Sundial team

With over 30 years of practice and 10 years developing multi professional services I am proud to lead an outstanding team of therapists in developing independent autistic lives. I am a firm believer in providing high quality integrated therapy across education and social settings.

I am highly proficient in helping complex needs/ social emotional needs as well as supporting families/carers/fellow professionals with knowledge of ASD/ social communication difficulties. In addition to heading therapy in specialist settings, I have worked in inclusion, advising on how to support those with ASD in mainstream schools, home educated learners/ youth offenders engage in the community or formal education.

My experience as Director of Specialist Services for a dyslexia association and team teaching in a school for dyslexia/dyspraxia means I understand the importance of specialist intervention for autistic/ neuro diverse individuals experiencing challenges with the development of language /literacy skills.

I have vast experience in training including; as a guest lecturer in a Masters SEN. I have delivered webinars and workshops at conferences. Sharing expertise and research is rewarding and I am pleased to have initiated the SunDIAL Autism Therapy Conference in Merseyside.

Early Intervention is key and the advantage of working in a multi professional team is I can be part of a multi-faceted expert assessment identifying key areas of need so support can be implemented as soon as possible. I embrace the diversity of my job and thoroughly enjoy working with autistic individuals.

Hey, I’m Laura and I have worked with Sundials since June 2021 as a Therapy Assistant. Before starting, I worked as a Disabled Children and Young Person’s Project Coordinator for Merseyside Youth Association, managing a Short Breaks service.

I am highly experienced in providing inclusive outreach to families and tracking the development of children and young people with disabilities. I’ve also worked in supportive roles alongside children and young people with a range of disabilities in Specialist Schools, Mainstream Schools, PRUs and Nurseries across the North West.

I have undertaken training in Intensive Interaction and Mental Health for children and young people with additional needs.

This diverse experience has led me to Sundials where I’m proud to be part of a passionate, highly specialist team and I’m lucky enough to spend my weeks assisting the Therapists with administrative tasks, supporting students across school and making sure our wonderful Therapy Dog, Nico, gets the attention he deserves!

Kevin Collier is a specialist speech and language therapist at Wargrave House School and College.

I have previously worked as a language instructor in a Japanese high school. Whilst living in Japan, I completed a master’s degree in applied linguistics, and this led me to speech and language therapy.

My first role as a Speech and Language Therapist was in a community NHS team supporting adults who have a learning disability. During this time, I worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team to support the communication needs of my clients and ensure they could access their civil rights and communities.

When applying to study Speech and Language Therapy, my aim was to work with children and young people who have communication needs so I am enjoying supporting the students at Wargrave House and wider community to achieve their potential

Hello I’m Kelly, I graduated as an Occupational Therapist in 2017, and joined Sundial in April 2022.

I’ve been working with Autistic individuals in various capacities since I was 16, when I volunteered with a Riding Therapy Centre. Before joining Sundial my experience as a qualified Occupational Therapist has been in Autism and Learning Disabilities in a range of settings including a SEN college, a hospital and a clinic from which I have developed a range of expertise.

My studies for a Diploma in Sensory Integration allow further development in my understanding of sensory systems and the benefits of becoming a Sensory Integration Specialist to deliver Sensory Integration Therapy sessions.

Working with Autistic individuals has always been a passion of mine, and I firmly believe in providing a range of interventions and support for clients to reach their full potential, increase their independence and overall well-being. I thoroughly enjoy the work that I do, and believe I am very privileged to work with the individuals I work with on a day to day basis.

Hello, my name is Hannah.

When applying to study Occupational Therapy (OT) at University, my ultimate end goal was always to work with autistic children and young people and so I am very pleased to be part of the multi professional Sundial Team.

I have a specific interest in Sensory Integration, having completed my dissertation on this topic, and will be using my expertise and further qualifications in this area to support young people with their sensory needs.

Working with autistic individuals is where my passion lies, as I truly believe in the positive impact that OT can have for the young people, and for their lives going forward. Although it can take time to see tangible benefits, it is always a pleasure to spend this time getting to know the young people, in a way that enables deeper understanding and insight.

This allows our OT provision and bespoke packages of care to be best suited for the individual. Each of their needs and personalities are wonderfully unique, and we always strive to incorporate this knowledge into our approach within Therapy.

Hello, I’m Karen and I have been working as an Occupational therapist assistant since March 2020 and I am established member of the Sundial multi-disciplinary team.

Previous to this I’ve worked as a special support assistant for 18 years working within a multi-disciplinary team with students 4- 19.

I’m also a trained emotional literacy support assistant. As part of the emotional literacy I look at self-awareness and empathy, self-regulation, self-motivation and social skills.

Since starting my occupational therapist assistant role I have undergone further training in Sensory integration and Equine assisted therapy.

Kevin Collier is a specialist speech and language therapist at Wargrave House School and College.

I have previously worked as a language instructor in a Japanese high school. Whilst living in Japan, I completed a master’s degree in applied linguistics, and this led me to speech and language therapy.

My first role as a Speech and Language Therapist was in a community NHS team supporting adults who have a learning disability. During this time, I worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team to support the communication needs of my clients and ensure they could access their civil rights and communities.

When applying to study Speech and Language Therapy, my aim was to work with children and young people who have communication needs so I am enjoying supporting the students at Wargrave House and wider community to achieve their potential

Hello, my name is Becky Switonski and I am a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. I have over 10 years’ experience working with children with disabilities in various roles and locations, including mainstream primary school, SEN schools, family homes and in short breaks services.

Since qualifying as a Speech and Language Therapist I have worked at Wargrave House School and College for 4 years, supporting students across the primary, secondary, college and adult provision. I have also worked within a community NHS team supporting adults with learning disabilities with both their communication and dysphagia needs.

My areas of interest/expertise include autism and AAC (alternative and augmentative communication).

Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and Language Therapists work with young people, their families and professionals in order to maximise the potential of speech, language and communication skills. They provide tailor made, integrated therapy, in order to support the inclusion and participation of autistic people using a range of evidence based practices. Interviews, observations and standardised assessments are used to assess individual needs from which targets and intervention plans are set.

Speech and Language Therapists assess in these areas:

• Language comprehension
• Language expression
• Speech sound production
• Social understanding and social skills
• Voice and fluency
• Nonverbal communication
• Functional communication skills