CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Take a look at what’s in store!
With themes centered on Understand Me, Support Me, and Enable Me, the 2025 ChildKind Conference program provides a rich blend of keynote addresses, interactive workshops, and panel discussions—all designed to empower professionals in creating meaningful, child-centered outcomes.
The following program is provisional in nature and subject to change without notice at the discretion of the Organising Committee.
Sunday, 26 October 2025
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Monday, 27 October 2025
8:00am - 5:00pm
8:00am - 3:30pm
Exhibition open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
9:00am - 10:30am
Opening Session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Conference open & welcome
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer, Reimagine Australia
Our ChildKind Community of Practice: Amplifying a Collective Voice for Every Child’s Right to Belong
Heidi Denner | Head of Engagement, Reimagine Australia
Already Whole: Reimagining Our Ways of Seeing Children
Chenai Mupotsa-Russell | Founder, Rainbow Muse
10:30am - 11:00am
Morning tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
11:00am - 12:30pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
ROOM 1: Observe & Respond
“Families are the Agents of Change. All the Magic Happens in Between Therapy Visits”: Speech Pathologists’ Perspectives on Core Elements and Strategies for Collaborative Approaches
Jessica Hassett
Creating Inclusive Sensory Spaces for Neurodivergent and Disabled Children
Ciara McKillop
Enhancing Access and Improving Child and Family Outcomes: Delivering Services using Child and Family teams
Amelia McKay & Ingrid Clark
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch & networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
1:30pm - 3:00pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Afternoon tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Closing session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Everyday Allies: Inclusion in Action - Embedding intersectional allyship in early childhood education
Jenae Tien Jenkins
Inclusion in ECEC Panel
Dr Amie Fabry, Charmaine Bernie, Dr Jane Warren, Blake Stewart & A/Prof Cathy Little
Day 1 wrap up
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer, Reimagine Australia
6:30pm - 7:00pm
Pre-dinner drinks
Level 1, Manly Pacific
7:00pm - 11:00pm
Conference Dinner & Awards
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Conference welcome reception
North55, Manly Pacific
Registration open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
ROOM 3: Promote Inclusion
Breaking Barriers: Inclusive Practices at Mikarie Child Care Centre
Naomi Hardiman & Cathy Quinn
Inclusion Together: A resource to support the inclusion of children with disability or development differences
Emma Pierce & Carolyn Wilson
ROOM 4: Individualise my supports
Strategies To Support A Neurodiversity-Affirming Childhood
Claire Britton
Beyond the Cane: Individualising Orientation and Mobility for Children With CVI and Complex Needs
Carolyn Bates
Understanding Behaviour Through ABC Charts: Individualising Support With Functional Behaviour Analysis
Jaime Sharman
ROOM 5: Embrace Evidence
Trauma Changes the Brain: A Mindful, Neuroscience-Informed Approach to Supporting Children
Kate Hodgekiss
Anchoring Practices in Developmental Frameworks to Support the Learning and Capacity Building of Parents and Professionals
Marie-Eve Dostie
Personhood360: A Holistic Planning and Programming Tool Helping Children Flourish Through Play
Rod Soper
ROOM 1: Be Agile
Sick Happens: How to respond to inevitable childhood illness with confidence and compassion
Penny Blunden
Reimagining Ages and Stages: A guide to inclusive, anti-ableist, and neuro-affirming approaches to ages and stages
Domenica Decrea
Practical strategies in Inclusion
Dr Jane Warren
ROOM 2: Centre me & My Family
With Me: Empowering Parents and Carers with Everyday Tools to Nurture Development
Natalie Kidd
Tailored Together: Enabling Families to Drive Early Intervention
Charlotte Joscelyne-May & Dr Katelyn Melvin
Five Minutes That Matter: Making Big Feelings Feel Smaller (Do-Now, ND-Affirming, Cross-Setting)
Loren Doyle
ROOM 3: Learn & Grow
More Than Words: Supporting Language Development with Key Word Signing
Megan Mahon
Navigating Behaviours with Play
Lukas Ritson
Delivering inclusive practice in rural and remote communities
Claire Allsop
ROOM 4: Build my capacity
Supporting Early Career Clinicians to Build Strong Therapeutic Relationships with Families
Marie-Eve Dostie
Thinking in Colours: A Whole Centre Approach to Emotional Regulation
Jenni Machin
The Key Worker/Lead Practitioner Model: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Supporting Children and Families
Helen Dalgleish
ROOM 5: Support my Transition
Rethinking Approaches: Beyond Diagnosis, Toward Inclusion and Belonging
Dr Charmaine Bernie
Libraries as Community Connectors: Accessible Communities for Young Children
Kylie Aekins & Hannah Watts
Strengths, Not Struggles: Reframing Support Through Lived Experience
Carina Beattie
ROOM 2: Collaborate with others
[workshop] From Me to We: First Responsibility, then Influence
Dr Amie Fabry
Registration now open
Standard rates apply until 30 September 2025 or until allocation is exhausted.
