I am an occupational therapist with 17 years of clinical plus 20 years of academic experience. My research foci are (i) effectiveness of occupational therapy and allied interventions particularly in the field of childhood-onset disability, including cerebral palsy; (ii) development and testing of valid, reliable outcome measures, a number of which have been translated and are used across the world; (iii) longitudinal follow-up of participation, health and well-being outcomes for children and families; and (iv) conceptual work about ‘participation’ that resulted in the publication of the family of Participation Related Constructs, that underpins all my related research and which is being used internationally to support research and practice in this area of childhood disability and beyond.

I have a strong commitment to enhancing evidence-based practice and integrated knowledge translation as demonstrated through: invited education opportunities and publication of books, chapters and systematic reviews focused on best practice in childhood disability. Two themes cross all my current research: (i) inclusion of an integrated knowledge translation approach with consumers (parents and young people with disability) engaged as co-researchers and advisors; and (ii) involvement of students (honours, masters, doctoral and/or post-doctoral) wherever possible within the research programs to build capacity and ensure development of the next generation of researchers. Demonstration of effectiveness of student engagement includes 33 completions, 7 in-progress; of these 40 students, 35 undertook projects in childhood disability. With over 130 peer review publications and $15M in grant income, my research expertise has been recognised through awards, including my appointment as a Fellow of the Australian Occupational Therapy Research Academy.