“Tuia te rangi e tu iho nei. Tuia te papa e takoto nei.”
“As the sky joins the earth, so people depend on one another.
   

”Dr Susan Foster-Cohen, Champion Centre Director, works with the teams of therapists and families/whanau to fulfil the vision of the Champion Centre as the place where children can learn to reach their full potential, no matter how difficult their start or how rocky the road.

Dr Foster-Cohen is an expert in children’s language development, who has published widely on children growing up with and without language difficulties. She has lived all over the world, and worked with children in a range of monolingual and bilingual settings in the UK, USA and France before moving permanently to New Zealand.

“My greatest pleasure is to visit graduates of the Champion Centre who lead quality lives where they are happy and learning, and to know that the baby steps the Centre staff helped them take can become giant strides as they grow and develop.”

 
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“Every child is a unique individual with individual needs. I believe in all children having the right to develop their potential, whatever that might be.”

Some 25 years ago, Dr Patricia Champion initiated her work with children with Down syndrome. Over the years, with a dedicated team of staff, this grew to become the unique Centre it now is. Beginning with just 7 children in its first year, the Centre has grown steadily, expanded its services, and attracted more and more dedicated, highly qualified personnel. Over the years it has helped more than one thousand children.

 

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STAFF MEMBERS 2008

DIRECTOR
Dr Susan Foster-Cohen

FOUNDER
Dr Patricia Champion

CLINICAL PRACTICE MANAGERS
Helen Watkins
Marjorie Abrahamson
Jan Murphy

SOCIAL WORKERS
Wendy Entwistle (Senior)
Bess Carbines
Cushla Newton
Fiona Lothian
Corien van Daalen

SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPISTS
Jan Murphy (Senior)
Jan Ballin
Lesley Gleason
Patricia Thompson
Jenny Trotter
Inga Currey
Claire Miller
Lois Lang
Anne van Bysterveldt

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS
Margi Prisk-Vink
Robyn Ritchie
Mariana van Rensbury
Toni Hawkyard

EARLY INTERVENTION TEACHERS
Marjorie Abrahamson (Senior)
Annette Burrell
Gae Cherry
Marjorie Hunt
Jane Phillips
Rose Robinson
Lisa Duthie

PHYSIOTHERAPISTS
Helen Watkins (Senior)
Deborah Kerry
Philippa Robertson
Celia Reid
Gabriella Albers-Greenway

MUSIC SPECIALISTS
Julie Wylie
Linda Hanchard
Louise Shand
Ali Bare
Lisa Mitchell

COMPUTER SPECIALISTS
Hilary Stock
Penny Corbett
Leanne Dunnage

PLAY COORDINATORS
Lesley Drew
Elizabeth Bain
Marissa Moore
Dot Capon

REGISTERED PSYCHOLOGIST
Julia Ridgway

ADMINISTRATION
Gail Brocket
Sally Mangos

CENTRE ASSISTANT
Barbara Moore
EDUCATION SUPPORT WORKERS
Jackie Brown (Senior)
Elizabeth Bain
Gwenda Cripps
Liz Fox
Colleen Glover
Annette Leonard
Margaret Malzard
Marissa Moore
Jannie O'Loughlin
Jenene Parker
Marie Stevenson
Heather May
Rebecca Prosser
Lisa Keen
Claude Tyler
Raewyn Hammond
Danielle Guise
Annette Leonard
Lisa McKenzie
Adrienne O'Shea

DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Margaret Howie
Belinda Wilkinson (Assistant)


 
BURWOOD HOSPITAL, PRIVATE BAG 4708, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, P: 0064-3-383-6867, F: 64-3-383-6866, E: office@championcentre.org.nz, W: www.championcentre.org.nz

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