Tuesday, 28 October 2025
8:00am - 5:00pm
8:00am - 3:30pm
Exhibition open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
9:00am - 10:30am
Opening Session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Conference open & welcome
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer, Reimagine Australia
NeuroWild Things!
Em Hammond | Founder, NeuroWild
10:30am - 11:00am
Morning tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
11:00am - 12:30pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch & networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
1:30pm - 3:00pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Afternoon tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:30pm - 4:15pm
4:15pm - 4:50pm
4:50pm - 5:00pm
Shifting the Lens: Embedding Neurodiversity Affirming Practice
Sonny Jane Wise | Neurodivergent advocate and writer, Lived Experience Educator
Panel: Future of the Childkind Framework
Domenica DeCrea, Heidi Denner, Yvonne Keane, Blake Stewart & Jane Warren
Conference Close
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer Reimagine Australia
Registration open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
ROOM 1: Observe & Respond
The Power of Connection: Introducing the DIRFloortime® Approach to Early Childhood Practice
Megan King
Kia whakarongo aroha….listen with empathy
Naina Modi-Patel & Tāwera Ormsby
Meet Them Where They Play: Reimagining Regulation and Connection Through Curiosity-Led Play
Angie Cassella & Kaycee Larney
ROOM 3: Promote Inclusion
Leading Inclusion: Supporting Early Childhood Educators to Embed Anti-Bias Practices
Rachel Bao
Building community by looking at the world through a lens of Intersectionality
Amanda Blakers
Belonging and Thriving: Inclusive Practices for Neurodivergent Learners
Claire Britton
ROOM 4: Individualise my supports
Collaboration: A holistic and multidisciplinary approach to supporting the whole child
Shona Lal
Accessing Support for Children with Rare and Undiagnosed Genetic Conditions
Fleur Smith
Transitions in Family Breakdown: Meeting the Needs of Neurodivergent Children
Lucy Schweizer Cook
ROOM 5: Embrace Evidence
Coordinated Developmental Supports: Embedding Goals into Daily Routines for Real Inclusion
Janine Tout
Understanding educator efficacy, and how it affects the inclusion neurodivergent children
Leo Haythornthwaite
Grounding & Strengthening Research Through Meaningful Stakeholder Involvement
Jessica Hassett
ROOM 2: Centre me & My Family
Adapting Support to Fit the Family in Front of You: Clarity, Capacity & Collaboration
Alyce Svensk
Embedding the F-words Life Wheel: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Individualising Supports in Early Intervention
Bonnie Berry
Couch conversation - Lived experience
Heidi Denner, Carina Beattie & Lukas Ritson
ROOM 1: Be Agile
Embedding Open Dialogue & Responsive Design in Allied Health Early Intervention
Kirslyn Conlon
The 7 C’s Framework: Practical Neurodiversity-Affirming Strategies for Everyday Support
Joanne Hatchard
More NeuroWild Things!
Em Hammond
ROOM 2: Collaborate with others
Collaborating for Impact: How Our Key Worker Approach Strengthens Families and Empowers Children
Claire Shrimpton
Many Hands, Many Voices: Creating a Preschool Model That Reflects First Nations Perspectives
Fran McCarthy
Evaluating a multidisciplinary, multi-modal training approach for AAC teams in regional Australia
Helen Dimond, Tammie Cunningham & Emily Hayles
ROOM 3: Learn & Grow
Using a Multisensory Approach to Build Emotional Regulation and Executive Functioning in Early Childhood – The Key Worker Role
Precious Zigori
WORKSHOP: Cultivating Joy - A Transformative Approach to Early Childhood Practice and Organisational Growth
Dr Cathy Little & Dr Olivia Karaolis
ROOM 4: Build my capacity
Practical & Neuro-affirming Support Plans in ECE Settings
Christine Keeble & Rhi Sugars
ROOM 5: Support my Transition
Supporting Children Through Transitions
Sara Nogueira
The Childkind Framework in Action: reimagining supports in ECEC settings
Karina Windolf, Shanelle Buckley, Melanie Hall, Amanda See & Heidi Denner
Registration now open
Standard Rates apply until 30 September 2025 or until allocation is exhausted.