Early Years

Presenter(s) for this Course

• Meg Hodgson

  Meg Hodgson

  Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (University of Otago)

  Meg Hodgson, being from New Zealand, carried out her studies in her home country, and upon graduation made the move to Sydney to pursue her passion in paediatrics. Meg has been an occupational therapist since 2020 and has been working at Giant Steps since 2021. Meg finds joy in working with children to make their activities of daily living more meaningful and accessible while encouraging them to meet their potential through fun and creative ways. Meg highly values teamwork and collaboration whilst using a holistic approach to therapy.

• Nicole Dugdale

  Nicole Dugdale

  Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy (Charles Sturt University)

  Nicole Dugdale has been working as a Speech Therapist since 2017 and working at Giant Steps since 2022. Nicole previously worked in early intervention in Sydney and then worked in London in primary schools with children aged 4-11 years. Nicole is passionate about supporting young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disability, as well as their families to be able to gain independence with their communication in whatever way is best for them. Nicole also enjoys working in a team with other therapists, teachers and educators to provide a holistic approach to supporting communication, language development and social interactions. Believing that when everyone works together; parents, family, educators, teachers and therapists, a young person is able to achieve and be at their best.

• Sarah Rawlins

  Sarah Rawlins

  Master of Special Education (University of Newcastle)
  Bachelor of Education (Music Education) (University of Sydney)
  Graduate Certificate in Music Therapy (University of Technology Sydney)

  Sarah is the Co-Director of Primary and has been working in the field of Special Education for over 15 years with a special interest in Early Childhood early intervention. She has worked closely with both families and mainstream Early Childhood education and care settings to foster and support successful partnerships and collaborative teams around the child and family. Additionally, she has provided training and support to mainstream settings to build capacity and develop quality inclusive practices to support the inclusion of all children within Early Childhood settings.