
Email Marie
Alessandra - OT
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Alessandra (Ali) is a qualified Occupational Therapist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). She completed a Masters of Occupational Therapy at the University of Sydney following her graduation from a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) with distinction from the University of New South Wales. <br/><br/>
Ali has always been passionate about working with children and has many years experience in this area of interest. This incorporates both paid and volunteer positions interacting with a diverse population, including children with diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, intellectual disability, down syndrome and anxiety. Ali enjoys the opportunity to find creative ways to make therapy interesting and fun for children thereby increasing their motivation and engagement to achieve the best results. Ali strives to engage children, families and teachers in working towards occupational therapy goals.
Therefore, she adopts a collaborative and individualised approach for each child to increase their ability to engage in activities they want or need to participate in.
Ali is committed to ongoing professional development as she recognises the value in continually expanding her skill set. She seeks out courses and resources in order to expand her awareness of new techniques and evidence to constantly improve the quality of her practice for children and her families.
Chelsea - Speech
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Chelsea is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and is a member of Speech Pathology Australia. Chelsea completed a Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology at Charles Sturt University in Albury NSW.
Chelsea is an enthusiastic and caring Speech Pathologist who is passionate about working with children of all ages. She delivers holistic therapy and believes in making therapy a positive, fun, interactive, and engaging experience for children and their families.
Chelsea’s professional experience and positive energy drives her interactions with children and their families. Chelsea has experience working within a range of practice settings, and has experience working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, intellectual disabilities, literacy difficulties, speech delays, language delays, dyslexia, ADHD, and social skills delays.
Chelsea’s kind hearted nature allows her to build genuine rapport with her clients and their families. Chelsea is always looking to improve her skills through attending professional development opportunities to ensure she is equipped with the latest knowledge, techniques, and programs. Chelsea is trained in:
- Sound-Write Phonics Program
- Writing Approach to Reader (WRAP)
- Teaching Vocabulary to improve reading comprehensive by Dr Danielle Colenbrander
- Developing Written Text Construction: From 7 to 17 by Jennifer Baker
- Evidence-Based management of phonological impairment in Children by Elise Baker
- Learn to Play by Karen Stagnitti
- Hanen - It Takes Two to Talk
- PECS (Level 1)
- SOS - Approach to Feeding (Picky eaters vs problem feeders)
Email Chelsea
Erin - Speech & Director
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Erin Criticos is a Certified Speech Pathologist and is registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She completed her Bachelors of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) from the University of Sydney.
Erin has always been passionate about working with children, helping others and making a difference in peoples lives, which is why she chose a career in speech pathology. She is skilled in clinical areas of early intervention, speech and language delay, stuttering and literacy. Erin uses a collaborative approach in assessing and goal setting, as she believes that working closely with families, teachers and other professionals is vital in understanding and supporting communication difficulties. She particularly enjoys working within a multidisciplinary team liaising closely with Occupational Therapists, Educators, Psychologists and Paediatricians.
Erin has experience in delivering speech pathology in a range of settings including pre-schools, primary schools, community settings and private clinics. She is skilled in delivering therapy to children aged 2-18 years with learning difficulties, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Global Developmental Delay and other disabilities. Through her experiences in working with children with a range of disabilities, she understands the importance of incorporating tactile and visual strategies in order to cater to each child’s learning style.
Erin loves learning about all areas of speech pathology and is passionate about professional development. She has completed the following courses and workshops:
- The Spalding Method®
- Sounds-Write®
- Key Word Sign Basic- Workshop
- Hanen - It Takes Two to Talk
- SOS - Approach to Feeding (Picky eaters vs problem feeders)
- Assessment and treatment approaches for children with reading and spelling difficulties by Dr Saskia Kohnen
- Teaching Vocabulary to improve reading comprehensive by Dr Danielle Colenbrander
- Developing Written Text Construction: From 7 to 17 by Jennifer Baker
- Topical Issues in Paediatric Dysphagia by Dr Julie Cichero
- Assessment Options for Children with phonological impairment by Dr Elise Baker
- Speech pathology in Schools - A whole school approach
- Behaviour Management for Allied Health Professionals by Kristin Bayley
- Learn to Play® by Karen Stagnitti
Hayley - Speech
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Hayley is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from the Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology.
Hayley is a caring and motivated Speech Pathologist who has a strong desire and passion to assist children in reaching their communicative goals. She does this by delivering evidence based client-centred therapy, that focusses on the clients interests and strengths, while working collaboratively with their families to meet their needs. Her caring and friendly nature allows her to be approachable and trustworthy, which assists her in building strong connections with children and their families.
