Our Employees


Georgina Ahrens  
Georgina gained her Bachelor of Applied Science—Occupational Therapy from the University of Sydney in 1996.  She has always worked in Paediatrics initially in an early intervention team, working with children with a variety of disabilities.  She then pursued further training by traveling to the United States and England.  While in America she worked with a leading paediatric occupational therapist, Rosemary White OTR/L.

Under her supervision and the guidance of specialist practitioners she was able to develop her skills initially in the area of Sensory Integration and then the DIR®/Floortime Model.   During this time she received extensive training and experience within the fields of  Sensory Integration, Auditory Integration and the Developmental Individual Difference Relationship Model (Floortime).  She has been trained and certified in the Therapeutic Listening Program, The Listening Program, Samonas, The Lift Program and most recently with the Integrated Listening Program (ILS). She has been trained in the Wilbaarger brushing protocol, the Alert Program, Handwriting without tears and a variety of other programs during the years.  She has been to a number of the ICDL conferences both the introductory April conferences and the ICDL professional conference in November and summer institutes and presented her work to her colleagues at these. She continues to be involved with peer reviews and professional groups to continue to refine and develop her skills.

Georgina returned to Sydney in 2003 and established Kids World to provide these services to the clients within the Sydney metropolitan area.  Over the past eleven years Georgina has continued to develop her  experiences in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Sensory Integration Dysfunction.  She has a passion for working with the children and their families, and feels that she continues to learn as much from them as they from her.  In addition to her extensive clinical work Georgina provides professional lectures and parent workshops to share her knowledge with others both within Australia and internationally.

Georgina is married to Chris who made the move with her from the states, and supports and assists her with the practice. She has three beautiful girls; Mollie, Heidi, and Phoebe, who keep her busy in her spare time.  She loves to spend time outdoors especially at the wonderful beaches in Sydney and skiing both in Australia and North America in winter.

Louisa Hunter   
Louisa received her degree in Occupational Therapy from Oxford Brooks University, England in 2001.  Prior to joining Kids World, she has gained experience in a number of psychiatric rehabilitation settings including inpatient and community services, working closely with child and adolescents, adults and the elderly communities.  It has always been a passion of Louisa’s to work with children and their families.

Initially developing this interest through working as a ‘camp councilor’ with Camp America throughout her degree program, following which she worked closely with the National Autistic society, London, to provide help and support to children with autism and their families. Louisa moved to Australia in September 2006, and has embraced the DIR®/Floortime Model and integrated this into her work, recognizing the importance of family involvement in therapy, and enjoys working closely with her clients.

Louisa has attended continuing education training that has strengthened her knowledge of DIR®/Floortime Model and Sensory Integration.Through this practice Louisa has been involved with the DIR®/Floortime parent training course, and is involved in planning and supervising the DIR®/Floortime social camps held each holidays.

In her spare time, Louisa enjoys traveling, exploring cultural and ethnic diversity, visiting new places here in Australia.  She has an enthusiasm for arts and staying healthy through running, surfing and swimming and diving.

Janie Rutter   
Janie graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Newcastle in 2003.  She started her career as an Occupational Therapist working for the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care with clients with Developmental Disabilities in residential care.  In 2005 Janie headed to the United Kingdom to broaden both her professional and life experiences.  She worked throughout the United Kingdom addressing the postural and mobility needs of both adults and children. Upon returning to Australia she took a position consulting on the customized wheelchair and positioning needs of children with physical disabilities.  

Janie has always been passionate about working with kids with sensory processing and developmental disabilities and over the past few years has continued to expand her knowledge in this area.  She has attended a number of post graduate training in the areas of Sensory Processing, Paediatric Anxiety Management and Developmental Orthopedics.  Through this practice Janie has been involved in specific DIR®/Floortime Model training and is strengthening her skills in weekly mentoring and supervision. Janie is involved in the planning and running of our holiday social camps. 

In her spare time, Janie enjoys socializing with friends, exploring the city and its culture and hanging out at the beach. 

Laura Latimer
Laura Latimer earned her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in the United States in 2009. Prior to KidsWorld Laura travelled around the States gaining experience in many settings; including a burn trauma hospital, skilled nursing facility, an inpatient hospital and a brain trauma outpatient clinic. However, her favourite experience was working with some amazing kids in a home health paediatrics setting. She is very thankful for the skills she acquired and knowledge she gained from each unique opportunity. 

 

During Laura's paediatric experience she worked with children with varied disabilities. She gained knowledge in sensory integration, and worked with many kids on the autism spectrum disorder. She co-developed and presented a visual learning program specifically for children on the spectrum. She also attended a post graduate course on autism and behaviours. Laura's passion has always been in working with children and their families, and she is committed in continuing to grow as a therapist. Through Kids World Laura is involved with DIR/Floortime training, including strengthening her skills in weekly supervision and mentoring.

