Kids Connect Therapy was established in May 2009 by Dale Proudfoot, Emma Barber and Kirsty Sanders.
Dale, Kirsty and Emma shared a vision to create a truly integrated paediatric therapy clinic based on teamwork and shared knowledge. As Kids Connect therapy has grown they have been able to build an amazing team of therapists and support staff who all share their passion about helping children and families.
Dale Proudfoot (Occupational Therapist)
Emma Barber (Speech Pathologist)
Kirsty Sanders (Speech Pathologist)
Kerri-Anne Telford (Occupational Therapist)
Sarah King (Occupational Therapist)
Melissa Kyriakacis (Occupational Therapist)
Sarah Timmel (Speech Pathologist)
Laura Sinclair (Speech Pathologist)
Lucy Nicoloau (Administration Team)
Adriana Declerck (Administration Team)
Jessica Llewelyn (Administration Team)
Therapists
Dale Proudfoot (Occupational Therapist)
Dale graduated from the University of Sydney in 1991. Dale initially worked within a variety of mental health settings prior to specialising in paediatric practice. Since 1995, Dale has worked in a wide range of paediatric settings both here and in the United Kingdom, including community health, private practice and early intervention. Over the past 15 years Dale has had extensive training and experience in Sensory Integration. She is a trained provider of the Therapeutic Listening Program and the Wilbarger brushing protocol.
Dale commenced formal training in 2007 in the DIR®/Floortime™ Model. In 2011, Dale completed the DIR® B Certification, DIR®/Floortime™ program. Dale has continued to expand her knowledge through ongoing conferences, seminars and mentoring.
Dale has a special interest in working with children and their families utilising the Sensory Integration and DIR®/Floortime™ models and is passionate about providing this within an interdisciplinary framework.
Dale has three gorgeous children Jamie, Eliza and Robert.
Emma Barber (Speech Pathologist)
Emma graduated from the University of Queensland in 2004 and has had extensive experience working in community health settings with pre-school aged children in country Victoria, Early Childhood Intervention settings working with pre-school aged children with autism and developmental delays, as well as in private practice. In 2008, Emma travelled to the US to train in the DIR®/Floortime™ Model of Intervention for children with developmental delays and disabilities. In 2011, Emma again travelled to the US where she completed the DIR® C 1 Certification, DIR®/Floortime™ program. Emma continues to expand her knowledge of DIR®/Floortime™ through ongoing mentoring and attendance at professional development seminars.
Emma is a certified Hanen provider and is a trained provider of the Therapeutic Listening Program. Emma has specialised experience and a passion for working with young children who present with autism, developmental delays, language disorders and social language difficulties.
Kirsty Sanders (Speech Pathologist)
Kirsty graduated with First Class Honours from Curtin University in Western Australia in 2003. Since then, Kirsty has gained experience working with children in a diverse range of clinical settings, including private practice, community health and Early Childhood Intervention (ECI). Kirsty also has extensive research experience, having worked on the Looking at Language Study at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, and the Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS) at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Kirsty is passionate about helping children with additional needs and their families and has a strong interest in working with children with autism, developmental delays and language disorders. Kirsty has undertaken formal training in the DIR®/Floortime™ model and has integrated this into her clinical practice since 2008. In 2011, Kirsty completed the DIR® B Certification, DIR®/Floortime™ program. Kirsty continues to strengthen her knowledge of DIR®/Floortime™ by participating in regular professional development courses, special interest groups and ongoing mentoring.
Kerri-Anne Telford (Occupational Therapist)
Kerri-Anne completed her degree in Occupational Therapy at La Trobe University in 2007. Prior to joining Kids Connect Therapy, Kerri-Anne worked as an occupational therapist at Goulburn Valley Health in her hometown of Shepparton. Here she managed a complex adult and paediatric caseload in a range of in-patient and community settings. It has always been a passion of Kerri-Anne’s to work with children and their families, and in 2009 she moved to Melbourne to further her career as a paediatric occupational therapist. Since joining Kids Connect Therapy, Kerri-Anne has undertaken formal training in the DIR®/Floortime™ Model and Sensory Integration and has been involved in running parent education sessions. Kerri-Anne has embraced the DIR®/Floortime™ Model and has integrated this into her work recognising the importance of family involvement in therapy. In 2011, Kerri-Anne completed the DIR® B Certification, DIR®/Floortime™ program. Kerri-Anne has a strong interest in continuing professional development and receives ongoing supervision and tutoring both individually as well as in a group.
