Avalon Nixon

After completing an undergraduate degree in occupational therapy at the University of Sydney, Avalon moved to Perth and worked for two years in a paediatric private practice. While there, she received extensive training and mentoring from two of the most established and knowledgeable paediatric occupational therapists. Inspired to continue learning, Avalon returned to Sydney and completed a Masters in Occupational Therapy to specialise in paediatrics. Avalon started Qualia in 2010 with the wish to create the highest quality service for children and their families. To ensure Qualia maintains the best support, Avalon has continued her relationship with the university, occasionally teaching in the paediatric stream. Avalon is also currently completing a PHD in the field of paediatrics, measuring organised writing and the impact of cognitive strategy on performance.

Avalon is married to the lovely Perth fellow she moved interstate for all those years ago and has three beautiful children – Henry, and twins, Madeline and Odette. Understandably, Avalon is certainly able to empathise with a busy family life and maintaining a work/life balance each day.

Avalon’s favourite game to play with a child is hopscotch and if she could time travel she would travel to the future!

Sophie-Anna Barling

Sophie-Anna is a co-director of Qualia. She has specialised in paediatrics for many years and has experience working in a variety of settings, including at the Children’s Hospital Network, within schools, preschools and home environments. Sophie-Anna is committed to evidence based practice and continually engages in professional development to ensure she is best equipped to assist children to reach their potential.

Sophie-Anna is the co-chair of the OT Australia NSW/ACT Paediatric Special Interest Group and is passionate about developing occupational therapy as a profession. Outside of work, Sophie-Anna is mum to a 3 year old named Dorothy and a 1 year old named George. Sophie-Anna loves playing music, sewing and craft, with (and without!) children by her side.

When Soph was a young girl she loved painting a fairy tree in her garden for the fairies to live in. If she was a fruit, she would be grapes because she loves to have people around her!

Mark Maddison

Mark, an enthusiastic and friendly occupational therapist, has always been passionate for helping children reach their potential in all aspects of life. Qualified with a Masters as both a Primary School Teacher and occupational therapist from the University of Sydney, he has always enjoyed working with children and chose to focus on occupational therapy to be able to work with those who had learning and developmental difficulties, helping children on a more individual level to reach goals that are meaningful to them and their families. Mark also loves playing soccer, exploring different countries and cultures, and playing with his dog Dory.

If Mark was a fruit he would be a Mango, because then he’d be living in a tropical place, hopefully near a beach. If he could time travel, he would go back in time to see the dinosaurs!

Sarah Bookey

Sarah is a passionate and caring occupational therapist, who completed her masters degree at University of Canberra. Sarah has worked in a range of paediatric settings throughout the last ten years and has a strong passion for working with children. She is committed to working collaboratively with schools, teachers and families. Sarah loves seeing the change in confidence within kids when they reach their goals. In her spare time Sarah enjoys playing netball, going to plays and spending time with her friends.

Sarah loves to play dress ups with children she works with. When she was little, her favourite toy was a doll called Rosie.

Paige Cummins

Paige is an empathetic and kind therapist who is passionate about supporting children and their families to achieve meaningful and individualised goals. Paige believes in the importance of providing fun and creative evidence-based approach to all of her therapy. Paige studied at Australian Catholic University and graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.

Paige discovered her passion to support and assist children whilst working in Broome, Western Australia and as a community support worker with primary and high school aged children. Paige has worked with children with a range of abilities and diagnoses, including sensory processing difficulties, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, emotional regulation difficulties and trauma backgrounds.

In her spare time, Paige enjoys playing soccer, board games with her family and friends, painting and playing with her dog Oliver.

Lena Eschmann

Lena is a creative and driven occupational therapist, who joins the team with a versatile skill set. Following a very successful career in Events and Marketing, Lena retrained as an occupational therapist, graduating from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) First Class Honours.

Lena is passionate about working with children to facilitate growth and change, to positively impact their lives. Lena understands the importance of collaborating with parents, carers, educators and children to achieve target outcomes together. Lena has a healthy obsession for researching the most innovative, creative and playful activities to engage children in therapy. With a warm and welcoming personality, Lena makes children and their families feel comfortable and at ease quickly. As a mother of two beautiful (and cheeky) kids, Elka and Noah, Lena has a strong understanding of the challenges and commitments families may be facing.

Lena loves spending her free time outdoors (rain or shine) with her kids, husband, and dog Tiki. Lena’s favourite pastime as a youngster was jumping on the trampoline in summer with the sprinkler on. These days her passion lies on the yoga mat. Lena loves to engage children with music and movement, especially yoga to teach them about their mind, emotions and body.

