Some people work for money, passion, recognition, influence, or a myriad of other motivations. For me, I wanted to help people. In 2008 I was in my early 20s and considering, “what do I want to do as a career?” I had met my wife about 6 months earlier and after a whirlwind romance we got married the same year.

Finding my ‘why’

I had recently returned from 2 years as a volunteer missionary in humanitarian roles in central Queensland, and at the time was working as a retail manager. Deep down, I knew that the retail industry wasn’t for me. I remember asking my dad for advice about what kind of long-term career pathway might give me the same satisfaction I had experienced as a volunteer. He suggested health sciences. Dad had a long career as a clinical psychologist and got the opportunity to make a difference to others daily.

As I explored the health science degrees at UniSC, I came across Occupational Therapy (OT). I had never met an occupational therapist before and had no idea what they did! With some research, it looked like a profession that offered plenty of different career pathways. So, I enrolled, and the rest is history.

I loved my time at uni. I met some awesome people and experienced a lot of personal growth, including a few aha moments, mostly on placement. One placement was in an aged-care facility, where an elderly lady with dementia mistook me for her late husband and proceeded to kiss me on the cheek while pinching my bottom! I realised then that the aged-care sector wasn’t for me. I really loved my placements working with kids, so that quickly became the focus of my future career.

Taking a leap of faith

I was stoked to finally graduate and secure work as a paediatric OT on the Sunshine Coast. My first five years were spent in early intervention support for kids living with autism and other developmental disabilities. I was fortunate that my reputation of successfully working with these kids grew, and in 2017, I started my own practice Collaborative Partnerships just five minutes up the road from the campus at Sippy Downs.

Originally, my plan was to work as a sole trader and provide my clients with the best care that I could. It was very rewarding, and I was able to make a decent living while doing it. But the demand for my services kept growing and at its peak I had an 18-month waitlist. I felt a responsibility to these kids, as many of them were in an early intervention window where timing is critical. So, I made the decision to build my business to meet the therapy needs of the local community.

Over the next 3 years, Collaborative Partnerships grew to over 40 staff and is currently the largest paediatric Occupational Therapy service on the Sunshine Coast. We have employed at least six OT graduates from UniSC, currently employ several UniSC students in our client support team, and have provided placement opportunities to many OT students, whom we hope to provide jobs for in the future. We love recruiting from the UniSC graduate pool as it ensures that our staff share a common focus, the same professional values and core competencies.

Innovation is key

Our innovative intake and therapy procedures, including training Therapy Assistants who help us implement our intervention, mean we are one of very few services that can sustain a constant flow of new clients without needing a waitlist. We also use a free screening phone-call with me to all new clients, which ensures we don’t put kids on the waitlist who need urgent intervention, are better seen by another specialised provider in the community, or perhaps have a simple matter that just needs some verbal advice or short-term support. In 2022 alone, we provided services to over 700 children in the Sunshine Coast region and beyond.

What’s next?

Now that we’ve come through the high growth phase, we are introducing some new innovations that I’m very excited about. In April 2023 we launch the Kindred Kids Early Intervention program, which uses the world-leading Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) to support early intervention for children with autism. By 2024, we aim to merge this early intervention approach into a long day-care centre format, which we anticipate will become Queensland’s first ESDM-based early intervention and care service for children with developmental disabilities.

Whilst the journey from graduating to building a business that services hundreds of local children with special needs has been challenging at times, it’s also been incredibly rewarding. My advice to those wanting to go down a similar path is don’t be afraid to do things differently; innovate whatever industry you are in; and tap into what motivates you and let that drive you forward.