Sarah King (Occupational Therapist)
Sarah graduated from LaTrobe University, Melbourne, in 2006 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. Prior to joining the Kids Connect Therapy team, Sarah spent three years working in early intervention with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Sarah has utilised both Sensory Integration and DIR/Floortime models of practice, and has always maintained a strong focus on family centred therapy. As part of her work at Kids Connect Therapy, Sarah runs individual Aquatic OT sessions at a local swimming pool. These sessions focus not only on developing swimming and water safety skills, but also utilizing the medium of water to work on communication, language, social/emotional engagement and motor skills.
Melissa Kyriakacis
Melissa graduated from Curtin University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. Initially supporting adults with a disability in open employment setting, Melissa realised her passion for supporting individuals with a disability. Following this she worked in a diverse role within a private practice in Perth, Western Australia. Here Melissa worked with children and teenagers with a range of disabilities from Acquired Brain Injuries, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum disorders and Intellectual disabilities through to Cerebal Palsy and Hearing Impairment.
Following attending the Karen Stagnetti Play and the Introductory DIR®/Floortime™ course, Melissa developed a passion for play based interventions. Melissa is enthusiastic to learn as much as possible in the DIR®/Floortime™ and embed this in her practise. Melissa receives weekly mentoring and ongoing support from the knowledgeable and DIR®/Floortime™ trained therapists at Kids Connect.
Sarah Timmel (Speech Pathologist)
Sarah graduated from Curtin University, Western Australia with a Bachelor of Science (Speech Pathology) in 2009. Sarah has always had a great interest in working with children and their families and is excited to get to do this every day at Kids Connect Therapy. Previously Sarah worked for the Department of Education and Early Childhood development where she gained experience in literacy and phonological awareness, classroom based management and PSD funding, bilingualism, language and speech sound disorders, stuttering and autism disorders. While Sarah is a new member of the profession she receives wonderful support from the more experienced therapists at Kids Connect, mentoring from DIR®/Floortime professionals and attends regular professional development. Sarah has embraced the DIR®/Floortime model since beginning at Kids Connect. In 2011, Sarah completed the DIR® B Certification, DIR®/Floortime™ program. Sarah continues to strengthen her knowledge of DIR®/Floortime™ by participating in regular professional development courses, special interest groups and weekly tutoring.
Laura Sinclair
Laura graduated from the University of Queensland in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts, Double Major in Psychology and later went on to graduate with a Master of Speech Pathology Studies in, 2008. Laura is passionate about working with children with communication delays or disabilities. She has experience working with children in a range of clinical settings including primary schools and Early Childhood Development Programs for the Queensland Department of Education and Training. Prior to joining the Kids Connect Therapy Team, Laura worked at the Hear and Say Centre for children with a hearing loss and their families.
Laura has specialised experience in the provision of therapy for children with hearing loss. In 2010, Laura completed the Hear and Say Centre, Advanced Auditory-Verbal Therapy Global Professional Training Program. Laura’s previous role as Parent Education Co-ordinator at the Hear and Say Centre has also made her highly skilled in teaching parents how to ensure their child achieves the best outcome from his or her therapy.
Laura strongly believes that the best therapeutic outcomes for children with communication delays or disabilities result from working as a team with their families, teachers and other health professionals. Since joining Kids Connect, Laura has embraced the DIR®/Floortime™ model and has commenced her professional training in the model.
Administration Team
Lucy Nicoloau
Lucy is a passionate and committed Practice Manager who works with the administration team to provide a warm and supportive environment for families. Lucy is able to assist families and their children by making appointment bookings, providing information on funding options and giving advice around relevant therapy programs. Lucy has worked in administrative roles for many years, both with children and the elderly. Lucy has a passion for helping families and strives to make each family at Kids Connect Therapy feel welcome and well-supported as soon as they walk through the door. Lucy is a proud mother of four who enjoys testing her culinary skills and playing tennis.
Adriana Declerck
Adriana is a proud and busy mother of 2 boys. She brings firsthand experience to her role as Kids Connect Therapy as a parent of a child with ASD. Adriana is able to empathise with many of our families and she offers parent-to-parent advice in dealing and coping with a child with ASD. Adriana prides herself on providing excellence in customer service and has extensive experience is administration and accounts. Adriana has a bubbly, positive attitude and is a motivated and enthusiastic member of the Kids Connect team. Her outside interests include sport, music, theatre and of course shopping!
Jessica Llewelyn
Jess is the smiling face of Friday and Saturday’s at Kids Connect Therapy. She works on the front desk to ensure that families and children within our group programs are welcomed and well-supported. Jess loves working with children and has a varied role within the clinic, from making appointment bookings to entertaining siblings while they wait in the waiting room. Jess is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, Clayton campus. Jess enjoys travelling, shopping and spending time with her friends.