Kate Spender

Kate is an enthusiastic and empathetic occupational therapist, who has a passion for working with children and their families. Kate graduated from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) Honours. As part of her honours research project, she studied the friendships of children and youth with ADHD.

Kate is excited to collaborate with parents, carers and teachers to develop the strategies that work best for their child in their daily life. Kate has experience working in primary schools, facilitating group programs at Qualia, and has volunteered at Cerebral Palsy Alliance. She adopts a strength-based approach to enable children to reach their goals in therapy and at home. She enjoys every opportunity to equip children with the tools to achieve their goals through fun activities.

Kate loves to play AFL and netball with her friends! When she was younger, Kate loved dancing and listening to music!

Kirrily Cheal

Kirrily is a friendly and devoted therapist who is passionate about helping children learn new skills and reach their potential. She completed the Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) First Class Honours at The University of Sydney.

Kirrily strives to make therapy meaningful and fun to support children to achieve their goals. She is dedicated to understanding the latest research to best support her clients and their families. Kirrily has experience working with clients with a range of diagnoses, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Global Developmental Delay, Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, intellectual disability, and speech delay.

Kirrily enjoys walking in nature and going on road trips. She spends her time catching up with family and friends and looking after her puppy, Georgie.

Georgia Dilley

Georgia is a kind and motivated therapist with a strong passion for supporting children and their families achieve goals that are meaningful to them. She completed her Occupational Therapy degree at The University of Sydney. Before working with Qualia, Georgia has previously worked as an occupational therapist supporting young people with a mental illness. She has experience working with children with a range of abilities and diagnoses from her past work and volunteering roles.

In her spare time Georgia enjoys playing netball, reading, embroidering and spending time with friends. When Georgia was a young girl, she loved playing on the monkey bars and colouring in.

Dechen Gendun

Dechen is a creative and motivated occupational therapist who is passionate about empowering and supporting children with their families to reach their goals potential. Dechen graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.

Dechen is excited to get to know each unique child and their family, working on their strengths and interests to develop strategies to achieve their goals. Dechen also has experience as a disability support worker further giving her a rich experience of supporting clients face to face.

Dechen is also a passionate professional street dancer who is active in the Sydney dance community. She enjoys entering/ judging battles and performing and using movement as a self expression.

Becci Swan

Becci is a Clinic Administrator at Qualia and has many years’ experience in administration in education, corporate companies and small businesses along with a Certificate IV in Frontline Management. She lives in Sydney’s Inner West with her husband and two children. In her spare time she enjoys music, travelling and trying out the best cafes. Becci also volunteers with her dog, Sydney the Schnoodle, through a local therapy dog organisation, Delta Therapy Dogs. She is always happy to help with any enquiries.

If Becci could time travel, she would go to London in the 1960s. If she was a fruit she would be a kiwi fruit, not because she is fuzzy but because her dad used to call her Kiwi!

Joanna Yee-Lai

Joanna is a lovely new member to the Qualia team, joining us as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, having recently completed her Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance. Prior to this, Joanna had a successful career as a qualified Financial Accountant and has since realised that her passion lies in working with children.

Joanna is an enthusiastic and amicable professional who strives to create a fun and nurturing environment by effectively supporting and encouraging children to successfully achieve their goals. She also has experience supporting children in an online capacity to gain confidence in their practical knowledge of the English language.

Joanna loves traveling, nature, wildlife and cooking. In her spare time, you can find her on the yoga mat, playing with her bird Rico, or relaxing with her husband.

Anna Thew

Anna is a Clinic Administrator for Qualia, with an accomplished background in events and sales management. She enjoys traveling, which including spending three years living abroad in the Philippines with her family. During this time, she worked with various charitable organisations that supported children. Anna now resides in the Hunters Hill community where her two boys recently completed their high school education. Anna is thrilled to work with the Qualia team to assist and support children and their families.

With a passion for fashion, Anna loves a shopping expedition on the weekends and enjoys staying fit by swimming (even in winter!) and running miles on the treadmill.

Lisa Rollins

Lisa oversees the administrative and business operations as Qualia’s Practice Manager. Before joining Qualia, Lisa oversaw the day-to-day operations of several corporate offices, primarily in the medical device industry and has also worked in medical device marketing. She is originally from the United States but has happily called Australia home for the last 10 years. She lives in Port Macquarie with her partner and their energetic toddler, Rosie. When she isn’t chasing after Rosie, Lisa enjoys playing tennis and spending time in the kitchen baking sweet treats.

When Lisa was a little girl, she had a stuffed bear named Chubby who went absolutely everywhere with her. Chubby is now happily retired from a toy’s life and lives with Lisa’s parents in Florida.