Team Lead, Paediatrics – Paediatric Occupational Therapist
An Occupational Therapist enables children do the things they need to do as well as the things they want to do in life, regardless of setting, disability or illness.
Qualification: Bachelor in Occupational Therapy with Honours, University of Queensland
Special interests: Paediatric Occupational Therapy, developmental therapy, leadership and management, clinical supervision
Shannon loves working with children and is passionate about helping them live their best lives. She has worked with children and families for almost 20 years, supporting children with injuries, illnesses, developmental delays, disabilities and difficulties which impact upon their ability to engage in important life roles and activities.
She feels very strongly about children being heard and listened to and empowers them by providing information in an age-appropriate way about how they can function within their daily life and increase success in achieving their goals.
Working with children with a broad range of difficulties and disabilities, Shannon is very family focused, and firmly believes you can’t see a child in isolation – therapy is always part of a family unit.
She has a two-pronged approach: firstly, she develops the child’s own skills and empowers them to be able to talk about and understand what’s happening. Secondly, she upskills the parents so they can best support and care for their child.
During the assessment phase, Shannon works closely with carers and family members using evidence-based methodology to uncover specific needs, reasons for challenges, and appropriate intervention to support each family in meeting their goals for their children.
Shannon is a strong advocate for her clients and strives to find them the right support in learning environments, their homes and in the community. She collaborates with other professionals involved with children and families to ensure coordinated and client centred care.
As the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Team Leader, Shannon uses her vast experience as a Paediatric OT across acute, education and community settings along with her leadership skills to successfully manage, supervise and mentor the paediatric occupational therapy team at Adaptability. She also works closely with the discipline leads in Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology to enhance outcomes for our clients by fostering collaboration and nurturing an effective multi-disciplinary approach to supporting clients.