DipOT(NSW), MA(Educ.&Work)(Macq.), PhD(USyd.)
AHPRA Registration OCC 000 176 1338
Senior Lecturer,
Discipline of Occupational Therapy
The University of Sydney
Cumberland Campus, Bldg J., Room 116
East St., Lidcombe, NSW, 2141
Dr. Christine Chapparo received a Diploma in Occupational Therapy from the New South Wales School of Occupational Therapy in Sydney, a Master of Arts in Education and Work from Macquarie University, North Ryde, Australia, and a Doctor of Philosophy, also from Macquarie University. She started work as an occupational therapist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. During this time she completed a Neurodevelopmental Therapy (NDT) certification course and then travelled to California to complete a postgraduate clinical rehabilitation course at Rancho los Amigos Hospital in Downey. Following this she worked at an Easter Seal Facility and then accepted a position at Rancho as a clinical specialist in pediatric rehabilitation. She studied sensory integration methods with Dr. A. Jean Ayres and was invited to be a founding member of the Sensory Integration Faculty. She then moved to Chicago and accepted the position of OT Supervisor in Pediatric Neurology.
Since returning to Australia, Dr. Chapparo has been employed at the University of Sydney, formerly Cumberland College of Health Sciences, where currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy. She is an educator of occupational therapy undergraduate and postgraduate students both in formal academic programs and through continuing professional education on a local, national and international scale. She is regularly invited to disseminate her work through key note addresses at professional conferences.
Dr. Chapparo’s research has included occupational therapy theory development, ecological assessment of cognitive strategy application, effect of strategies to improve school performance of children with sensory processing and learning disorders, understanding resilience in traumatized children, and the impact of orthotic, casting and physical guidance interventions on upper limb and hand function. She continues to teach and supervise undergraduate and graduate research students at the University, and in 2006 received a University of Sydney Excellence in Teaching Award.