Hayley biggest motivator to studying Speech Pathology and specialising in paediatrics came from her late cousin who received many supports during his life, most notably supporting his communication. He inspires her to continue to help other children and their families and make a difference in their lives.
Hayley has a particular interest in early intervention, Autism, speech and language disorders, literacy and stuttering. She is a strong believer in helping children receive therapy as early as possible, to enable them to participate within their communities.
Hayley has previously worked as a disability support worker, Allied Health Assistant (AHA) and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) Therapist which allowed her to gain experience working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disabilities, as well as children with speech, language, literacy and fluency difficulties.
Jade - OT
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Jade is registered with AHPRA and has completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Honours at the University of Queensland.
Jade has worked with children for a number of years across countless settings, including the home, telehealth and school environment, along with working with children with disabilities as a swim instructor. Jade has experience with working with children with range of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Anxiety, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, developmental delay and intellectual disability. Jade strives to continue to develop her OT skills and maintain evidence-based practice through ongoing professional development opportunities.
Establishing strong relations is at the heart of her practice, this is the building blocks to enable and support children in achieving their goals. She is passionate about children's well-being and ensures that her work is client centred, holistic, and most importantly, fun!
Annaliese - OT Assistant + Client Care Officer
Florence - Speech
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Florence has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) at The University of Sydney.
Florence is a positive and friendly therapist who has always had a passion for supporting children of all ages with their communication. She believes that therapy should be a fun, motivating and engaging experience for everyone involved.
Florence strives to build genuine rapport with her clients and their families in order to provide holistic and functional therapy. She is passionate about providing care that is both evidence-based and family-centred to make a positive difference to her clients' lives.
Florence has experience working with children in a range of settings, including private practice, schools, home visits, community health settings and delivering telehealth therapy. She has experience working with children that have speech, language, literacy and fluency difficulties as well as children who require alternative modes of communication. Florence also has experience working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, developmental delay and intellectual disability.
Florence is invested in her learning development and is always looking to learn and grow her therapy skills through ongoing professional development opportunities.
Susannah - Speech
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Susannah is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a Masters of Speech Pathology.
Susannah is a positive and friendly Speech Pathologist who is passionate about assisting children of all ages in achieving their full potential. Susannah believes that each child is unique and is committed to providing the best care to each and every family. She strives to provide family-centred care and takes a collaborative approach to support children’s communication skills. Susannah loves making her sessions fun and engaging for her clients by tailoring therapy sessions to suit the needs and interests of the child.
Susannah has experience working with children in a range of settings including preschools, clinics and community health settings and delivering telehealth therapy. She has experience working with children that have speech, language, literacy and fluency difficulties as well as children who require alternative modes of
communication. She has developed skills working with children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, language delays, speech delays and literacy difficulties.
Susannah is highly passionate about working with children and is motivated to assist them in achieving their goals and making a difference to their lives. Susannah has a strong commitment to continuously learn, grow and develop her therapy skills through professional development opportunities. Susannah has completed the following courses:
- Learn to Play by Karen Stagnitti
- Sounds-Write Phonics Program
- Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
- Hanen Program - More than Words
- Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP)
Ashleigh - OT
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Ashleigh is an Occupational Therapist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). She completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from University of Western Sydney.
Ashleigh is an enthusiastic and compassionate Occupational Therapist who has always had a love for helping people and making a positive impact in their lives. Her experience first began when she commenced her job as a support worker with children and adults with a disability. Ashleigh has had extensive experience working alongside and with a diverse population including adults and children with Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.
Ashleigh aims to provide a safe and positive environment for all her clients. She possesses a ‘client centred approach’, seeking to establish and understand each individual clients’ needs to achieve their desired outcomes, whilst intently focusing on progress and overall holistic development.
Ashleigh also has an abundance of experience working directly with clients’ families, maintaining good rapport with family members throughout the clients therapy process. Ashleigh ensures that clients’ families are continually updated and informed on progress made. She openly listens to ensure that the concerns and queries of clients and their families are heard and addressed.
Sarah - Speech
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Sarah is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology.
Sarah is a positive and enthusiastic speech pathologist who is passionate about helping children and their families reach their communication goals.
Sarah is passionate about family-centred care and loves helping children find their voice- no matter what that looks like.
Sarah has a background in working with children with complex communication needs and is passionate about fostering communication development. She has experience working with children with speech, language, literacy and fluency difficulties as well as children who require alternative modes of communication. Sarah has worked in a range of settings including preschool, clinic, respite, community health, telehealth and home visits.
