University of Ulster, Jordanstown (Northern Ireland) – Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy)

Niamh graduated from the University of Ulster with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and has been living in Singapore for over 9 years. During this time, she has worked within a number of private clinics in Singapore, her roles include Clinic Manager of a centre based extensive MDT team and Lead Principal Occupational Therapist at Thomson Paediatric Centre. Niamh has vast Paediatric clinical experience working both in Ireland and Singapore. During Niamh’s practice she has worked with children with multiple developmental and physical needs. Niamh has clinically managed a caseload ranging in age, from infants to teenagers and young adults. This caseload has presented with various clinical needs including sensory processing difficulties, feeding challenges and various motor and learning challenges. Niamh is focused on a holistic therapy approach with a therapeutic focus on supporting a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Niamh has conducted a number of presentations and trainings in Singapore at the SENIA and early childhood conferences, alongside various international/local schools, and polytechnics. Niamh has also provided a number of parent trainings and workshops.

Niamh believes that children, parents, and paediatric providers must work together as a team to provide excellent paediatric healthcare. To ensure that children are provided with the best care possible, it is her passion to remain current with the latest paediatric developments and approaches to children's health.

Ayres Sensory Integration

Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT)

Certified DIRFloortime Provider

SOS feeding

Beckman Oral Motor

MORE Feeding

Reflex integration

Rhythmical Movement Training

Learn to Play (Karen Stagnetti)

Interactive Metronome

Therapeutic Listening

Trauma Informed Intervention

Attention Autism

DMI Certified

Glasgow Caledonian University (Scotland, UK) – Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy)

Dervla graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy. She has worked as an Occupational Therapist for 10 years, beginning in Scotland within community paediatric teams covering mainstream and special needs school settings as well as home and centre-based intervention. Dervla has worked in Singapore for 6 years, one year in an acute hospital setting and 5 years in paediatric and school-based settings and has experience with students from 0-17 years with a wide variety of needs.

As an Occupational Therapist, Dervla strives to empower the children and families she works with to meet their potential and to help them to achieve their goals. She believes a holistic approach, utilising strengths and participation, and collaboration with caregivers and school settings is a powerful approach to assist children and families to maximise their potential and thrive. Dervla considers play as an essential occupation that empowers children to learn and develop all of their foundation and developmental skills in order to successfully participate in all their daily activities.

DIR Floortime 101 and 201

CO-OP (Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance)

Attention Autism

Social Thinking

MNRI tools for Dyslexia

DMI Certified

Nanyang Polytechnic – Diploma in Occupational Therapy
Trinity College Dublin – Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy)

Breanna graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy. She started as an early intervention teacher at Rainbow Centre and found passion in working with children who were differently abled. During her stint at Rainbow Centre, Breanna found occupational therapy very fulfilling, and pursued a mid-career switch.

Breanna attained qualification for occupational therapy and has since worked in a government hospital for five years. She has covered a wide range of adult and paediatric inpatient caseloads, including geriatrics, orthopaedics, and general surgery. She has also worked with neonates in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, offering parent training and support. Breanna has worked extensively with preschool and school-going children to work on attention, emotional regulation as well as other motor and learning challenges in the outpatient setting.

As an occupational therapist, Breanna believes that intervention is a balance of encouraging independence and facilitating participation in desired and meaningful activities across the lifespan. She enjoys using child-led techniques to connect with the child and to build a deeper relationship with them. Through close relationships with the child and their parents, the child’s capacities can be developed and challenged to the next level.

Breanna’s clinical interest lies in working with premature babies and babies with congenital issues. Being a mother of a preemie herself, she understands the challenges and worries parents have in bringing up a premature child and strives to use a family-centric approach to work alongside families.

Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance Level 1

DIR Floortime (101, 201)

Attention Autism

DMI Certified

Trinity College Dublin – Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy)

Nora graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy. She began her occupational therapy career working in an acute hospital setting working in areas such as stroke, general medicine, and oncology. Nora also has experience working in the area of community mental health, where she was part of a diverse multi-disciplinary team. Her role in this setting included working on life skills with adolescents and young adults, to facilitate them to live independently in the community.

