School Years: Twilight Series

Presenter(s) for this Course

• Caitlin Millauro

  Caitlin Millauro

  Bachelor of Arts (Macquarie University)
  Bachelor of Education (Primary) (Macquarie University)
  Masters of Special Education (Macquarie University)

  Caitlin Millauro has worked across a variety of educational programs including primary age and young adult services. She has been involved with the Student Engagement Support Team at Giant Steps particularly focusing on the area of effective data collection. In 2018-19 Caitlin conducted a school-based research project, focusing specifically on effective literacy programs that can be adapted for students with additional learning needs.

• Cheryl Toth

  Cheryl Toth

  Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) (University of Western Sydney)
  Masters of Occupational Therapy (University of Western Sydney)

  Cheryl has worked at Giant Steps since 2017. Cheryl is particularly interested in working with children and young adults with autism and disabilities and has a growing interest in the ways cognitive rehabilitation can impact children with spinal cord injuries. Cheryl is passionate about assisting children to progress in their levels of independence and maintain or improve personal productivity in self-care skills, emotions, regulation, sensory processing, engagement and overall quality of life. Cheryl enjoys working as a part of a transdisciplinary team to support children not only in a classroom but also in the community to generalise skills across all contexts.

• Dr. Helen Appleton

  Dr. Helen Appleton

  Bachelor’s Degree of Science (major in Psychology) (Sydney University)
  Post Graduate Diploma in Social Psychology (Sydney University)
  PhD; ‘An Exploration of the Presence and Behavioural Manifestation of Anxiety for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability’ (2022)(Griffith University)

  Dr. Helen Appleton is the Family and Student Support Therapist for Giant Steps Australia. In this role, she oversees psychological supports throughout our schools, with a special interest in mental health concerns, complex support needs and interagency training and liaising. She has created a school-wide Siblings Support Program and is currently Director of the Rob Llewelyn-Jones Clinical Centre at Giant Steps.

  Helen is now sharing her research internationally, through conferences and upcoming publications. This unique research comes from her PhD completed in 2022 and focuses on how anxiety manifests in individuals with autism and an intellectual disability.

• Kaitlin Hunter

  Kaitlin Hunter

  Bachelor of Inclusive Education (Australian Catholic University)
  Masters of Teaching (Primary)(Australian Catholic University)

  Kaitlin Hunter has been a Teacher at Giant Steps Sydney since 2017 and is passionate about designing inclusive learning environments where every student can succeed. Working in both primary and secondary education and across abilities, Kaitlin has developed and implemented exciting and engaging learning lessons across the curriculum to best suit all of her students.

  Kaitlin’s dedication and compassion makes her an invaluable teacher within our organisation. She now draws on her expertise to mentor other teachers and educators at Giant Steps on how to create inclusive classrooms.

• Katherine Halter

  Katherine Halter

  Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences (Macquarie University)
  Master of Speech and Language Pathology (Macquarie University)

  Katherine Halter has been a Speech Pathologist at Giant Steps Australia since 2017. She is passionate about supporting people with disability and has experience in providing individualised assessment and intervention for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability including designing a variety of Alternative and Augmentative Communication systems to suit individual communication needs. She has worked alongside teachers to integrate these strategies and supports into teaching and learning experiences.

  Katherine enjoys working in a dynamic team environment with multiple professionals to provide a holistic approach to targeting communication and comprehension. Katherine has a passion for supporting carers and members of the wider community to understand and implement strategies and supports that promote the generalisation of skills across contexts.

• Natasha Craze

  Natasha Craze

  Bachelor of Health Science (Hearing and Speech) (University of Sydney)
  Masters of Teaching (Primary) (University of New England)

  Natasha Craze has worked at Giant Steps for almost 20 years supporting students aged between 5 – 17 years to participate in learning experiences including those in the wider community.

  During her time, Natasha has held a variety of roles including the teacher’s aide, classroom teacher and teacher mentor roles. Natasha uses her significant experience to support our team of educators and teachers to collaborate in our transdisciplinary team of allied health professionals and teachers. Natasha is passionate about helping other team members navigate and refine their teaching practice.