Anthea Dobson
(Co-Chair)

Anthea graduated from Curtin University in Perth in 1990 before moving to Sydney to work in a multidisciplinary team. Anthea has over 30 years of experience working with children and teenagers and has worked at the Royal London Hospital, completed Certificate of Clinical Competence in New York City and worked in a private capacity in Singapore. Her work settings have included the Child Development Services, Department of Communities, a Masters Supervisor at Curtin University and various schools. Anthea has also worked in private practice for 25 years and is passionate about Autism!

Brooke Purslowe
(Co-Chair)

With 17 years of dedicated experience in disability services, Brooke has developed a strong specialisation in autism spectrum disorders among children and adolescents. In more recent years she has developed a particular interest in the assessment of autistic girls and gender diverse individuals. Her career encompasses roles in both government and not-for-profit organisations here in WA but also Victoria, across metro and regional areas. In her role as an autism assessor, she is committed to providing best practice, neuroaffirming assessments that offer insightful and useful evaluations for the individual and their family. Her goal is to ensure the assessment process results in a deeper understanding of her client and a positive pathway forward.

Karen Lee Seymour
(Vice Chair)

Karen is an accomplished psychologist with over 35 years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and families across educational, private practice, and mental health settings. Her career is characterised by a deep commitment to supporting refugee, humanitarian, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) students, as well as a strong focus on neurodiverse individuals.

Her expertise has been recognised with several awards, including the Inaugural Research Psychologist of the Year in 2013 and the School Psychologist of the Year in 2018. She has played a pivotal role in providing specialist consultation and support to the School Psychology Service (SPS) on CaLD matters and continues to make significant contributions to their professional development and annual conferences.

Karen has authored and published two influential chapters on evaluating CaLD and refugee students who are acquiring a second language. She is actively contributing to global research in Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology through instruments she has devised, including her most recent Adaptive Behaviours Functioning (ABF). Her work illuminates the complexities of assessment processes and the path to becoming a culturally competent school psychologist. Karen presented her research at the 121st American Psychological Association Conference in Hawaii in 2014.

Her dedication to supporting neurodiverse students led her to become an endorsed autism assessor and a member of the WA Autism Diagnosticians’ Forum. As a board member of the WAADF, Karen is committed to sharing her extensive knowledge and expertise, particularly in the CaLD domain, to further the mission of enhancing support and understanding within the field.

Julie May
(Treasurer)

Coming Soon

Emina Cholich
(Secretary)

Emina Cholich is a Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience working with neurodivergent people and their families. She has worked across various community and hospital settings with children and adults, and currently works in the private system. Her interventions are person-centred, collaborative, incorporate family and consider functional capacity across all systems the individual engages with.

She has a particular interest in Autism diagnostic assessment. She is committed to providing an evidence-based, neurodiverse-affirming, and collaborative assessment process which focuses on the individual learning more about themselves, and integrating their diagnosis as a unique and positive aspect of their identity. As well as learning to manage the challenges that come along with it.

She has completed research in the area of Autism Diagnostic assessment gold standard processes, and received a National Prize from the APS for her research and clinical work throughout her Clinical Psychology Training at University.

Emina is currently co-coordinating and teaching in the Graduate Certificate for Autism Diagnosis at the University of Western Australia. She also offers professional supervision to clinicians seeking to upskill in autism assessment diagnosis.

Emina has travelled abroad and done outreach work in Indonesia and Lithuania. In Lithuania part of her role was to work with the education department and provide training to their teaching staff in practical ways to support autistic and other neurodivergent children to safely and successfully engage in mainstream classrooms.

Jacinta Law
(Membership Officer)

Jacinta Law is a speech pathologist with over 18 years of experience across the disability and private sectors in Western Australia. She specialises in autism diagnostics, motor speech disorders, complex feeding, functional communication, and supporting children with DLD, dyslexia, and other learning difficulties.

Jacinta holds a Graduate Certificate in Autism Diagnosis (UWA, 2018) and works in multidisciplinary teams delivering best-practice, neuroaffirming, and family-centred assessments. She also provides professional development, supervision, and has led the development of autism diagnostic, motor speech, and early intervention services within NGO settings.

Jacinta is the director of Tutti Speech Pathology and Autism Services, a mobile and telehealth-based practice supporting children across home, school, and community environments. As a WAADF board member, she is committed to diagnostic excellence, peer collaboration, and raising the standard of autism assessment practice. Outside of work, Jacinta enjoys raising her two children and teaching violin to both neurotypical and neurodiverse students.

Scott Sadler
(Web Manager)

Scott has worked on the WAADF website since late 2012 and currently works at Spectrum Space (formerly Autism West) since July 2013, managing all IT related matters such as the website, social media, newsletters and membership. He also assists with event management and administration duties.

Scott grew up with autism and previously worked almost 10 years in a library. He has studied his Certificate 3 and 4 in IT, and enjoys snooker, reading, movies and supports the West Coast Eagles.

In 2017 Scott was a semi-finalist for the Western Australian Young Achiever Awards in the Community Service and Volunteering Award category.

After 10 long years with WAADF, Scott is stepping down from his role, though he is continuing to support WAADF until a replacement can be found.

Sarah MacDermott
(Ordinary Member)

Sarah qualified as a Speech Language Pathologist at W.A.I.T. (now Curtin University) and then worked in a range of roles within Disability Services Commission. She then lived and worked in Los Angeles California and completed an MA in Education. Over the course of her career Sarah has worked in a variety of roles in home, clinic, centre based and school settings and increasingly specialised in working with individuals on the Autism Spectrum. Sarah is Hanan Certified, is an SAS (Secret Agent Society) social skills program facilitator, and a Certified Special Needs Quality Life Coach.

Sarah is also the proud mother of twin daughters who are now young adults and who are both on the Autism Spectrum (this was included with their permission).

Sarah has been a long-time WAADF Board member and was the founding Chairperson of WAADF when it became incorporated in 2004.

Carol Caccetta
(Ordinary Member)

Coming Soon

Natara Brown
(Ordinary Member)

Coming Soon

Michelle Trowse
(Ordinary Member)

Coming Soon

Miriam Kirby
(Ordinary Member)

Dr Miriam Kirby is an experienced Clinical Psychologist who has worked within the areas of Autism and Mental Health for over 25 years. She is committed to helping neurodivergent individuals of all ages to understand their identity, identify and advocate for supports and accommodations, and manage co-occurring mental health conditions across different settings.

Miriam has a particular interest in supporting Autistic women and girls from a neurodiversity affirming perspective, including those who have been identified as Autistic later in life. In this space, she undertakes Autism assessments, provides therapeutic support (individually and in group settings), and provides training and development opportunities to other clinicians, educators, parents, and community members.

Jessica Boam
(Ordinary Member)

Coming Soon