Nora is committed to providing a holistic, family-focused therapy service for her clients. This approach enables her to work collaboratively with the child and their family, and ensure the goals and interventions being completed are those that are important to everyone involved.

Co-Op (Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance)

Attention Autism

Recovery Through Activity intervention

DMI Certified

University of Limerick, Ireland – Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (PQ)

University of Monash, Australia – Master of Education in Early Childhood Education

Born and raised in Singapore, Laila attended both international and local education systems, before undertaking tertiary education overseas. She completed her Diploma in Early Childhood Education in NP and has taught in various preschools since 2009. Covering a range of services from childcare to international preschool, in schools such as Swiss School in Singapore, Whitelodge and Etonhouse. She has also worked in an adjunct role with NIEC, providing supervision and support to trainee preschool teachers.

Working in these various settings and meeting children with a range of needs, Laila felt compelled to improve her skills to support a wider range of needs. Entering the world of occupational therapy, Laila developed her clinical experience in Ireland working in stroke acute/rehab and geriatric hospital settings, focusing on assessing needs, and providing interventions to increase independence and safety in the home, with a view to improving mental health in clients. She also worked with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and Dyspraxia DCD Ireland, working with adolescents towards functional goals to achieve potential, specifically in the areas of mental health coping skills, executive functioning, organisation skills and self-help skills.

Upon graduating and returning to Singapore, Laila returned to working with younger children by joining an EIP as an OT. In this paediatric setting, Laila ran individual and group therapy sessions, meeting children with a range of developmental and physical needs. Working towards goals in a multi-disciplinary team, interventions addressed various clinical needs such as sensory processing difficulties, school readiness and physical motor challenges. Throughout, Laila collaborated with parents, providing support through conversations, home programs and strategies for the home.

Laila believes that children learn best through play and exploration, and that their emotional state is important to the process. Ensuring children feel comfortable and safe, their inner curiosity will blossom, supporting them to open up to new experiences and learning. As an Occupational Therapist, Laila believes in a strengths-based and holistic approach, supporting children to feel success whilst addressing challenges. Utilising a collaborative approach with the children, caregivers, therapists and educators, to provide a positive, safe and supportive environment with aligned goals that are important to all involved.

DMI Certified

University College Cork (Ireland) – Bachelor of Science (Speech and Language Therapy)

Rho graduated from University College Cork with a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Language Therapy. She has previously worked in private practices overseas and in Singapore. While working in these positions , she had the opportunity to work within Early Interventions and Primary Schools.

Rho follows a strength based therapeutic approach. She believes that working with families is the best way to support young children. Rho demonstrates her family-centred approach through her strength-based assessments and reports, collaborative goal setting with families, and frequent caregiver coaching. She welcomes family members to join in at all aspects of the therapeutic process. Her aim is to empower families to support their child to achieve their potential. Her areas of special interest are Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

DIR Floortime (101, 201, 202)

SOS Approach to Feeding (Advanced study in supporting children with Autism and Severe Developmental impairments)

Diagnosing DLD with confidence, Evidence based interventions for DLD, Therapy Outcome Measurements for DLD

Introduction to Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP)

AAC Assessment, Symbol Based AAC, and AAC for Professionals

Attention Autism

National University of Singapore - Masters in Science (Speech and Language Pathology)

National University of Singapore - Bachelor of Social Sciences (Psychology)

Nicole has been serving the special education sector for more than 8 years. Starting off her career as a special education teacher, she saw the importance of communication, which led her to pursue a degree in Speech and language pathology. Having the passion to work with children through the main stakeholders in their lives (i.e. caregivers, teachers), Nicole chose to complete her studies through a full scholarship from a community setting. She then served children and their families in the special education school, specializing in areas of speech, language and feeding. She also has experience with a myriad of augmentative and alternative communication options, including iGaze and other high/medium-tech devices. In addition, Nicole has worked closely with parents and teachers to support children with chewing, swallowing and accepting a wider range of food items.

