Ms Elisa Valdez

I am a passionate Occupational Therapist who has experienced the power of occupation to promote and improve health and wellbeing. I am triple qualified; I hold a BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy from Canterbury Christ Church University, a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education in the Lifelong Learning sector, and I qualified as a Teacher of the Deaf and Language Therapy in Argentina. I gained a PGCert in Collaborative Working between Health and Education, and a PGCert in Sensory Integration, qualifying as Sensory Integration Practitioner. My specialism is around setting up and leading integrated therapy service in education settings. I have a broad experience in Autism and learning disabilities, and how to best support communities whilst maximising therapeutic input through a collaborative approach, especially devising and delivering universal approaches.

Prior to working in academia, I worked as a therapy team lead and school-based occupational therapist  in a specialist school. As the school-based occupational therapist, I set up the first occupational therapy service and implemented the 3-tiered approach, with an emphasis on whole-school intervention. I became later the Therapy Team Lead and coordinated the service provision of a multi-professional team which included Speech and Language Therapy, Dramatherapy, Physiotherapy, Music Therapy, and Counselling in an integrated way. Previously, I worked as a teacher of Spanish for over 10 years in the UK, and a teacher of the Deaf and Language Therapist in diverse settings, including health and education in Argentina. My interests include occupational justice, equity and inclusive education, and participation in physical activity to promote health and wellbeing.

Currently, I am the Module Lead of Assessment of Occupational Performance for the Apprenticeship programme. I contribute to various modules as part of the teaching team. Although I have recently joined Canterbury Christ Church University as a lecturer, I have extended teaching experience both abroad and in the UK. My early academic career started at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Argentina, where I contributed to module teaching, research, and conference presentations. 

Some of the areas I am interested in includes occupational justice for individuals with intellectual disability, autism, participation in meaningful physical activity to promote health and well-being, school-based occupational therapy, and neurodiverse and inclusive pedagogy. In my previous experiences, I devised implementation projects to promote mental health in the school setting, and to make teaching and learning environments inclusive for autistic individuals. In 2001, I carried out a research project as part of a scholarship within the Special Education Faculty in Argentina.  The title was "Exploring the Development of Phonological Awareness Through the Use of Nursery Rhymes in Children at Risk."

I am a HCPC registered occupational therapist.
I have been active member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) since 2013. I took the role as a student rep in the regional specialist group for children, young people and families whilst studying an Occupational Therapy degree. All these years, being a member of the RCOT has been essential to develop my professional skills and maintain appropriate breadth and depth subject knowledge, especially in school-based occupational therapy, utilising occupation-centred interventions with children and their families, and enabling occupational performance of neurodivergent individuals.
I served as a School Governor at a Special Needs School where I contributed to the quality assurance of the school curriculum and participation in the school community among other responsibilities.