Jenni Hawkins
Director/Occupational Therapist
Jenni loves working with children in their own home or education setting (child-care, kindergarten or school) as they feel more comfortable and it helps children transfer therapy into their everyday life.
Graduating from the University of South Australia, Adelaide in 1999 with a Bachelor of Applied Science – Occupational Therapy, Jenni quickly discovered her passion and joy for working with children.
Jenni is a mum to one beautiful daughter, a cheeky puppy, crazy cat, energetic turtle and 2 noisy chooks!
Using a holistic approach to working with children, she feels privileged to partner with families and be part of their journey.
Jenni has a strong grounding in the development of fine motor, attention, sensory processing, hand writing and literacy skills in children. She uses pretend play skills to boost a child’s communication, literacy and narrative skills. She has a special interest in children with delayed self-care skills including toileting and feeding. Her work often focuses on building social skills and emotional regulation.
Jenni has extensive experience working with school age children with attention and learning difficulties, supporting them to engage in the school curriculum to their best potential.
Sophie Papa
Speech Pathologist
Sophie has a calm and caring nature. Her patience helps her to listen to family’s needs and therefore provide a holistic therapy approach.
Graduating from the University of Queensland with Bachelors degrees in Health Sciences and Speech Pathology in 2020.
Sophie comes from a dance background and has been teaching dance to children of all ages for many years. Her passion for working with children and helping them achieve their goals stemmed from there and continues to grow.
The beach is one of her favourite weekend or holiday spots. She is always found in the kitchen cooking or walking her dog around the neighbourhood.
Natsumi Iwasaki
Speech Pathologist
Natsumi graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology in 2020. She is calm, patient and passionate about supporting children in their home and education settings. Her favourite part about being a mobile speech pathologist is that she can work with children in their everyday environments where they are most comfortable, and collaborate more closely with families and other key stakeholders.
She has a particular interest in literacy, language and Augmentative & Alternative Communication, but has experience working in the community supporting children and their families with a range of communication goals.
On the weekends, she loves going for a drive, listening to music and spending time with friends and family.
Michaela Mearns
Occupational Therapist
Michaela is a passionate, caring and calm Occupational Therapist, having graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Health Science (Occupational Therapy) in 2019. Her passion for working with children began when she worked with kids. schools and their families as part of the Surf Lifesaving Queensland community awareness team. Michaela enjoys supporting children within the following areas, including, self-care skills, emotional regulation, social skills, early intervention and functional academic skills.
Michaela likes to use a strengths-based, individualised and holistic approach and to tailor interventions to meet the needs of the child. Michaela enjoys collaborating with healthcare professionals, educators, and families to ensure comprehensive support within the child's natural environments.
Outside of work, Michaela enjoys spending quality time with her family, going to the beach, going to the markets and going camping. She is also excited to welcome her new yellow labrador puppy!
Sue Skopelitis
Administration
After moving to Australia from South Africa, Sue joined the team in an Administration capacity to allow her more time with her very busy, sporty boys. After many years in the Food Service Industry, joining the Whole Hearted Kids team is a welcome change that allows for a work life balance that better suits her family.
She is the proud Mum to two boys and a rescue Jack Russell (all the way from Africa).
Sue is a calm, organised person that offers support to both Clients and The Team wherever she can.
Therapy Assistants
We have an amazing team of Therapy Assistants that support our families at home and in their community. They each bring a unique set of skills and a shared passion:
Cameron
Kate
Keiko
De