CliniKids — The Kids Research Institute Australia’s first standalone clinical service — has won the Allied Health Professionals category at the Western Australian Disability Support Awards, announced at Crown Perth on the weekend.
An initiative of National Disability Services, the awards celebrate the achievements of people who demonstrate excellence, passion, vision and commitment in supporting people with disability, and highlight the important role of disability sector workers in providing high-quality services to people with disability.
CliniKids integrates world-class research with a clinical service for autistic children and their families — a first for autism in Australia. Working side-by-side, a team of researchers and clinicians (speech pathologists, clinical psychologists and occupational therapists) put research into practice, accelerating research discoveries and bringing new evidence-based therapies to children and families sooner.
CliniKids Clinical Services Manager Theresa Pastor said it was wonderful for the clinical team to be recognised in the new Allied Health Professionals category, which recognised a person or team who had provided high-quality services that were innovative, evidence-based, and person-centred.
“I am thrilled for the clinical team to be recognised by the disability sector for the outstanding work they do daily to support autistic children and their families to thrive,” Ms Pastor said. “They always go above and beyond.”
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis AM congratulated the clinical team on the win.
“We are proud of the important work CliniKids does to make a difference to lives of autistic children and families to help them reach their potential,” Professor Carapetis said.