Sunshine Coast Children's Occupational Therapy

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Little TheraPeas is a multidisciplinary Sunshine Coast paediatric therapy clinic offering Occupational Therapy (OT) and Therapy Assistant services delivered from our Caloundra clinic. School and home visits can also be facilitated. Our passion is to help children and their families reach independence and success throughout their lives. Our focus is to a build supportive, fun and friendly environment which focuses on building rapport with you and your little pea. This helps get the most out of therapy to achieve your child’s goals and make a difference to their life and in turn your life. We also have therapy assistants who run therapist directed programs and groups that provide value for money options for family support and to achieve goals sooner.

Psychology

LPsychology treatment can assist people with a behavioural, mental/emotional or cognitive disability/difficulty be as independent as possible to lead a more fulfilled life. Psychologists help children with various needs improve their skills and enhance their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment.

According to Australian Psychological Society (APS), the goal of psychology is not just to study human thinking and behaviour, but to put that knowledge into practice, to help people, communities, ad society in general to solve day-to-day problems and improve quality of life. Psychology is therefore also a profession devoted to helping people and the community find solutions to real life problems such as improving mental health and well being, learning, performance, relationships, and societal cohesiveness.

Children Who Might Need Psychology:

  • autism/pervasive developmental disorders
  • birth injuries or birth defects
  • sensory processing disorders
  • traumatic injuries (brain or spinal cord)
  • learning problems
  • mental health condition (e.g. anxiety, depression, bipolar)
  • behavioural problems
  • developmental delays
  • spina bifida
  • multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and other chronic illnesses

Our Team

Rebecca Lockyer, Occupational Therapist and Director

Rebecca is the Director of Little TheraPeas.

Rebecca has a special interest in autism spectrum disorder, motor coordination difficulties, cerebral palsy, refractory seizures, chromosomal and genetic disorders, sensory processing difficulties, toileting and developmental delays.

Rebecca is a neurodiverse affirming practitioner and strongly believes in family involvement throughout therapy. She enjoys taking the child’s lead and entering into their world. In the initial stages of treatment she feels it is important to build strong rapport with both the child and their caregivers, establish therapy goals addressing the child’s individual needs and help our Little Peas to find a safe space at therapy. She understands that no two children are the same and uses the therapy goals to guide sessions.

Rebecca is committed to providing holistic client-centred services and working collaboratively with family members, caregivers, teachers and other therapists. She believes that everyone should be well educated on the needs of the child in order to achieve the best outcome possible.

Rebecca loves working with children aged 0-16 years and is passionate about assisting Little Peas become independent in all their occupational roles, whether it be in play, making friends, writing, dressing, toileting – basically anything that children want or need to do.

The key approaches and trainings Rebecca uses include DIR Floortime, Autism Level Up, Trauma Sensitive Practice, Sensory Processing and Interoception, Polyvagal Theory, The Astronaut Program, Quickshifts and Positive Parenting.

Rebecca oversees all the therapists at Little TheraPeas and makes sure that the quality and expertise of every member of the team is at the highest possible level to ensure all Little Peas and their families are supported in the way they deserve.

Rebecca also provides clinical supervision for occupational therapists and occupational therapy students. She regularly does seminars for parents on various topics including handwriting, toileting, sensory processing difficulties and autism.

Leah Snowdon – Occupational Therapist

Leah is an experienced occupational therapist who loves working with Little Peas of all ages to help them achieve their goals. She has a special interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing difficulties, motor coordination challenges and developmental delays.

Leah is passionate about empowering and educating families about their Little Pea’s individual experience with the world through a strengths-based approach to intervention while also recognising the areas that might be a bit tricky and need some fostering to grow. Leah utilises a range of therapeutic approaches and has received formal training in DIR/Floortime, Therapeutic Listening, QuickShifts, Astronaut Training and Trauma Informed Care.

When not at Little TheraPeas, Leah loves spending time at the beach, running, heading to the gym, catching up with her friends and squeezing in some thera-baking!

Lauren Kildare – Occupational Therapist 

Lauren is an occupational therapist who loves working with Little Peas across all ages and diagnoses. She has a passion for early intervention and ensuring a holistic approach to supporting Little Peas and their families, and brings an authentic and calm presence to the clinic.

Lauren has a special interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and sensory processing difficulties. She particularly loves working with Little Peas who are in kindergarten and early school ages, but has a soft spot for teenagers. She uses a range of therapeutic approaches including DIR/Floortime, sensory processing, and social skills training.

When she is not at Little TheraPeas, Lauren enjoys spending time with her husband and spotty dog, Melo, binging the newest tv show on Netflix, and playing rugby league. She loves to go camping, cook meals for friends and family, and adventure to the beach.

Bridget (Brydie) Ward – Occupational Therapist

Brydie is an experienced occupational therapist who enjoys working and having fun with Little Peas across all ages and diagnoses. She has a passion for early intervention and brings a calm and caring presence to the clinic.

Brydie has a special interest in infants and toddlers, feeding therapy and complex diagnoses such as physical disabilities, genetic conditions and trauma backgrounds. She uses a range of therapeutic approaches including DIR/floortime, sensory processing, SOS Feeding and trauma informed care, and strives to provide holistic services to her Little Peas.

When she’s not at Little TheraPeas, Brydie enjoys spending time with her family, friends and crazy dog, Murphy. She also loves to visit the beach, create art and bake sweet treats.

 

Taylor Evans, Therapy Assistant

Taylor is a qualified Therapy Assistant whose expertise and skills working with Little Peas is exceptional and a wonderful addition to the Little TheraPeas team, having joined the team in 2020. She has previously worked in child care centres as both an Educator and a Director.

Taylor is experienced in supporting children with complex needs and writing inclusion support plans to help the Little Peas obtain the best support they can. 

As an avid dog, cat, racoon and shark lover, Taylor brings with her hilarious stories of her sweet little rescue cat (Rosie) with its own additional needs!

Taylor is trained in DIR/Floortime, sensory processing approaches, Interoception approaches, social skills training and much more. She is eager to learn and able to match her style to suit whichever Little Pea she is working with.

Ayla Smith – Occupational Therapist

Ayla is an occupational therapist who enjoys working with Little Peas across all ages and diagnoses. She has a passion for early intervention and working with teenagers with neurodiversity and is a neurodiverse affirming practitioner. She uses a family centred, holistic approach to supporting Little Peas and their families, and brings an energetic, enthusiastic presence to the clinic.

Ayla uses a range of therapeutic approaches including DIR/Floortime, trauma informed practice, emotion regulation and sensory processing.

When she is not at Little TheraPeas, Ayla enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Nala and Alfie and partner, Will. She loves to go camping and adventure to the beach.

Scott Lockyer, Practice Manager

Scott is our wonderful clinic manager and will often be your first point of contact at Little TheraPeas whether by phone email or messenger. 
 
Scott is here to help and will always do his utmost to assist you. Please feel free to contact Scott for any administrative issues or if you need just need some more information.
 
In his spare time Scott enjoys spending time with family and friends, particularly our beautiful border collie, Leyla.
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