Sarah’s goal is to provide a safe, caring and supportive environment for her clients to grow in their communication skills. Sarah strives to provide holistic care to her clients and their family.
Jenny - Speech
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Jenny is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) at The University of Sydney.
Jenny is a motivated and friendly therapist who believes therapy should be holistic, collaborative and client-centred. She tailors therapy to meet the needs and goals of each client and their family, creating a positive and engaging environment that is fun and impactful for everyone involved. Jenny values working collaboratively with families, and teachers by empowering them to support the child's communication development outside of therapy sessions.
Jenny has experience working with children as an Allied Health Assistant in a range of settings, including private-practice, schools, home visits, and delivering telehealth therapy. She has experience working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disabilities, ADHD, Global Developmental Delay, social skills delays, literacy difficulties, language, speech and fluency difficulties.
Jenny is dedicated to enhancing her clinical skills and knowledge through ongoing professional development opportunities.
Jayla - OT
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Jayla is a certified Occupational Therapist, registered nationally with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia. She graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.
Jayla's paediatric experience initially started when working as a support worker with children with varying disabilities and needs. Through this it fuelled her love for paediatrics and Occupational Therapy. Through this Jayla was able to develop her role into an allied health assistant working in a range of environments such as home, school and the community. Jayla also has experience working with clients with diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, developmental delay and intellectual disability.
Jayla is a positive and passionate Occupational Therapist who aims to increase the ability of all her clients to engage in meaningful occupations. Through creating a collaborative family-centred approach this ensures that children can reach their goals and make a positive difference in the lives of both the client and family.
Jayla is passionate about being informed regarding current evidence-based research and implementing this within her sessions. Through attending professional development workshops this further ensures that her knowledge is up to date on a range of challenges families may be facing.
Jessica - Speech
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Jessica is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from the Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology.
The decision to specialise in paediatrics was easy for Jessica, given her great passion for working with children and making a difference in their lives. She believes that all children deserve the right to communicate and to be able to interact with others, and loves that she can help children in doing so. Jessica’s kind, caring and friendly nature allows her to easily build strong connections with children and their families. She is passionate about getting to know each child, in order to make therapy fun and relevant for them. She loves to see the impact that Speech Pathology has on the life of a child and their family and strongly believes in working collaboratively with families and health professional to assist children in achieving functional and meaningful goals.
Jessica has a particular interest in early intervention, Autism, speech disorders, literacy and stuttering. She is a strong believer in helping children receive therapy as early as possible, to enable them to participate within their communities.
Jessica has experience working with children that have literacy, language, speech and fluency difficulties as well as children who require Alternative modes of communication. She also has experience delivering therapy to children with disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Global Developmental Delay.
Jessica is passionate about Professional Development and growing her clinical skills to ensure she is able to provide her clients with the best quality therapy and enjoys attending workshops and conferences. Jessica is trained in:
- Teaching Vocabulary to improve reading comprehensive by Dr Danielle Colenbrander
- Developing Written Text Construction: From 7 to 17 by Jennifer Baker
- Evidence-Based management of phonological impairment in Children by Elise Baker
- Learn to Play by Karen Stagnitti
- Sounds-Write Phonics Program
- Hanen - It Takes Two to Talk
- Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
- Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP)
- SOS - Approach to Feeding (Picky eaters vs problem feeders)
Adele - Speech
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Adele is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a Masters of Speech Pathology.
Adele is a fun and friendly Speech Pathologist who has always had a passion for working with children. She believes that every child deserves the right to communicate and strives to help them achieve their goals and make a positive difference to their lives.
Adele has experience working with children in a range of settings including private clinics, community health settings and through telehealth services. She has experience working with children that have speech, language, literacy and fluency difficulties as well as children who require alternative modes of communication. She has developed skills working with children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, language delays, speech delays and literacy difficulties.
Adele loves to take time to get to know each child, so that she is able to make her sessions fun and engaging by tailoring therapy sessions to suit the needs and interests of the child. Adele also strives to provide family-centred care by working collaboratively with her clients and their families to help them achieve their goals.
Adele has a strong commitment to continuously learning, growing and developing her therapy skills through professional development opportunities so that she is able to provide the highest level of care to the families that she works with.
- Learn to Play by Karen Stagnitti
- Sounds-Write Phonics Program
- Picture Exchange Communication System (PECs)
- Effective and Engaging Therapy for Reluctant Talkers
Georgia - OT
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Georgia is an Occupational Therapist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
She completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Australian Catholic University, following her graduation from a Bachelor of Exercise and Health Science.
