Occupational Therapy Meet The Team

Occupational Therapy Consulting Specialists

Leanie Eksteen

Leanie graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, with a Bachelors Degree in Occupational in 1993. She has since worked all over the world in diverse cultural communities and a variety of settings, providing services to all ages. In the last 15 years, she has focused her practice on her primary reason for becoming an OT: children and families.

She moved to the Central Coast in 2013 and loves the Australian bush, ocean and sunshine. She can be found biking, hiking, swimming, paddling, and playing in the outdoors with her family and friends in her free time. She values relationships and community and this is heavily reflected in her practice. She is raising three children and understands the challenges of parenting in our current day, and she aims to work within each family’s unique value system.

She enjoys working with children of all ages, but her special interest lies in the development of literacy skills, executive functioning, infant and toddler development. Her early years approach is play based, messy and hands-on, and for older kids, she approaches challenges from a cognitive approach.

Tinet Du Plessis

Tinet has a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, 2008. She is Sensory Integration trained and has 12 years’ work experience within the paediatric field. Her client group ranges from 0 - 18 years old with special interests in early intervention, planning difficulties and sensory processing difficulties. She is passionate about her work and helping children and their families. She acknowledges that play and playfulness are children’s main occupation and essential means to learn and grow and therefore considers herself the luckiest person to play for a living.
Tinet and her family have relocated to Australia and has been living in the Central Coast since January 2019. She loves being outdoors and spending quality time with her family. Being a mom of 2 young children, she understands the importance of a family-centred therapy approach. She strives to advocate for her little clients and empower their families with skills and knowledge to best understand and help their children.

Miranda Chase

Miranda graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science specialising in Occupational Therapy from Auckland University of Technology in 2016. Miranda is now beginning her Paediatric OT career with us after gaining experience in work place rehabilitation both in New Zealand and Australia.
Miranda is very motivated to help kids unlock their potential and gain confidence in completing their everyday tasks. She has a keen interest in sensory and emotional regulation, social skills, gross and fine motor development and working with children to improve their daily living skills by providing fun and engaging goal oriented therapy. Miranda uses a family centred approach and aims to empower all caregivers in the child’s life to achieve the best outcomes. She looks forward to furthering her education and training within the paediatric domain of occupational therapy.

Outside of work, Miranda loves making the most of good weather by going hiking or surfing. She’s also a passionate Water Polo Player and has coached kids of various ages for the past 9 years.

Olivia Mclean

Olivia received her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from Australian Catholic University, North Sydney in 2018. Olivia is a friendly and highly motivated OT whose passion for wanting to help others makes it easy for her to build rapport with the families that she works with.

Olivia is very excited to commence her career in paediatric OT at Kidspoint Mingara, after gaining experience in the aged care sector and in occupational rehabilitation. Her experience and on-going professional development have helped her develop clinical skills; gain exposure to a diverse range of clients and conditions, ensuring that she implements current best practice in her sessions

She is particularly passionate about empowering kids to improve their fine and gross motor skills and increase their independence in play and self-care activities. Olivia is looking forward to creating bonds with each child and their family to provide individualised, and engaging interventions to best support them in achieving their goals.

Olivia has lived on the Central Coast her entire life and is continually amazed at the beautiful beaches, bush and community that we are lucky to be a part of. When not at work she enjoys walking her dog, reading, crafts, and a little bit too much television!

Joanna Alborough - Physiotherapist

Joanna is practicing from KidsPoint at Tumbi Umbi .
Jo has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy graduating from Charles Sturt University in 2004. She is a practicing member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and is registered with the Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency.
She has 15 year experience in working with Children of all ages in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Joanna is passionate about health and movement in children and endeavors to facilitate children to participate and engage in meaningful activities.
Joanna enjoys working as part of a team with children and their families as well as alongside others including other therapists, paediatricians, general practitioners, early childhood educators and teachers to enable children and their families to flourish in their environment whether this be home, community, preschool and/or school. Joanna engages with children and their families to strive to provide a holistic, functional and family-centred approach.
Joanna has experience providing assessment and intervention in a range of children who have difficulties but not limited to:
Gross motor difficulties- balance, posture, ball skills, strength, running, co-ordination, hypermobility.
Developmental Delay
Early intervention for premature babies or high risk babies.
Gait/walking issues such in-toeing, out-toeing, flat feet, bow legs, knock knees, and toe walking.
Neurological issues.
General development issues/concerns.
Orthopaedic conditions including positional and structural talipes, developmental dysplasia of the hip, plagiocephaly, and torticollis.
Outside of work Joanna loves spending time with her husband, three children and friends. She loves being at home and playing board games, swimming and campfires as well as exploring the beautiful Central Coast through bush walking and mountain biking.
Liv Body - Occupational Therapist

“ Olivia graduated with a degree in Occupational Therapy from the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney. Olivia is thrilled to specialise as a paediatric OT after spending the start of her career in a community setting working across the lifespan and gaining experience in the assistive technology space.
Olivia is passionate about working alongside families to create inclusive environments that inspire and connect. Her main areas of interest include sensory integration, gross motor, school readiness and working with children to develop self-help skills through individualised play-based therapy. Olivia uses family-centred therapy in natural settings to support children and their loved ones achieve meaningful goals at home, school or in the community. She understands that every child and family is unique, and tailors’ therapy accordingly.
Away from the OT world, Olivia loves spending time at the beach with her two dogs Stella and Hank. She also has a keen interest for car racing and exploring new campgrounds on the central coast”.
Kate Miller - Occupational Therapist

Kate is an occupational therapist who has worked with children, adolescents and adults on the central coast for over 15 years. She has more than 10 years experience in the disability sector providing services to people with physical and intellectual disabilities as well as those with ASD. She has worked extensively in clinic, home, school and preschool environments to deliver holistic services to her clients as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Kate is passionate about helping children and adolescents (0-18) achieve their best potential and has particular interest in early intervention(0-5yrs).
Kate has experience providing assessment and intervention in:
Self-care skills
Motor skills
Sensory processing skills
Pre-writing and handwriting skills
Play skills
Equipment prescription- through Enable, NDIS and charitable organisations.
Kate works with the parents of young children so they have the confidence and skills to assist their little ones to reach their goals. In working with older children and adolescents, Kate engages with the child in setting goals that are meaningful to them and to take increasing responsibility for their health and wellbeing. Kate loves working as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide children and their families with a holistic, person and family-centred approach. Having young children of her own she also understands the importance of making recommendations realistic for families. Kate is a registered occupational therapist with APHRA and a member of OT Australia.

Holly Huckstep

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
Holly graduated from Australian Catholic University in 2019 and has since been working in private paediatrics in the Inner of West Sydney. Holly grew up on the Central Coast and after living in Sydney for 7 years has decided to move back to be closer to family and friends.
Holly’s professional mission is deeply rooted in creating an environment that embraces diversity, inclusivity for every child and teenager. She firmly believes that every child deserves equal access to opportunities for growth, learning and leisure activities. With a keen focus on sensory processing, emotional regulation and executive functioning, Holly is dedicated to empowering children to thrive in all aspects of their lives.
Central to Holly’s practice is her commitment to adopting a neurodiverse affirming approach in her interventions. She understands and celebrates the unique strengths and abilities of each child and teenager, fostering an environment where differences are not only accepted but embraced.
Holly has training in a range of therapeutic approaches, including DIR Floortime, sensory processing and modulation, interoception, self-regulation, occupational performance coaching, accidental counselling, co-regulation, toileting and neuro-affirming practice.