Kelly is an AuADHD Educational Therapist, Counsellor/Psychotherapist, Teacher and Learning and Behaviour Specialist who provides neuroaffirming capacity building supports for neurodivergent young people, their families and individual adults. Kelly works from the social model of disability and neuroaffirming framework, where neurodivergence is seen as a natural part of diversity rather than a disorder.
Kelly is also a lived experience educator and parent to seven neurodivergent children. She provides practical strategies to assist people to understand their needs to help them to address challenges proactively. This may result in functional capacity improvements and can support therapeutic goals, e.g. social and communication differences/challenges, psych education and training, emotional regulation, developing further understanding of diagnosis/neurodivergent identity and how this affects different parts of daily life functioning and psychosocial functioning across different domains.
An Educational Therapist is a professional who works one-on-one with young people, families and adults to deconstruct learning and behaviour differences/challenges (noting that ‘learning’ is not specifically to do with school/education but rather learning skills in the context of their neurotype/disability). Kelly has completed tertiary training in education from early childhood to secondary, counselling and psychology. She works closely with schools to support IEP and DIP applications for students, provides informed practical strategies to individuals, parents and educators/schools for ‘school can’t’, and helps families and teachers with the engagement and supporting of autistic and ADHD kids in across home and school. Kelly has been providing professional development trainings to teachers for over ten years.
Kelly uses the client’s spins to inform the therapy - e.g. Lego, Minecraft (she creates realms online according to interest and challenges are explored via the realm - e.g. deconstructing neurodivergent neurotype and individualised challenges, e.g. emotional capacity/coping skill building, understanding triggers), books and comics, gaming both video and tabletop, Pokémon, Dungeons and Dragons, ‘pop culture/nerd’ interests. Kelly also draws on Nature based therapy, Therapeutic horticulture practices, Narrative therapy, Bibliotherapy, DBT and ACT and sees the therapeutic space as collaborative, trauma focussed, and client led.
In addition, she is a registered and licensed Circle of Security Facilitator (parenting and family attachment program). She enjoys supporting parents of neurodivergent kids and teens with practical affirming strategies and psych education around neurodivergent diagnoses and challenges.
As a registered Lego Therapy and Serious Play Method Facilitator, she runs The Bright Minds Brick Club (LEGO) and a variety of online special interest social groups for neurodivergent primary and secondary kids (Pokémon, Minecraft, Fortnite, Dungeons and Dragons, etc). During school holidays she regularly runs Lego Therapy workshops for Siblings and Families, Sprout Squad (therapeutic horticulture) and practical strategies for parenting ND kids and teens workshops.
From March 2025, Kelly will be able to offer EMDR (eye movement desensitisation re-processing to clients who may need support healing through traumatic memories and experiences.
