I am a Behaviour Support Practitioner at FABIC, and I bring a calm, deeply grounded and highly observant approach to my work. I have always been interested in understanding what sits underneath behaviour, and I naturally look beyond what is happening on the surface to ask why. I work well in complex, high-stress and emotionally charged situations, and I am especially strong at helping people feel safe, settled and understood, even when their behaviour may seem confronting to others.
One of my greatest strengths is my ability to stay calm and connected when others may become reactive or overwhelmed. I do not meet behaviour with fear or judgement. Instead, I stay present, observe carefully, and focus on what the person may be communicating through their actions. I have often found that people settle when they feel they are not being judged and when someone is genuinely trying to understand them.

I also place a strong value on consistency and trust. If I say I am going to do something, I do it. Over time, I have seen how much that matters, especially for people whose life experiences have taught them not to trust others. I am not attached to forcing outcomes, but I am deeply committed to offering support in a way that is steady, respectful and reliable.

A big part of how I work is through the parents, carers and support systems around the person. I know that an hour of support each week will never create lasting change on its own. The real work happens through the people who are with that person every day. Because of that, I focus strongly on helping the wider support team understand behaviour, respond more effectively, and build the consistency that allows change to happen over time.

My path into this work has been shaped by both professional and personal experience. I have worked in child protection for over 25 years, supporting children, parents and families through highly complex circumstances. Alongside that, I have spent a lifetime supporting my own daughter, who has complex disabilities, and that has given me a very personal understanding of what it means to keep asking why, to keep searching for what is underneath the behaviour, and to keep showing up even when the path is not straightforward. I was also drawn to FABIC through Tanya’s talks and teachings, which resonated strongly with the way I had already come to understand behaviour through life and experience.

Before moving into this sector, I worked in retail management and later completed a Diploma in Community Services and in Leadership & Management, with streams in youth work, disability, mental health, and alcohol and other drugs. Over time, everything I had lived and learned came together in this work. Behaviour support feels like a natural extension of the way I already see people, with curiosity, care and a desire to understand rather than simply react.