Where are all the OTs?

I had the privilege of speaking at The Ehlers-Danlos Society Global Learning Conference in Brisbane at the beginning of February. What an experience! 3 days jam-packed full of learning and sharing knowledge. 

There was a fantastic lineup of Aussie (30) & Kiwi (6) speakers, alongside colleagues from the USA (4) and UK (2). Having these conferences outside the US/UK is rare, so it was a real treat! 

I loved being able to share the Occupational Therapy role and voice at this conference, but as the sole OT on stage & in the workshops, it left me and others thinking, where are the rest of the OTs working in this space? Why isn’t there an OT voice in ALL these conversations?

Our profession belonged in every panel and workshop at that conference, and my hope is that by the time we have the Global Learning Conference in Australia again, there will be many more of us feeling confident to put our hands up and speak on this topic! 

There were only so many panels and workshops I could manage to be involved in, but I did my best to impart the OT-way and voice as much as I could! (I believe there may have been a tally running by fellow OTs on how many times I dropped Occupational Therapy/OT in my panel conversation) #represent 

We need more OTs who are comfortable working with hypermobility conditions, including Paediatric Generalised Joint Hypermobility, Paediatric Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, as well as the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, and rarer conditions like Loeys-Dietz Syndrome and Marfan Syndrome. 

In 2025, my mission continues to be educating as many OTs as possible in Australia so that they can provide safe & effective interventions to people living with hypermobility conditions. 

Are you keen?

Last year, I ran the first round of Hypermobility for Paediatric Occupational Therapists, and I’m thrilled to announce that round 2 is coming VERY SOON. 

.......Stay tuned for more info…

Interested in the recordings of the conference? You can purchase them HERE