ABOUT RCOT

Resident Cavoodles

Lewis – 12-year old male

Pippa – 11-year old female

Pippa and Lewis might get excited, bark and jump, but they are very friendly and love meeting new people. They love cuddles and respond well to “NO” and “Ta”. You’ll know they are in the office from our sign on the door, if you prefer not to say hello, just let one of our staff know. They have helped many of our kids build their confidence and overcome their fear of dogs.

Reid Chester
Director / Senior Occupational Therapist

Reid graduated from Curtin University in 2013 with a Master of Occupational Therapy.

Prior to this he completed a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science (2008) and a Post-graduate Diploma of Exercise Science (2009) where he became a qualified and accredited exercise physiologist. Since graduating as an occupational therapist, Reid has maintained his roles in the paediatric field. His roles have included a private practice, focusing on sensory integration, gross and fine motor development. He then moved into a role as a live-in professional therapeutic carer, looking after 3 young boys full-time, providing therapeutic care and managing challenging behaviours and past trauma, preparing them for foster care. It was after this role, that Reid went into community-based therapy, and worked for larger organisations focusing on therapeutic support and consultation for children on the autism spectrum and their families. In his spare time, Reid loves getting outside.

He has 2 dogs (Lewis and Pippa), chickens (who all have names but get called “the girls”) and loves just hanging out in the garden or at the park with the dogs. Reid strives to always engage his clients in therapy, and is often seen climbing on the equipment, completing the monkey bars and being challenged by the kids to keep up, and complete some interesting activities.

Jarred Stenfors
Director / Therapeutic Teacher

Jarred has been a primary school teacher for 9 years. In this time, he has worked in various roles in the education department, including a classroom teacher, learning support coordinator and the lead curriculum specialist (mathematics). In 2017/2018, he was employed by the Autism Association of WA as a key therapist in their early intervention team, with a primary role of developing and delivering therapy plans, along with re-writing school curriculum to ensure the inclusion and support of all students on the autism spectrum.

Jarred has expressed a desire to move away from full-time teaching, and focus on supporting RCOT clients in their participation in schooling. With his knowledge and experience in autism, emotional regulation, social skills, curriculum and education, we believe Jarred can contribute so much to our team, our clients, their families, and their schooling.

He will be accessible to our NDIS clients through their capacity building (CB), daily living budget (the same budget used for OT, speech, psychology etc), as an “other professional”, in line with our senior OT rate of $193.99/hour.

Some areas where Jarred can support clients are,

• 1 on 1 therapy
• School meetings, including IEP meetings
• Education assessments (primary school)
• Implementation and review of IEP’s
• Implementation and review of behaviour management plans
• School visits and observations
• SLES (School Leaver Employment Support)

Jarred brings a vast knowledge of the education department with him, and this will enable him to better express therapy needs and ideas to teaching staff, he knows the challenges teachers face when implementing strategies into a classroom and is better equipped to support teachers in doing this.

Tiarn Chester 
Administrative Coordinator

Tiarn has completed a Certificate IV in Business (2014), a Diploma in Event Management (2015) and 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (2023 & 2024). 

Tiarn is passionate about helping everyone around her, supporting and assisting families to her best ability. Tiarn is our main and sole administrator. Her roles here at RCOT are to help consult all client bookings, payments, staff schedules, social media and the organiser of our awesome holiday programs and client events. Soon Tiarn will be integrating her yoga and mindfulness knowledge into RCOT. Yoga and meditation is a great way to help kids with their interoception.

Outside of work, Tiarn enjoys being active outdoors, the beach, and spending time with her family, friends and cats Billie & Mabel.

Lachlan (Lachy) Broun
Senior Occupational Therapist

Lachy studied at Curtin university, graduating with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy with second upper class honours in 2019.

He has focused his attention on working within the area of developmental paediatrics with a focus towards emotional and sensory regulation, gross and fine motor skills as well as building greater capacity with activities of daily living. Lachy has a wealth of experience in supporting children and adults with disabilities and developmental delays including autism, global developmental delay, sensory processing difficulties and down syndrome. He has productively supported his clients who experience challenging behaviours, anxiety and depression. Lachy has developed these skills through a wide range of support worker roles while studying, including private roles and most recently working as a Lifeskills team member at Intelife Group in Balcatta.

Lachy has a special interest in therapy through sport, and plays hockey, cricket, basketball and tennis in his spare time. He has been a coach for the YMCC year 11/12s A-team for the past two years while also volunteering at junior carnivals as a ground controller and referee. Lachy hopes to support every person he meets through his job as an occupational therapist and ensure that they feel special and valued. He strives to leave work every day knowing he’s made a difference in the lives of his clients and their families.

