Joanna Buttfield

BAppSc (OT) (Hons), BA, Occupational Therapist Accredited by OT Australia

Founder & Managing Director - Clinical Services
Joanna Buttfield is a highly recognized and experienced therapist, presenter & trainer in the field of Paediatric development. A sought after key-note speaker and presenter, she regularly delivers a series of educational workshops and professional development training seminars on a variety of Paediatric related topics for school teachers, kindergarten & child care staff, allied health professionals, parents and special interest groups.

Joanna was recognised in 2007 and 2008 as a Finalist in the Telstra Women in Business Awards for Innovation. She comes from a family of well-known innovators and pioneers: her great grand-father was Sir Edward Holden, the pioneering motor manufacturer, widely regarded as the founder of the Australian car industry. Holden's daughter - Joanna's grandmother - was the late Dame Nancy Buttfield, the first South Australian woman elected to   the Federal Senate and a most important pioneer for women in South Australia. 

Renee Romeo

 BAppSc (HumMovmt)(SA) MOT(GE)(SA), Occupational Therapist Accredited by OT  Australia

Clinical Director – Occupational Therapy

Renée began with Kid Sense Child Development in 2007, fulfilling her interest to work with children and help people achieve, after completing a Masters of Occupational Therapy. This followed the completion of Bachelor of Applied Science Human Movement sparked by her experience as a member of the South Australian Sports Institute soccer team, competing at national championships.

Her keen interest in working with children began with her extensive history of coaching sports including soccer, touch football and tennis throughout her university days. She has also enjoyed the rewards of teaching children and adults to swim.

Renée’s 14 year involvement in Martial Arts has culminated in her achieving a third degree black belt in Karate. She also runs her own Karate club teaching children’s and adult classes, which allows her to utilize her human movement and occupational therapy knowledge. It has the added benefit of giving her the opportunity to inspire and motivate people to be better, more active members of the community.

Renee has experience in working with a vast array of children. A number of children treated at Kid Sense are on the Autism spectrum. Managing and assisting children with autism and Asperger’s has been multi-faceted. This involves treatment of young children prior to entering preschool or school, the transition into school and the ongoing challenges once at school. Sensory processing disorder also impacts on children from an early age and Renee has worked with these children tackling the common issues of attention and concentration, behaviour, sleep, eating, clumsiness and anxiety. Furthermore Renee’s experience extends to assisting with fine motor skills, visual perception, executive functioning and organisation.

Emma Oertel

 BAppSc (OT), Occupational Therapist Accredited by OT Australia

Senior Occupational Therapist

Emma is a passionate and enthusiastic member of the Kid Sense Occupational Therapy team. She has always had a passion to work with kids and has done so in extracurricular activities since her early teenage years.

Emma began her own dance school, Dance Fusion, after she finished high school and has seen it grow to over 60 students. She has taught classes for 5 year olds through to adult and thoroughly enjoys the mix of ages. Emma has passion to see kids unlock their potential and find self-confidence through expressing themselves in dance. Learning to manage the stress of study, balanced with the challenges of running a business has taught her a great deal of patience and time management! Having finished her studies she now manages the school and oversees the teaching staff, enabling her to work full time.

In the past, Emma has been involved in developing and running the children’s program at her local church. This has included weekly programs and also a number of camps and personally mentoring primary school aged kids. She is always encouraged by the capacity and potential of the kids she works with and their ability to continually teach her new things.

Emma and her husband now run the youth department of their church, which keeps her busy and thoroughly entertained by teenagers! This role has helped her think on her toes and develop as a leader, an encourager and a friend.

Combining her love for the arts and children, Emma loves getting involved in Christmas productions, teaching the kids songs and managing stage presentation. She also sings in a band. Emma is passionate about helping people recognize their full potential and is a great encourager to those around her.

Rachel Stanley

B.Speech Pathology, CPSP.

Clinical Director – Speech Pathology

Rachel is an effervescent and enthusiastic person who has an interest and passion for working with children. For many years she has been actively involved in a variety of sporting activities and extended her skills to coaching school-aged children in netball and softball and more recently has been a teacher of modern jive dance.

Rachel has always had a special interest in working with children with disabilities and special needs. She developed rapport building skills from an early age when attending a primary school that also catered for the needs of children with mild disabilities and learning difficulties.

In her first year working as a qualified Speech Pathologist she helped establish the Speech Pathology clinic Suneden Special School and worked there for three and a half years.

In 2005, Rachel fulfilled her dream of working and travelling overseas. She based herself in Wales where she worked for 10 months of a 2 year working holiday visa as a locum Speech Pathologist in north and south Wales. When she was not working, she travelled through Europe and Canada.

In the UK, Rachel had the opportunity to work in a variety of special schools, mainstream schools with special learning units for children with specific language impairment and schools specifically established for children on the Autism Spectrum. On her return to Australia she continued her career as a Speech Pathologist in the private sector at Liberty Speech Pathology.

In August, 2011 Rachel began working at Kid Sense with children between the ages of 12 months and 18 years. She has experience in helping children with articulation difficulties, language delays and disorders, auditory processing disorder, literacy difficulties, paediatric voice and alternative forms of communication, including Key Word Signing and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), in both of which she has been trained. Rachel has also worked with children with a variety of disabilities, such as Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome and Rhetts Syndrome. She looks forward to continuing to help many children and parents discover their true potential in the art of communication.

Anne Kouros

Guest Coordinator

In joining our team as Guest Coordinator, Anne has brought with her a wealth of knowledge and experience well suited to a professional paediatric setting.

As the Administration Manager of a large South Australian primary school for fourteen years, Anne managed data for over 700 students and 60 staff members, while attending to clerical and financial matters and many other varied duties.

Being a mother of two sons, now adults, combined with her vast experience within a school system, gives Anne a rare understanding of the requirements of our Guests.

Anne is driven to provide premium quality service to ensure that Kid Sense is friendly, safe, tidy and hygienic at all times, and to create a welcoming and inviting environment for the parents and children who visit us. Seeing each child grow up and continue on to a bright future is an experience that Anne had cherished while in the school system. She is now looking forward to helping Kid Sense provide that same outcome for many years to come