Allied Health Assistants

Emma completed her Masters of Teaching at Deakin University after finishing her Bachelor of Science at Monash University. She is now completing a Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance. After working for six years as a private tutor and then classroom teacher, Emma became more concerned about the children being left behind in traditional schooling and consequently turned her attention to early intervention. She loves how the team at Happy Chatter work together to provide services and care for those who need it most.

Emma supports a variety of clients by delivering both occupational therapy and speech pathology services. She has experience delivering the Zones of Regulation curriculum to promote emotional awareness and using the We Thinkers Social Thinking program by Michelle Garcia to improve social thinking. Emma supports children with their speech, language and literacy development through evidence-based programs and play based learning.

In her downtime, Emma enjoys reading from her never-ending ‘To Be Read’ book pile, playing board games and going on walks around her local creek. Emma enjoys working in such a tightknit and supportive team and loves to see her clients reach their goals.

Kate is an Allied Health Assistant specialising in Occupational Therapy, but being an AHA you may be seeing her doing Speech Pathology as well! Kate has been working in the community as a support worker for all ages before extending her skills at Happy Chatter.

Kate loves to help people and see them achieve their goals. She especially loves working with children and watching them grow and develop.

Kate is a mum of 3 and enjoys spending time on the weekends with her family and watching them play sport. She has recently found a love for gardening and nurturing her veggie patch. Kate’s other hobbies include, reading, walking her dog (Chino), and craft.

She is passionate about helping children and their families to achieve their goals. Josie has attended various professional development workshops such as the Zones of Regulation, Supporting Children with Trauma, ASD, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder. Whilst working at Happy Chatter, Josie has completed online training on Sounds Write Phonics Program and We Thinkers.

Josie is a Mum of two treasured boys and two beautiful dogs, Zoe and Benny. She enjoys scrapbooking, making cards, and spending time with family and friends.

Chantelle’s experience is with children with a range of disabilities including autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, hearing and vision impairment, ADHD, and intellectual disabilities. Over the years, she has been involved in supporting children in both mainstream and special developmental schools.

Chantelle fell in love with speech pathology when she realised that she enjoys watching kids develop their language skills, and a gift for helping them find ways to communicate. She is incredibly passionate about kids being able to express themselves in both individual and group settings. She plans on developing her knowledge while at Happy Chatter, exploring programs such as Colourful Semantics and We Thinkers social concepts.

In her spare time, Chantelle stays active by going to the gym and spending time with her dog, Larry. She finds joy in supporting her younger siblings with schooling and always demonstrates how fun learning can be!