Meet our team
Ashleigh Dalton
Practice Director | Senior Occupational Therapist
Ashleigh is the founder and director of Connected Kids Allied Health.
Ashleigh graduated from La Trobe University completing a double degree of Bachelor of Health Sciences and Masters of Occupational Therapy Practice in 2012. She is an accredited facilitator of Tuning into Kids, Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) and Sensory Attachment Intervention.
Ashleigh has over 10 years experience working across public health, educational and private practice settings within Ballarat. She has always had a passion for working in early intervention, to assist children and their families to achieve their goals in a range settings.
Ashleigh is available Tuesday - Thursday.
Tessa Fitzsimons
Senior Speech Pathologist
Tessa graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Australian Catholic University.
She is certified practicing Speech Pathologist with special interests in speech sound disorders, motor speech and early intervention. Tessa has also completed formal training in the Lidcombe program focusing on fluency.
Tessa has experience working across the lifespan but more recently in the educational and private practice settings, collaborating with families and schools to provide the best support for her clients.
Tessa is passionate about assisting children and their families to reach their goals across all areas of life.
Tessa is available Monday - Friday.
Ryleigh Haire
Speech Pathologist
Ryleigh graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Australian Catholic University. She is a certified practicing Speech Pathologist with special interest in early language intervention and speech sound disorders.
Ryleigh has experience working across the lifespan however, more recently in the educational and disability settings. Ryleigh is passionate about working with children, their families and other supports in order to best achieve their communication outcomes.
Ryleigh is currently on maternity leave.
Georgia Collier
Speech Pathologist
Georgia graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Australian Catholic University in 2022.
Georgia is a certified practicing Speech Pathologist who is passionate about working with children and their families to assist them in achieving their communication goals.
Georgia is available Monday - Friday.
Brittany Curtain
Occupational Therapist
Brittany graduated from Deakin University with a second-class honours Bachelor of Occupational Therapy degree in 2010. She has spent much of her career working in schools, both specialist and mainstream schools, across Ballarat and Melbourne.
Brittany has lots of experience working in multidisciplinary teams including alongside speech pathologists. She believes working collaboratively with families and other professionals, creates the best possible environment to help children thrive and grow in therapy and life. Brittany is interested in neurodiversity, sensory processing and handwriting.
As a mother of three young children, Brittany understands the pressures and busyness of life juggling work and family commitments. She believes it is important for therapy and intervention to fit in and integrate with your normal life without adding too much burden on parent’s time or energy.
Brittany is available Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Keely Fitzsimons
Speech Pathologist (New Graduate)
Keely has recently graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology. Keely has been a part of the Connected Kids team since June 2023, when she completed a 4th year placement and went on to join us as an Allied Health Assistant.
Keely is available Monday - Friday.
Juliet Wheaton
Occupational Therapist (New Graduate)
Juliet completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Deakin University in 2023. As a new graduate, Juliet looks forward to bringing a fresh perspective and a deep commitment to helping children flourish in their daily lives.
Juliet is in clinic Monday - Thursday; and every second Friday
Mary Fitzgibbon
Adminstration
Mary graduated from Loreto College at the end of 2022 and joins us to support the day-to-day running of the clinic. She also supports the therapy team as an Allied Health Assistant one day per week.
Mary looks forward to supporting you in the clinic on Monday (AHA), Tuesday & Friday (Admin).
Zoe Blacker
Practice Manager
Zoe graduated from the University of Ballarat completing a Bachelor of Sports Management degree in 2008. Since graduating, Zoe has worked in various roles in the thoroughbred racing industry.
With two young children of her own, Zoe is passionate about providing the best service and access possible, to ensure your child's health and well being needs are met to the highest of standards.
Zoe is in clinic Monday - Thursday.