Meet The Team - Hope Kids Occupational Therapy

Christie Leong

Christie graduated with Masters in Occupational Therapy from Latrobe University. Before joining Hope Kids OT, Christie has specialised experience in Paediatric Mental Health, having worked with families and children with emotional regulation and behavioral challenges as a therapist as well as clinical case manager. Christie also enjoys working with children with Autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia and Sensory Processing difficulties. She firmly believe success lies with collaborating with the family unit to educate and build on existing strengths in a child’s network. Christie is passionate about lifelong learning and is constantly updating her repertoire of skills with regular professional training.

Christie actively volunteers for respite camps for children in the foster system, and has past volunteering experience as a swimming teacher for Waratha Special School as well as a ward volunteer in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In addition to English, Christie is able to converse in Mandarin & also understands Cantonese.

San Yong

San graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours). San loves working with children and their families on developing individualised goals to support a child’s development. San is experienced in providing intervention for sensory processing needs, sensory motor development, self-care training, handwriting training, social skills and emotional regulation. San is a creative therapist who aims to tailor therapy to suit the needs of the individual. She adopts an intuitive, playful and child-led approach to therapy, which enables a healthy and strong foundation on which to develop long-standing, therapeutic relationships with her clients.

Prior to commencing her OT career, San had experience working as a disability support worker & therapy assistant with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Global Developmental Delay (GDD) and Anxiety. San is able to communicate fluently in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay.

Jin Xin Lee

Jin Xin graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours). Jin Xin has specialised interest in Paediatrics and is passionate about working with children who present with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Global Developmental Delays, Sensory Processing Disorder and other special needs. Jin Xin is experienced in providing intervention for gross & fine motor skills, self-regulation, sensory issues, handwriting and social skills.

Jin Xin is a dedicated clinician who values building rapport with children and their families using a strengths-based and family-centred approach. With these approaches, she strives to ensure children are working through their individual goals in a fun, playful and motivating environment. Prior to commencing her OT career, Jin Xin worked as a private tutor where she provided group and one-on-one tutoring of various subjects including Mathematics, English and Mandarin for children aged 4 to 12 years old. Jin Xin is multilingual and is able to communicate fluently in English, Mandarin & Malay.

Manny Cheung

Manny graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours). Manny has specialised interest in Paediatrics both in the private practice and in the community. Manny believes in a multidisciplinary team approach (liaising with teachers, parents, support coordinator and other allied health professionals) and providing education to support families. Manny is experienced in providing intervention to children and teenagers with special needs and to those with unique challenges in their home and school setting.

Prior to commencing her OT career, Manny worked as an Occupational Therapy Assistant who assisted children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) with their daily living skills, emotional recognition & regulation, sensory needs, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and handwriting skills. Manny strives to ensure every session is playful and fun for the child while targeting their individual goals. Manny is multilingual and is able to communicate fluently in English, Cantonese & Mandarin.

Jane Chan

Jane graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from Deakin University in 2014. She has worked as a Paediatric Occupational Therapist both in Hong Kong and in Australia, with experience in special schools, mainstream schools, community and private practice settings. Specifically, Jane is trained in supporting children with ASD, ADHD, Intellectual disability, handwriting difficulties, developmental delays, and Sensory Processing Disorders. She is passionate about gaining rapport with children and families, establishing family-centred goals and support children to achieve independence in meaningful activities. Jane is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Outside of work, Jane enjoys archery, volleyball, baking and spending time with friends.

Kiara Cursio

Kiara has obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Occupational Therapy from La Trobe University. Throughout her studies, Kiara has also worked with children with ASD, ADD, ADHD and anxiety to improve and develop in the domains of interpersonal relationships, behavioural management, gross motor skills, self-care, leisure and overall functional independence.

Kiara has clinical experience as a disability support worker to enable children to maximise on their independence and occupational performance in the home, at school and the wider environment. Kiara’s role involved enabling clients to complete their respective activities of daily living, providing emotional support, and developed safe strategies to manage individual behaviour. Kiara is passionate about working as a paediatric occupational therapist, as she aims to enable children to live as happy and as independently as possible.

Kiara also loves to travel, and is proud of her Italian heritage being proficient in the Italian language.

Abby Hurleston

Abby graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) from Monash University. Abby is passionate about improving the lives of children and their families through the use of a strengths-based approach to address areas such as activities of daily living, sensory regulation, fine and gross motor skills, social skills and motor planning. Abby has previous clinical experience working with children with a range of different diagnoses including but not limited to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Global Developmental Delay (GDD), Down syndrome (DS) and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Abby has a natural ability to build rapport and enjoys using her creativity to ensure she is providing a fun environment to suit the individual needs and abilities of all her clients.

Outside of work, Abby is an avid soccer player and participates in state level competitions. Abby also actively participated in volunteering work such as The Dining Room Mission in Croydon where she prepared and served meals to the disadvantaged at the local Church.