Claudia Gonzalez
Occupational Therapist

Claudia completed her Master of Occupational Therapy in 2019 at Curtin University. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology. Since graduating in 2019, Claudia has primarily worked in the community delivering mobile services to NDIS participants. She resided and worked in Melbourne from 2020 to 2022, before returning to Perth to have her child. 

Claudia resumed working in 2023, delivering mixed adult and paediatric services for a large disability organisation before starting at RCOT in July 2024.  Claudia is dedicated to empowering her clients, working towards their goals and advocating for their unique needs. Claudia’s interests are diverse, ranging from helping children and teenagers develop their skills to be able to perform a variety of activities in their every day life that may be challenging, and helping them develop the ability to regulate their emotions.

Claudia works part time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and spends her spare time looking after her young daughter as well as her  Australian Shephard “fur baby”.

Joanne (Jo) McCrea
Occupational Therapist

Joanne (known as Jo) completed her Occupational Therapy Degree in 2021 at the University of Liverpool. Originally from the UK, Jo emigrated to Australia in July 2024, bringing her expertise and enthusiasm for paediatric therapy to her new community.

Jo has a particular focus on working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). With a deep commitment to improving the lives of children and their families, Jo uses evidence-based practices to create individualized treatment plans that foster developmental progress and enhance quality of life.

Having completed additional training in sensory integration therapy, she is equipped with the knowledge and tools to support children with a variety of sensory processing needs. Jo is passionate about continuing her professional growth and regularly seeks out new learning opportunities to stay current with the latest therapeutic techniques.

In her spare time, Jo enjoys spending time outdoors, exploring new places, and embracing nature whenever she can. She has a strong love for anything dog-related, whether it’s playing with her own dog or simply enjoying the company of furry friends. Jo also relishes the simple pleasure of sipping a good cup of coffee and spending time with friends and family. 

Zoe Smith
Occupational Therapist

Zoe completed a Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy) at Curtin University and graduated with Honours in 2024.

Zoe has focused her efforts on working within the area of paediatrics. She thoroughly enjoys working alongside children, adolescents and their families to support executive functioning, fine and gross motor skills, and emotional regulation. Zoe has experience supporting children and adolescents with autism, ADHD, PDA, anxiety and depression. Zoe has acquired these skills through her role as a support worker at Inside Out Occupational Therapy while completing her studies. Zoe is passionate about neuro-affirming practice and helping children and their families achieve their goals, and build capacity and confidence to participate in activities that are important to them.

When Zoe is not working, she enjoys travelling, swimming at the beach and spending time with her family and friends. 

Gus Baird
Occupational Therapy Assistant

Gus is currently studying a Degree in Occupational Therapy at Curtin University, completing his final year in 2025.

OT Assistant is a great opportunity for OT at a lower rate for our private clients. Initial assessments are conducted by our senior OT’s, who will create a therapy plan for Gus to continue with your child. The same senior OT will also be involved with all supervision, therapy plan reviews and reports. 

Gus has two 8 week placements this year in order to complete his Honours Degree. Working with Gus will be short term therapy, or your allocated OT will provide therapy for your child during his absence, if needed.

Michael (Mike) Dwyer
Support Worker

Mike is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Psychology at Curtin University. Afterwards, he hopes to undertake further study and research into the field of human behaviour.

Mike’s interest in psychology is born from a combination of his time working in the Perth hospitality industry and a wide range of reading. When the pandemic hit, he was able to take the time to pursue tertiary education. Now in his 3rd year, he has a keen interest in identity formation, learning and behaviour formation, the nature of attention and focus, and how the everchanging landscape of the internet is impacting individuals.

When Mike has free time, he enjoys cooking new dishes, going to the gym, reading, playing hockey and catching up with his mates.

Rama Brownfield-Young
Support Worker

Rama is nearing completion of his Bachelor of Psychology at Curtin University, driven by a desire to become a Clinical Psychologist. He finds deep fulfilment in supporting others on their mental health journeys, fuelling his passion for clinical practice. Rama’s academic interests in psychology delve into individual differences, therapeutic methods, and cognitive elements like learning, perception, and memory.

Rama enjoys the balanced lifestyle that support work provides, looking forward to his weekly sessions with his clients. These sessions incorporate a variety of activities, from gym sessions and snorkelling to public transport training, 3D printing, and board games. Through these activities, Rama fosters social interaction, general life skills development, and local community exposure.

Beyond his academic pursuits, Rama enjoys weight-lifting, free diving, photography, and video games as personal outlets.