Quickstepz Paediatric Therapy

Established in 2007, Quickstepz Paediatric Therapy is an early intervention service that provides children with developmental delay/disability with a comprehensive intervention program that is tailored to meet their individual needs.

Quickstepz is designed with the flexibility to provide families with a treatment program that can function as the child’s primary or supplemental intervention program. Occupational Therapy intervention may be just a short-term burst of therapy or an ongoing process to build skills and allow your child to gain the confidence they need to maximise their potential and reach their goals. Therapy is provided through a range of individual 1:1 sessions with the parent and child or peer sessions (where the child is paired with a same aged child to promote social interaction). Close work with the child’s parents, therapists and preschool teachers is essential to ensure that the child’s needs are being met at home, preschool and in the community.

Therapy is provided on a regular weekly or twice-weekly basis and there are also options for more intensive therapy involving daily sessions across two weeks, repeated every three months.

Kate Boyce B.App.Sci (Occupational Therapy)

Director Kate Boyce B.App.Sci (Occupational Therapy) Honours (Class 1), specialises in working with babies and children with complex developmental issues. Kate graduated from Sydney University and has worked in Paediatrics since 2004. She has been trained in the following therapy approaches:

Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) certification track 2024

Introductory course through UC Davis, University of California-online.

Cuevas Medek Exercise (CME) Trained CME2

Trained with Ramon Cuevas in Chile, Santiago (Physiotherapist & Developer of CME) in 2023 to become qualified as a Level 2 CME practitioner. CME is dynamic and challenging set of exercises used to elicit improvements in posture, balance and motor control for babies and children with various developmental conditions. CME therapy exposes the child to the natural influence of the force of gravity with gradual progression to distal support.

Cuevas Medek Exercise (CME) Trained CME1

Trained with Simona de Marchi (Canadian PT, CME 4/trainer). CME is dynamic and challenging set of exercises used to elicit improvements in posture, balance and motor control for babies and children with various developmental conditions. CME therapy exposes the child to the natural influence of the force of gravity with gradual progression to distal support.

Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) Therapy Level A & B

Trained with Jo-Anne Weltman (Canadian PT). DMI is a therapeutic technique used by OT’s/PT’s to treat children with gross motor impairments by improving and/or provoking a desired action with great emphasis on alignment, sensory integration and function. The goal is to progress toward developmental milestones. DMI is a comprehensive intervention that incorporates current research on neurorehabilitation, technologies and methodologies.

DIR/Floortime® “Advanced” Therapist

Trained in the USA, three years running with Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental & Learning Disorders (2005, 2006, 2007). DIR/Floortime® is a comprehensive, evidenced based therapy approach for guiding intervention for children with ASD and similar developmental challenges impacting the child’s ability to interact and communicate with others.

Theratogs Certification (CTF1)

Theratogs are an orthotic undergarment that assists with postural alignment, midline orientation, and stability to improve muscle activation and motor coordination in a child with motor delay.

A referral to Quickstepz should be made if your baby/child is having difficulties in the following areas:

A referral to Quickstepz should be made if your baby/child is having difficulties in the following areas:
Unable to stand/not yet weight bearing by 12 months
Difficulty engaging with others, poor communication and limited interaction with others
Hypotonia (low muscle tone) or high muscle tone
Regulatory difficulties in sensory, behavioural and emotional regulation
Sensory Processing difficulties-problems processing and interpreting sensory stimuli either with an under-reactive or over-reactive response to sensation
Motor delays or difficulties in sequencing, spatial awareness, balance, coordination, poor use of hands
Difficulties with eating or feeding
Peer play skills, social difficulties
Poor attention/interest/engagement in the world
Difficulties dealing with daily challenges such as transitions, tricky behaviours

Quickstepz provides assessment, intervention or consultation for families of children and babies (as young as 4 months) with a range of risk factors or special needs conditions including:

Mild-severe developmental delays/Global Developmental Delay
Rare genetic conditions or chromosome disorders including Downs Syndrome, Fragile X, CDKL5, Rett Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, Microcephaly.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Cortical Vision Impairment
Mild Cerebral Palsy
Infants/toddlers at risk of developmental delay or ASD
Prematurity or hypoxic brain injury

Parents are seen as an integral part of therapy and are taught how to effectively interact with and support their child to climb the developmental ladder. They learn how to implement strategies to support motor development in their child at home. They learn strategies to ‘woo’ their child into the dance of social interaction and how to better maintain an interaction with their child. Parents learn how to ‘read’ their child’s cues, when and how to use sensory strategies to support their child to be more regulated and how they can modify their actions to help their child sustain the engagement. Parents are given home exercises to build physical strength and endurance to give the child the intensity of input they need in order to progress. Over time, the child becomes more willing to participate in movement based activities, less anxious and physically more capable of attempting a motor task. Through therapy, the children characteristically become more interactive with others, show an increase in their ability to demonstrate their intentionality and personality, show a decrease in frustration/explosiveness, become more spontaneous and meaningful in the way they communicate with others.

Further Training

Other training Kate has completed includes but is not limited to:

NDT Typical Child (0-12months) Development Module (Australian Bobath Neuro-Developmental Therapy Association).
Early Identification and Assessment of Sensory Motor Issues in Young Children. M. Hallway (OTR/L, SWC, C/NDT) NDTA
CATCH: An Evidence-based Intervention for Children with Hemiplegia. (Margo Haynes/Holly Holland-NDTA)
Advanced Bimanual Course: Evidence-based treatment for children with cerebral palsy. (Brian Hoare- CP Teaching)
Total Motion Release Tots & Teens. Susan Blum(Physiotherapist/Instructor, USA) Training ongoing.
Essential of Sensory Integration Assessment: Assessment of Foundational Mechanisms and Praxis (M. Benson OTR/L) Spiral Foundation
Infant Development: What’s Essential (NDT/Neuro-Developmental Technique) Kelly Reynolds (PT), Amanda Tandy (PT) ABNDTA
Maximizing Neuroplasticity and Minimizing Maladaptive Habits in Infants, Children and Teenagers with Cerebral Palsy, The Key to CP
Intensive Treatment Model (Pia Stampe, PT) Key To CP
Posture & Movement-How does Sensory Integration fit in? Gail Ritchie OTR/L
Using gravity to facilitate sensory-motor development in infants and children. Eileen Richter OTR/L
Supporting Motor Function Through Play. Kim Barthel OTR/L
Decoding Autism. From understanding neurobiology to choosing intervention strategies. Kim Barthel OTR/L
The Camp Jabiru Symposium: Perspectives on Sensory Modulation and Regulation. What we know from Science and how this transforms our treatment approach. T. Stackhouse (MA OTR); S. Lane (PhD, OTR); S. Frick (OTR, L); Osten (MS, OTR); C. Hui (MS, OT); C. Hacker (MS, OTR), Lynette Burke (OTR).
“The Action is in the Interaction” DIR/Floortime. Kathy Walmsley & Mari Caulfield
Therapressure© Brushing Protocol, having completed “Sensory Defensiveness”, presented by Patricia and Julia Wilbarger
The Alert Program– How Does Your Engine Run? Designed to teach children self-regulatory strategies.
The Traffic Jam in My Brain by Genevieve Jereb (OTR)
CATCH: An Evidence-based Intervention for Children with Hemiplegia. (Margo Haynes/Holly Holland-NDTA)
Advanced Bimanual Course: Evidence-based treatment for children with cerebral palsy. (Brian Hoare OT- CP Teaching)
Total Motion Release Tots & Teens. Susan Blum (PT/Instructor, USA) Training ongoing.