Being a mother of 2, Nicole always saw the importance of family involvement in supporting each child’s development. She strongly believes in parental empowerment and sought to provide families with the resources they need to support their children through intervention and beyond. Having a special interest and craft and dance, she enjoys including a dabble of creativity in her sessions with her young clients.

Hanen © It takes two to talk
Social thinking © by Michelle Garcia
M.O.R.E. Integrating the mouth with sensory and postural functions by Eileen Ritcher
Multimodal Communication and Learning strategies for child who face significant challenges by Linda Burkhart
Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD) by Linda Burhart
Sign language level 1 - Singapore Association for the Deaf
National University of Singapore (NUS) Clinical Educators Workshop
AHPC Supervision training workshop
KKH PINS workshop - Pediatric feeding in a neurological compromised child

La Trobe University

Felicia graduated from La Trobe University in Melbourne and has gained extensive clinical and teaching experience while working in a public hospital in Singapore. She has worked with clients with a wide range of communication and swallowing difficulties, and specialized in Geriatric Care.

Felicia also greatly enjoys working with children, and is enthusiastic about supporting learning through play. She believes in empowering parents and caregivers to help every child reach their full potential, and strives to adopt a family-centred and holistic approach to all her clients.

Flinders University - Masters in Speech Pathology

Thivya graduated from Flinders University, South Australia with a Masters of Speech Pathology. She also completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Thivya has vast experience working with both adults and children in Australia and Singapore. She has worked in stroke rehabilitation, with adults who have Aphasia as well as swallowing difficulties. Currently, her work focuses on school going children, who present with speech and language difficulties secondary to learning needs, Autism, Dyslexia and Global Developmental Delay. Her core experience includes intervention for Dyspraxia, Articulation Disorders and Language delay/disorder. Thivya has conducted group intervention, tele-therapy and mobile therapy services in clients’ homes and schools.

Thivya believes in advocating for her clients so that they have a voice to speak. Communicating, be it through actions, pictures, words, can be very empowering for anyone especially children who are still learning and developing skills in these areas. She also believes in educating teachers and parents/caregivers so that as a holistic team, the best support can be rendered to the child. Having worked with the aboriginal community in Australia, she also demonstrates inclusiveness and cultural sensitivity in her practice. Apart from work, Thivya also has a passion for children and spends time volunteering to teach students academic subjects and enjoys playing with her baby cousins.

Thivya has attended trainings on Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the Noah’s Ark Keyworker Course – which focuses on client-centred practice. Recently, she also attended the Emergenetics Training to promote better working practices in a team.

University of Sydney – Masters of Education (Special Education)

Humboldt State University (California) – Bachelor of Psychology

Manjula graduated from the University of Sydney with a Masters of Education. Her career has seen her working in the area of Early Intervention in various countries from Sri Lanka to Australia. In the last few years, she has worked in Singapore within in the private sector as a manager and teacher in Early Intervention Programmes.

Manjula is accredited by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). She is a member of SENIA (Singapore chapter), Community Childcare Cooperative (Australia) and the Association for Early Childhood Educators (AECES-Singapore).

Manjula’s experience working with children of diverse needs within various communities and countries has instilled in her the importance of working in partnership with families. She uses play, inquiry, and interest-based teaching to help children learn holistically.

DIRFloortime (101)

Social Thinking Curriculum

Supporting Sensory Needs in the Classroom

Attention Autism

Deakin University – Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology)

Suresh graduated from Deakin University with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology. He has been working as Special Needs Teacher since 2005.

Suresh believes that every child has strengths and difficulties that are unique to them and when working with them, he does his best to understand what they are. Together with his team, Suresh works towards building and expanding the children’s strengths and finding optimal ways that they can manage and overcome their difficulties.