Georgia is a friendly and passionate Occupational Therapist who is committed to working with children to improve their skills to enable them to engage in their meaningful activities. Georgia started her journey at Moving Mountains Therapy as an Occupational Therapy Assistant which provided her the opportunity to work with children with different diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, developmental delay and intellectual disability.
Georgia has experience working with children many different settings including schools, private practices, and via Telehealth. Georgia strives to build and maintain respectful and strong relationships with clients, families, teachers and multidisciplinary teams to ensure client-centred care is provided. Georgia aims to create fun and engaging sessions to enable children to achieve their goals in a safe and positive environment.
Georgia strives to continue to develop her OT skills and maintain evidence-based practice through ongoing professional development opportunities.
Daniela - OT
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Daniela is a qualified Occupational Therapist, registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). She graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Bochum in Germany, with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and practiced in Germany for several years before relocating to Sydney.
Daniela is a positive and compassionate Occupational Therapist. Throughout her career, she has worked predominantly with children and their guardians as well as in schools with students, their teachers and other allied health professionals. She has always had a passion for working with people and supporting them in reaching their full potential. Having worked across different contexts and countries, she sees the value in each individual, as well as the unique cultural and family environments that shape them. She is strongly committed to providing personalised and solution-orientated therapy that is tailored to each client’s unique set of needs and goals. Empowering her clients to improve their participation and well-being in daily life is her highest priority.
Daniela has experience working with children with a range of diagnoses and support requirements. She has completed international professional development to further her skills in a range of areas including, gross motor programs, screening and understanding support needs, handwriting and prewriting skills. She is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of children and their families and continues enhancing her clinical skills and knowledge through ongoing professional development opportunities.
Natalie - Clinic Coordinator
Rachel - Speech
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Rachel is a Speech Pathologist registered with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Speech Pathology. With over 9 years of experience working as a bilingual (English and Cantonese) paediatric speech pathologist in Hong Kong, Rachel was excited to be back to Australia in 2024.
Rachel has previously worked in both the public and private sectors and is familiar with the requirements to support NDIS clients. She is passionate about working with children of all abilities, and believes that every child deserves to shine. Therefore, she adopts a play-based and family-centred approach in her intervention style. She hopes to bring a smile to a child's face every time they leave a session.
Furthermore, Rachel is trained and a certified provider in the following programmes: Hanen It Takes Two to Talk® Programme, Hanen More Than Words® Programme, Hanen TalkAbility™ Programme, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Level 1, TalkTools® Oral Placement Therapy Level 1, Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets (PROMPT) Programme, AutPlay® Therapy, LEGO®-Based Therapy Programme, Attention-Autism Programme and Colourful Semantics.
Gabi - OT
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Gabi is a certified Occupational Therapist, registered nationally with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia. She graduated from Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.
Gabi is a positive and enthusiastic Occupational Therapist with experience in working with children and adults within the disability sector, and with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers. Gabi has had significant opportunities to engage and work alongside a diverse population including children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, Down Syndrome, Mental Health Disorders and individuals with Physical Impairments. Gabi is highly motivated in ensuring intervention and therapies are fun, creative and a safe learning space for children to work toward their goals.
Gabi strives to develop trusted relationships with her clients and families, incorporating a holistic approach to increase children's potential and watch their confidence grow. She is highly passionate and invested in providing creative and meaningful activities for children to develop their skills and capacities, and educating families on how they are able to support their child across a range of environments outside of the clinic room. With ongoing interactions and engagement in professional development opportunities, Gabi is always looking to increase her knowledge and skills to implement into her practice.
Chelsea - OT
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Chelsea is a qualified Occupational Therapist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). She completed a Master of Occupational Therapy at La Trobe University, following her graduation from a Bachelor of Psychological Science.
Chelsea is a kind and dedicated Occupational therapist who is passionate about helping children of all ages to increase their ability to engage in meaningful activities, and to make a positive impact in their lives. Chelsea has experience working with clients with diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, developmental delay, intellectual disability.
Chelsea is committed to understanding each individual client and their family to provide relevant, functional and engaging therapy that will help them achieve their goals, and promote the development of their skills. She is highly passionate about maintaining fun and motivating therapy to enable children to work towards their goals.
Through providing a safe and positive environment, Chelsea strives to build trusted relationships and provide individualised, holistic and client-centred care. Chelsea is invested in her learning development, and is enthusiastic about continuing to grow her therapy skills through ongoing professional development opportunities.
