About Ability Focus Occupational Therapy
for children and families
Ability Focus Occupational Therapy (AFOT) provides assessment and therapy for children and adolescents. We offer clinic based treatment options at Georgetown as well as a mobile service for the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regions.
Ability Focus Occupational Therapy was born in 2013 by colleagues Rachel Elliott & Rhiannon Pilgrim. Since then the AFOT family has grown and we now have an amazing team of OTs, OT Assistants, Administration and Operations support and an incredible Practice Manager, Tim. Have a peek at our staff profiles to get to know us.
Our team share a common view in working with children & families ensuring that services are family focused and collaborative. We know the importance of consistency amongst therapists, so aside from being different people you can be assured that we all work the same as each other and you will be getting looked after no matter who your OT is.
Each OT takes a functional and practical approach to therapy; whatever we do at the clinic you can do at home. We know the importance of empowering the family and a big part of our approach is giving you some extra tools you as parents can use to help your child.
What our families love is the real family feel they get when you embark on your OT journey with us. You and your child will get to know not just your own OT but you’ll see the others around from time to time and may even stop to have a chat to them. Tim, Trish & Taya are always around and the kids love seeing them just as much as seeing their OT – sometimes they just want to hang out with them!
As a team, we are constantly upskilling ourselves and attend at least two formal courses a year in addition to constant research and mentoring. This ensures that your OT is always using best practice and evidence based strategies.
Occupational Therapist/Director Rachel has been working with kids and their families in the Newcastle area since graduating from the University of Newcastle. A passion for working...
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Occupational Therapist/Director Rhiannon started her career and her passion as an Occupational Therapist in 2007 after graduating from the University of Newcastle. Since then she has...
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Practice Manager Tim's background in Out of Home Care and Disability Case Management has given him an understanding of the complexity of accessing good support services...
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Operations Manager Trish is our Operations Manager who joined us in 2019. Together with her administration experience in the community services sector, Trish also has a...
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Administration Assistant Taya is our Administrative Assistant at Ability Focus Occupational Therapy. Taya is at the heart of our day to day operations, and the first...
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Occupational Therapist/Clinical Team Leader Sarah completed her degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle in 2017. During placement opportunities she has enjoyed working with...
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Jack first joined our team as an Occupational Therapy Assistant while completing his university studies in Occupational Therapy. Since graduating in 2020, Jack has been working...
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Occupational Therapist Jo completed her degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle (UON) in 2019. After completing occupational therapy placements with a diverse range...
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Occupational Therapist Jess graduated her degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle in 2020 . She has experience completing clinical placements within acute medical,...
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Occupational Therapist Lewis is a registered Occupational Therapist who initially joined our team as an Occupational Therapy Assistant whilst completing his 3rd year of his studies...
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Occupational Therapist Miriam is a registered Occupational Therapist who originally joined our team as an Occupational Therapy Assistant whilst completing her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at...
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Occupational Therapist Maddy completed her degree in Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University, Gold Coast and has a range of clinical education in a variety of...
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Occupational Therapist Jarriah “Jay” completed her university degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle in 2022. She conducted her clinical placements within acute stroke,...
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Occupational Therapist Bella completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in 2023, with placements in a paediatric clinic, community-based adult and aged care and acute mental health...
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Occupational Therapist Robyn completed her Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Newcastle in 2023. She has completed clinical placements across paediatrics, child & adolescent mental...
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Occupational Therapy Assistant Jacinta is an Occupational Therapy Assistant currently completing her Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Newcastle. After completing her placement with us...
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Occupational Therapy Assistant Amy is an Occupational Therapy Assistant currently completing her Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Newcastle. Amy was inspired to enrol into...
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Occupational Therapy Assistant Elly is an Occupational Therapy Assistant currently completing her Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Newcastle. She attributes her passion for Occupational...
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