Developmental Play Foundation Course 2020

Handling Sensory Issues Workshop 2020

Early Start Denver Model Introduction Course Workshop 2021

Attention Autism 2022

Active Learning in Future-Oriented Education 2022

Liverpool John Moores University - Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Primary - with SEN)

University of Ulster (Northern Ireland) - Bachelor of Science in Sports Coaching

Anita graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Over her career, Anita has taught in various settings of Educational needs in England and Australia. For the last three years, Anita had been based in an Autistic Specialist School in Melbourne.

Anita believes every child can build a love for learning and become independent lifelong learners. She uses a student-centred approach and works closely with families to help children reach their goals and their full potential.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor USA – Degree in Psychology

Germaine graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Degree in Psychology. Upon graduation, she started working with children with special needs aged 2 – 6 years old, particularly individuals on the Autism Spectrum. She has gained experience in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) for the past few years both in the United States and in Singapore. During her years of teaching, she has worked with children of varying developmental profiles.

Germaine has a strong interest in working with younger individuals with special needs and believes that there is so much potential for each child. She believes in teaching so that each child has a chance to learn and grow in the best way they can!

Registered Behaviour Technician with BACB

Attention Autism

Active Learning in Future Oriented Education

James Cook University – Bachelor of Science (Psychology)

Zoey graduated from the James Cook University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She has also attained a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and is an experienced Special Needs Teacher. Zoey has worked with centres in Singapore as an Early Intervention Teacher to provide special education and support for children with additional needs.

Zoey believes in working closely with families of her students. From her experiences, she consciously puts in the effort to be flexible and adaptable in her teaching to help children learn and develop to their fullest potential.

Attention Autism

Temasek Polytechnic - Diploma in Early Childhood Studies

Shivaanii graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a Diploma in Early Childhood Studies.

She has worked as an English Language in PAP Community Foundation.

Shivaanii believes that very child is unique and an are their own individual. As an educator, she understands the children’s value and works towards developing each child's strengths, interests, skills, abilities and knowledge to extend their learning.

Attention Autism

National Institute of Education – Diploma in Special Education

National Institute of Education – Diploma in Child Psychology and Early Education

Farhanah graduated from the National Institute of Education with a Diploma in Special Education and Diploma in Child Psychology and Early Education. She has experience working with primary-aged children with intellectual disabilities and co-existing conditions, as a special education teacher in a Voluntary Welfare Organisation. Farhanah has carried out various learning and behaviour intervention strategies with the support of a multidisciplinary team and families, in her special education classroom.

Farhanah believes in building rapport and her mantra to learning is ‘Move your body, Boost your brain!’

Attention Autism

Temasek Polytechnic – Diploma in Early Childhood Studies

Ngee Ann Polytechnic – Advanced Diploma in Special Needs

Sophia graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a Diploma in Early Childhood Studies and further pursued an Advanced Diploma in Special Needs at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She has experience working as an Early Interventionist and was the case manager for children aged 2-6 years old with wide range of disabilities of moderate to high support needs. Sophia has special interest working with children with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and their families. She carried out activity-based intervention together with the support of a multidisciplinary team and their families.

Sophia believes in allowing each child’s ‘voice’ to shine through and to celebrate the everyday achievements in their life.

Learn to Play (Karen Stagnetti)

James Cook University Singapore – Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education

Sneha graduated from James Cook University Singapore with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. As a part of her professional placements, Sneha has developed skills in working with students of different age-groups and abilities in both local and international preschool settings. Sneha was first interested in special education after she was placed in a special education school where she learnt different interventions and strategies to promote students’ holistic development and learning. Sneha’s interest in this field led her to volunteer as a special education teacher assistant in a private early intervention program.

Sneha strongly believes that education is necessary for children to develop a confident self-identity. She hopes to create engaging learning opportunities and environments which are responsive to each child’s needs. This would help her nurture them holistically and support them to reach their highest potential.