Spot’s Founder and CEO, Kate, is a mum of four, an Occupational Therapist and a Speech Pathologist. She has been practicing for over 20 years, and is one of those lucky people who absolutely loves her job. Spot has grown as a result of Kate’s passion for sharing her wealth of knowledge and clinical experience, to shape the professional and personal development of her team, and to enhance the lives of her clients.
Building a team of people who share common values, has always been a priority for Kate, and Spot itself has flourished into a welcoming place where a diverse team of therapists and admin staff support each other, with that energy following into the care of Spot’s clients.
Spot is a neurodiversity affirming practice, which means we celebrate differences and take a strengths-based approach when helping you to achieve your goals. We follow a relationship-based approach in all our services, and work hard to empower clients and their families to set meaningful goals, and pursue them in a manner that reflects personal values.
Kate herself has always had a passion for learning, and the growth of Spot has enabled her to continue her professional development. High-quality, evidenced based care was where Spot started many years ago. With the collective knowledge and experience of over 20 clinicians, Spot’s care model is always evolving.
Kate has completed training in many literacy intervention approaches, including Sounds~Write, The Spalding Method, THRASS, Read-3, the Lindamood-Bell Phoneme-Sequencing Program (LiPS), Seeing Stars and Talk for Writing. Training and experience using Nanci Bell’s Visualising and Verbalising program is also helpful to support comprehension of oral and written language. Kate also loves supporting kids with numeracy using multi-sensory programs including The Orton Gillingham Math Approach, On Cloud 9 and the Dyscalculia Assessment. Kate and her team are Professional Members of SPELD.
Kate is a certified Hanen ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ therapist and supports her client’s development using relationship-based approaches, including DIR Floortime (Dr Stanley Greenspan). She has completed several aligned courses, including introductory levels of Trust-Based Relationship Intervention, Theraplay and Mindfulness training. Holistic care is the essence of Kate’s approach.
Kate is especially passionate about supporting neurodivergent people throughout the lifespan, including autistic and ADHDers. She is a neurodiversity affirming clinician who leans away from a medical model that pathologizes neurodivergence. Training to administer the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale, is still something she views as a useful ‘tool’ in her kit. Kate is a firm believer in the power of diagnosis when it describes identity, because identity is the key to meaningful occupational and well-being.
Working as a dual qualified therapist, Kate became curious about the link between orofacial function and many other areas in her practice, including regulation, speech and feeding. This led to completion of study in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and courses in Breathing Retraining. This is now a major pillar of the care model at Spot, which Kate describes as an Airway Focused Practice. Kate now trains other professionals via her courses; The Breathing Link and The Oral Sensory-Motor Link.
In March 2023, Kate launched the next evolution of Spot; an online community of Neurodiversity Affirming people who provide services (everyday services like babysitting, cleaning, tutoring and personal training) that are respectful and inclusive. Spot Life was inspired by her own experience parenting neurodivergent children, and by the needs of her clients.
Outside of work, Kate is even busier, enjoying an active lifestyle with her husband, four young children and their new puppy Daisy. She swims every weekend at Coogee beach, even in winter, and brings breathwork into her personal life too!
