Jacqui qualified in South Africa in 2015 and has since specialised in paediatrics and young adults. She has experience in a variety of settings including hospitals, special needs, mainstream and college level educational institutions. Jacqui spent 3 years working in a rural special needs school in South Africa, providing therapy for children with intellectual and physical impairments, who came from multicultural, multi-lingual backgrounds, often with more than one disability. Jacqui’s approach is extremely creative and resourceful in order to maximise children’s engagement and independence in all activities including those at school, play, leisure and self-care skills such as dressing and feeding. This is devised through home and school-based treatment plans, that are uniquely tailored to each child.
Jacqui has worked with a variety of disabilities including cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism and sensory processing disorders, muscular dystrophy, global developmental delays and learning disabilities. Her areas of expertise include classroom adaptations, seating equipment, sensory strategies, self care, handwriting intervention, gross motor, fine motor and perceptual skills. She has experience in running interactive cerebral palsy and autism support groups for parents, as well as training for staff members.
She is passionate about paediatrics and supporting children to reach their potential, while working closely with the multi-disciplinary team and providing open communication with parents to set realistic goals, from helping with handwriting to children with highly specialised needs.