Zahra Kazemi

Zahra has studied Biomedical Science from Monash University and Master of Occupational Therapy Practice from La Trobe University and is most keen on empowering children and youth to fulfil their goals and achieve their full potential. Having worked in hospital and community settings previously, Zahra is passionate to continue her work collaboratively with children, parents, care givers and educators to make a positive difference.

Her passion is working with children on functional skills, including gross & fine motor skills, emotional and sensory regulation, motor planning, visual perceptual skills, handwriting and social skills. Zahra works on the strengths of a family-centred therapeutic approach, and in turn, equipping her clients with the tools and confidence to reach their goals.

Outside of her work as an OT, Zahra supports a non-profit organisation aimed at meeting the social and cultural needs of a CALD community. She enjoys working collaboratively in team building tasks and learning activities. Zahra is also a mum of two beautiful young children.

Gladys Wong

Gladys graduated from Latrobe University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Health Science with Masters of Occupational Therapy Practice. Gladys has always had a strong passion to work in the paediatric field. She is experienced in supporting children with various diagnoses such as ASD, ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, Intellectual Disability, Dyspraxia and other Developmental Delays.

Gladys enjoys supporting children with their gross motor skills, fine motor skills, sensory processing, social skills, emotional regulation, handwriting and self care skills. She is fluent in English, Cantonese and some Mandarin. Outside of her work as a therapist, Gladys enjoys cooking, baking, travelling, spending time with friends and family. Last but not least, Gladys also actively volunteers at “kids club” in her church.

Stephanie Macdonald

Stephanie has a Master of Occupational Therapy from Monash University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science from Michigan State University. Stephanie has worked with the children with ASD, ADHD and Cerebral Palsy to improve and develop their learning in areas such as behaviour management, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and school readiness.

Apart from working as an Occupational Therapist, Stephanie is also an English as a Second Language Teacher with VIPKID, an online one-on-one English language teaching service for children living in China. Stephanie has worked with children ages 3-14 years old where she established a culturally safe environment by learning about Chinese culture, tailored communication style and energy levels by utilising verbal & nonverbal language to match her student’s learning abilities.

Stephanie has also worked as a disability support worker team lead where she supervised support workers, empowered clients with disabilities to complete activities of daily living, provided emotional support and developed safe strategies to establish community outings with clients. Stephanie loves travelling and is passionate about expanding her cultural competency skills through working in both the education and disability sectors.

Dannika Newland

Dannika has studied a bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science and completed a Masters in Occupational Therapy (Monash University). She is passionate about helping children achieve their goals with a client and family centred view. Dannika is particularly interested in areas of gross and fine motor skills, motor planning, visual/sensory perceptual skills and handwriting skills.

She has experience with working with clients with Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Cerebral Palsy and further neurological disorders. She enjoys working with those to achieve goals within their self care, productivity and leisure activities. Outside of work Dannika enjoys being active going on hikes, runs, swimming and being at the beach. She also loves spending time with her family and her dog (Millie)

Catherine Luah

Catherine graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy with Honours. Before joining Hope Kids OT, Catherine has specialised OT clinical experience in community work and case management, having worked with families, both children and adults with various disabilities. She is passionate to support children with Autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia and Sensory Processing difficulties.

Catherine endeavours to make positive contributions to the lives of others and empowering them to live their lives to the fullest. In addition to English, Catherine is able to converse in Mandarin & Cantonese. In her free time, Catherine loves pilates, travelling and enjoying food with her friends and family.

Gillian Teo

Gillian graduated from La Trobe university and have more than 25 years of both local and international exposure in the disability field. She has worked with both children and adults across the lifespan, within a range of setting including clinics, early childhood, school, homes and the broad community.

Gillian enjoys working with the diversity in children, families and values working in collaboration with others involved to achieve positive outcomes for the child and the family. Her focus is on providing goal-driven therapy intervention, learning enhancements and embed strength-based principles in her practice when working with families and others involved. Gillian can communicate in English, Mandarin, Cantonese , Hokkien, Hakka and Malay. Outside of OT, Gillian also teaches yoga and enjoys food , crime and legal dramas, superhero movies , travel and nature.

Fiona Leung

Fiona graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) and has experience working as an Occupational Therapist in various fields, from having worked with adults, geriatrics and paediatrics. Fiona has joined the Hope Kids OT team with a particular interest in paediatrics and sensory integration, and is motivated to work closely with the child, their family and support networks to achieve goals that are important to the family.

Fiona enjoys working with children of all ages with sensory processing challenges, developmental delays, learning difficulties and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Prior to joining our team, Fiona has experience supporting children in the community setting for assessments and early intervention. She has also facilitated the running of a Lego Group to develop fine motor, problem-solving, and social thinking skills in a play-based group setting. Prior to moving to Australia, Fiona has experience working as an assistant teacher in Hong Kong tutoring English for children aged 4-6 years old. Fiona is multilingual and is able to communicate fluently in English, Cantonese & Mandarin.

