Meet the Hello Rainbow Team
Every member of the Hello Rainbow team brings incredible passion and dedication to their practice.
With a genuine understanding of what neuro-affirming practice looks like on an everyday basis, a commitment and unabashed zeal for further knowledge, our team members are each passionate professionals and all around fantastic human beings with quirks around possums, bizarre senses of humour and hidden karaoke talents. They’re wonderfully human and we celebrate them, just as we celebrate each of our clients.
The majority of our team are neurodivergent-identifying and bring a unique understanding and lived experience to their therapy.
We’re so proud to be working with such talented, funny & creative people.
Finlay Heilbuth
Speech Pathologist
Finlay grew up in Victoria before moving to study Speech Pathology at the University of Newcastle. She graduated with honours in 2021.
Finlay loves making solid connections with her kiddos. She's got a great ability to find out just what her clients are into and incorporate it into fun and engaging therapy sessions.
One of her clients (5) calls her "the play therapist", and we'd say that's pretty accurate!
She is passionate about early language & speech development, has a particular interest in neurodivergent communication styles and family centred practice is her jam. Finlay is neurodivergent identifying.
Outside of Hello Rainbow, she's often found on the netball court, inhaling caffeine or being a foster mum to some very lucky pups.
She has the best laugh ever and we’re so grateful that she’s chosen to work with Hello Rainbow families!
Emma Croxon
Speech Pathologist
Emma grew up in rural NSW before moving to study Speech Pathology (Honours) at the University of Newcastle.
She has a knack for quickly connecting with little ones and entering into their world of play. It’s not unusual to see her climbing to the top of a fort or singing her heart out with her clients.
Emma is neurodivergent identifying and has particular interest in early language, gestalt language acquisition, autism, ADHD, and supporting emotional and sensory regulation for her clients.
She is enormously passionate about family coaching and support.
She is an intense seeker of knowledge and understanding around neurodiversity-affirming practice and inclusion in everyday life.
Outside of her days with Hello Rainbow, Emma is a practicing visual artist, loves to play music with her friends and is unable to pass up any opportunity to have a dance. She’s so stylish it kills us.
Working with Emma is an exercise in joy and tangents, we’re so thrilled to have her as part of the Hello Rainbow team!
Harry Midalia
Speech Pathologist
Harry is the ultimate nomad, coming to us via Perth, Melbourne, the Phillipines & Canberra.
With a Masters in Speech Pathology, Harry is our AAC specialist. He understands that all children have so much to say, if only given the opportunity and tools. Seeing children that nobody ever expected to communicate suddenly start sharing their thoughts and feelings is what makes Harry tick.
He believes that no body and nobody is disabled by anything other than a world that does not meet their needs.
“I want people to feel empowered to make life their therapy, rather than make therapy their life.”
Harry was also involved in the initial NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention rollout, and is an absolute fount of knowledge on the subject.
When he’s not connecting with Hello Rainbow families he’s either singing, surfing or attempting to cajole an orange cat (“coincidentally” named Harry) into going for local neighbourhood walks.
Hello Rainbow is so proud to call him one of our own!
Kit McDaid
Occupational Therapist
Kit grew up in the Bathurst area before moving to Newcastle in 2016 to study Occupational Therapy.
Kit is passionate about honouring the emotional and regulation needs of her clients, and she strives to help children feel seen and supported. Empowering children to have choice and control to find the strategies that work best for them is a super important element of her therapy.
She is fiercely committed to neuroaffirming practice and supporting children to learn about their brains and their unique learning styles.
Kit loves working with children to incorporate their interests and strengths into their sessions and finding fun & creative ways to learn through play.
With a special interest in sensory systems and the utilisation of sensory tools & strategies, Kit is the fidget queen. Sessions with Kit look like a great deal of fun - incorporating lots of movement, music, play & art to engage with her kiddos.
When she’s not jumping around with her clients, she loves spending time in nature and pumping herself up with music to get out there for a run.
We are absolutely thrilled to have Kit as part of the Hello Rainbow team.
Georgia Stuart
Speech Pathologist
Georgia graduated with a Bachelors in Speech Pathology (Honours) in 2018 and a Master of Special and Inclusive Education in 2022, with a special emphasis on Early Years, Social-Emotional Learning, and a focus on Autism.
Georgia is neurodivergent identifying and her special interests lean towards supporting authentic social & functional communication for her neurodivergent clients. It’s super important to Georgia that this support is delivered in ways that suit individuals and their families - no matter how that looks.
Georgia came to us with a fierce desire to work with people dedicated to authentic neurodiversity -affirming practice.
She’s landed in the right place, and we’re counting our lucky stars that she’s here to share her knowledge and passion with us, and more importantly, Hello Rainbow families.
Outside of work you’ll find her doing heavy work in the gym , cooking (and more excitingly eating) food with big flavours and tending to her rather incredible collection of plants.
Elly Bruggemann
Occupational Therapist
Elly comes to us via Port Macquarie where she studied Occupational Therapy, before moving to Newcastle in 2023.
Elly’s primary aim is to put herself out of a job by supporting children and families to have the skills they need to achieve their goals. Her approach is family centred and child-led.
“I want to find strategies and supports that work within the family dynamic and routines that are already in place”.
Elly is particularly interested in using sensory strategies to support regulation and engagement, with the view that the sensory system is the basis of how we interact with the world and that it’s a wonderful therapeutic tool at our disposal.
Outside of work you’ll find her rock climbing and engaging in a frankly staggering amount of volunteer work.
We feel absolutely blessed to have Elly as part of the Hello Rainbow Team.
Rosie Bensoussan
Physiotherapist
Rosie has been working as Physiotherapist since graduating in 2016 from Australian Catholic University. She is a highly conscientious, fun- loving and compassionate practitioner with extensive experience working in a rehabilitation setting.
Rosie adores working with children and adolescents to optimise their development, participation in meaningful activity and quality of life. Rosie is also a qualified and passionate yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher.
Implementing her mindfulness practice into her physiotherapy sessions with children has been a wonderful (and unexpected) addition for her clients.
Outside of work, Rosie enjoys travelling, learning languages (she speaks French and Spanish), singing and playing guitar, connecting with community including volunteer work, and being in nature as much as possible.
She’s just returned from the travel adventure of a lifetime, and would love to connect with local families.
Working with Rosie has a curiously calming effect on the entire team, and we’re so thrilled to have her with us!
