Hi, I’m Nicola

I’m an Occupational Therapist, mother of two, horse rider, and someone deeply passionate about animals, neuroscience, and a whole-child approach to health and development.

My journey into Occupational Therapy began after a significant accident when I was 18. That experience ignited a deep desire to improve the support available for others facing complex health challenges, because I knew firsthand how difficult it could be to navigate recovery without the right guidance and support.

I wanted to make sure no one had to face the same uncertainty I did in the years that followed.

While studying Occupational Therapy, I completed several paediatric placements, and it was there that my passion for working with children truly began to grow. After graduating, I worked full-time in paediatrics, where I had the opportunity to further develop my clinical skills and support families through a wide range of developmental challenges.

In 2021, I became a mother myself, a moment that changed everything, both personally and professionally.

Motherhood gave me a completely new perspective.

Like so many parents, I found myself asking questions about my own child’s development and searching for answers that often felt difficult to find. That journey led me far beyond traditional therapy models and into a much deeper understanding of sleep quality, airway health, oral function, nervous system regulation, and the foundations of neurodevelopment.

I began learning more about primitive reflexes, sensory systems, oral motor function, and the way these foundational systems shape sleep, feeding, speech, movement, emotional regulation, and learning.

After years of being dismissed, we eventually found the right team to support my son.

That experience taught me so much, not only about environmental health, sinus-gut-brain connections, inflammation, and nervous system function, but also about how deeply parents need to feel heard during these journeys.

It reinforced something I now bring into every family I work with:
Parents know when something doesn’t feel right.
And they deserve to be listened to.

Today, my son is thriving with the right support, and I feel incredibly grateful for how much that journey shaped me, not only as a parent, but as a clinician.

I have since invested hundreds of hours into further professional development in Functional Neurodevelopment and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy, allowing me to offer a more comprehensive, root-cause approach to supporting children and families.
I have trained with leading providers across Australia and learned from some of the frontrunners in this field internationally.

While I never promise to have all the answers, I am deeply committed to ensuring every family feels heard, supported, and never dismissed.

And if I’m not the right fit, I will always help guide you toward the people who are.

Because helping your child thrive should never feel like something you have to navigate alone.

Professional Development Completed:

• Bachelor of Occupational Therapy with distinction

• Brain Connex Therapy - Brain Development for Function Part 1 and 2. Focus on Melillo Method and and MNRI

• Dr Josh Madsen - Unraveling the Brain for Practitioners - 3 month intensive study and mentorship

• Breaking Barriers Summit for ASD and Mental Health

• Previously mentored by Paediatric Functional Neurologist Dr Renee O’Connor

• Sensational Brain - Primitive Reflexes: Screening, Compensation Techniques, and Treatment.

• Sensational Brain - Visual Skills and their Impact on Learning

• MyoCircle - 16 week advanced Myofunctional Therapy Course

• MyoFocus Take Off to OMT - Introductory Myofunctional Therapy course

• MyoMunchee Certified Provider

• Various lectures presented by Dr Kyle Daigle and Dr Brandon Crawford

• Plus many, many more.