Joanna Long

Joanna holds a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) from Monash University and has a keen
interest in working with children and teenagers in both private and community settings. Prior to joining Hope
Kids OT, Joanna has specialised experience working in the community with paediatric participants with
various disabilities. She is particularly skilled in supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder,
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder, Intellectual disability, Cerebral Palsy, Global Developmental Delays,
and Sensory Processing Disorder. Joanna is passionate about providing support and education to families,
helping them to access the resources they need to provide the best possible care for their child.

Outside of work, Joanna enjoys staying active by playing basketball, swimming, and badminton. She is able
to communicate fluently in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, which allows her to communicate effectively
with clients and families from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Berezy

Lizzy graduated from the Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. Her work as a therapist is founded on her guiding values of creativity, curiosity and resilience. Throughout her studies, Lizzy worked as a play coach supporting autistic children and their families to have fun and build new skills in a sensory-based, neuro-affirming playcentre. As an OT, Lizzy has experience supporting children, teens and adults in a community setting with diagnoses such as ASD, ADHD, anxiety and C-PTSD. She loves supporting children to shine and engage in the everyday activities that are uniquely important to them and their caregivers.

Drawing on her own lived-experience, she is a passionate advocate for neurodiversity and mental health. While living abroad, she voluntarily co-founded a neurodiversity community support group. Outside of her work as an OT, Lizzy enjoys craft and DIY, spending time in nature and brainstorming cute names for all the dogs she dreams of adopting.

May Lee

May is our principal occupational therapist who graduated from Latrobe University with more than 15 years of clinical experience. Prior to moving to Melbourne, May has worked with clients recovering from acquired brain injuries, rehabilitation settings & paediatric practice in Singapore. Since then, May has continued to work extensively in paediatric private practice in Melbourne and has specialised clinical experience in providing intervention for children and adolescents with Sensory Processing Disorders, Dyspraxia and social-emotional challenges. May is also multilingual, being proficient and able to converse fluently in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay.

Beyond the clinical expertise, May is a passionate mentor and supervisor, shaping the next generation of paediatric occupational therapists. Her commitment to education and professional development has influenced countless therapists, ensuring that the highest standards of care are maintained.

Outside of the professional pursuits, May finds joy and inspiration in her own family. As the proud parent of a 6-year-old boy and a 1.5-year-old girl, she understands the challenges and joys of parenting firsthand, further deepening her empathy and insight into the needs of the children Hope Kids OT serves.

With May at the helm, Hope Kids OT offers a blend of clinical excellence, mentorship, cultural sensitivity and a deep understanding of the needs of children. Their dedication to improving young lives shines through in every aspect of their work.

Kristalle Lee

Kristalle has spent years in the dynamic role of an administrator, excelling in both operations and sales support. With a knack for organisation and a keen eye for detail, she has been instrumental in streamlining processes and ensuring the smooth functioning of the company.

Beyond the office, Kristalle thrives in the great outdoors and spending time with friends and family. She finds solace in the game of volleyball, where teamwork and strategy come together to create a winning combination. When not spiking volleyballs, she is often exploring the natural world, relishing in the beauty of nature, and savoring outdoor adventures.

Rachel Pan

Meet Rachel, a versatile professional who currently holds a vital position in the admin team. With a background as a marketing specialist, Rachel brings a unique blend of creativity and organization to the team.

Outside the office, Rachel is an avid nature enthusiast. Hiking trails are Rachel’s second home, where the love for adventure meets the serenity of the great outdoors. Besides hiking, Rachel has a green thumb and finds solace in gardening, nurturing plants and creating a vibrant, natural sanctuary at home.At the heart of Rachel’s world is a beloved feline companion. She shares a deep bond with her cat Bobo, cherishing the endless moments of love and warmth that her furry baby brings into her life.

With a passion for marketing, a love for nature, and a heartwarming connection with her cat, Rachel embodies a rich tapestry of interests and experiences that make her a fascinating individual inside and outside the office.

Ronald Sim

Ronald Sim (Ron) is a seasoned Business Manager with a diverse background. Having originally trained as a consultant pharmacist, Ron made a strategic shift into the world of business and management. With a strong foundation in healthcare, he brings a unique perspective to the business arena, combining pharmaceutical expertise with sharp managerial skills.

Ron is also a passionate sports enthusiast. He enjoys the thrill of competition and engages in sports like badminton and table tennis. This love for physical activity not only keeps him fit but also fuels his drive and determination in the professional sphere. Whether it’s managing a business or battling it out on the court, Ron approaches every challenge with dedication and a winning spirit.

Our Superstar Team

Occupational Therapists