 

Laura is very excited to be living in Australia, a move she's been planning and looking forward to for years. She loves travelling and is excited to see more of this ''lucky country” while she is here. She’s also involved in photography in her spare time, enjoys live theatre and will never turn down a good cup of coffee with friends.

 

Gloria Gallardo-Walker

Gloria initially received a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Ecology, specifically Child and Adolescent Development, from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She went on to become a preschool teacher, teaching at both the East and West side preschools of the University of Illinois in Chicago. Here her interest in working with children with special needs grew, and led her to intern as a Child Life Specialist at Wyler Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Gloria received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Rush University in 1999. Gloria then worked in Early Intervention in Chicago’s low income, Hispanic neighbourhoods for a non-profit multidisciplinary organisation, called ‘El Valor’ which means courage and bravery. Here she worked with young disadvantaged children, co-facilitating Sensory and Feeding groups.

 

In 2001 Gloria married an Australian and in 2003 moved with him to Australia. She and her husband now have 3 children; 2 girls and a boy in between. Despite the demands of motherhood, Gloria has not stopped learning, through continued education courses in occupational theory, and teaching, from her knowledge base, to preschool teachers in her local area. She has furthered her paediatric learning with play, speech, literacy, writing, assessing, clinical observations, working with young children with autism, and DIR/Floortime courses. Gloria became enraptured by Georgina’s ‘wooing’ skills after attending her DIR/Floortime course. When her third child was old enough to go to preschool, she and Georgina were able to meet again, thus allowing Gloria to join the much-loved group of occupational therapists at Kidsworld Paediatric Occupational Therapy!

 

In her rare spare moments, Gloria enjoys walking, and loves the skyping technology that allows her to talk to and see her family in Chicago. She relaxes by having living room campouts in sleeping bags where she cuddles up with her husband and kids to watch movies. She also likes to write science fiction stories for and based on her own children.

 

Cheryl Bladen

Information coming soon!

Sarah Wilkes-Gillan

Sarah gained a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) with Honours from the University of Sydney. During this time Sarah researched the play and social skills of children with ADHD, providing a play-based intervention that served to address the social difficulties experienced by these children. While conducting the intervention, Sarah worked closely with both children and their families to ensure skills were transferred to the home environment. Sarah will present her research at the Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference, July 2011.

Sarah developed her passion for paediatric therapy while researching and while volunteering at an early intervention centre for children with Autism. Before joining Kids World, Sarah worked for the Brain and Mind Research Institute where she assessed the social skills of children with Autism.

Sarah is dedicated to continuing her education and training. Recently she attended the Test of Playfulness (ToP) training workshop run by Professor Anita Bundy as well as completing the DIR®/Floortime Introductory Training Course. Sarah continues to strengthen her skills in DIR®/Floortime through weekly mentoring and supervision.

In her spare time Sarah is investigating the impact of pragmatic language difficulties on children’s play and social skills. Sarah also likes to spend her time having coffee with friends, running and going to the beach with her husband and also has an interest in travelling.

Emma Gill

Emma gained her degree in Speech Pathology and Therapy from Manchester University, England, in 2003. Since graduating, she has worked in a variety of settings including clinics, specialist schools, mainstream schools and hospitals. She has primarily specialised in working with children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and learning disabilities.

She has undertaken postgraduate study in Dysphagia and has attended numerous external courses including TEACCH, PECS, Intensive Interaction and Makaton. She is now a member of Speech Pathology Australia.

Emma developed a passion for working with children with ASD and learning disabilities through voluntary work as a student, and later through working in a specialist school for children with ASD in the North West of England, where she was responsible for running the Speech and Language Therapy Department within the school and provided speech therapy support for students and their families.

Emma first became aware of the DIR/Floortime model about 5 years ago, and began using elements of the model within her therapy sessions. Since arriving in Australia she has been undergoing DIR/Floortime training with Georgina and continues to strengthen her skills in this approach through weekly mentoring and supervision.

In her spare time Emma enjoys travelling, and she is looking forward to exploring more of Australia. She is also a keen music fan and enjoys attending live music events and festivals.

Chris Ahrens

Chris earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bradley University in the US. He is a licensed US Certified Public Accountant and an Australian Chartered Accountant. He manages the Kids World finances along with providing general managerial support.

Shortly after moving to Australia, he and Georgina were married and quickly started a family along with a budding new business. He has three daughters and enjoys spending as much time as possible with them. In his spare time he enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding and fly fishing and is looking forward to introducing his children to these activities.

 

 

Janette Wallman

Janette gained a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) from Newcastle University in 2002. She has since worked a variety of jobs, including a long period as a QA food technician. These have all allowed her to develop a wide variety of administrative skills, which she is glad to bring to Kids World. She is very excited to be a part of the Kids World family.

Working between both Lane Cove and Brookvale offices as needed, Janette is here to help with administrative and organising duties. She is always happy to try to help with any questions!

On her weekends, Janette enjoys horseriding, reading and collecting comic books, and is learning the piano.