2023 ADHD WA Conference Speakers & Schedule

Mark Bellgrove is Director of Research at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, and a Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience in the School of Psychological Sciences, at Monash University, where he leads a multidisciplinary team studying the biological basis of attention, cognitive control and decision making in both health and disorder (e.g., ADHD). His laboratory comprises state-of-the-art cognitive neuroscience suites alongside molecular facilities for functional genomics. His group has made significant progress in defining the molecular genetic and neurochemical drivers of attention and cognitive control. He is immediate past President of the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA) and Secretary General of the World ADHD Federation.

Sven Bölte, Ph.D., is professor of child and adolescent psychiatric science at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet (KI), and senior clinical psychologist at the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychiatry Research, Region Stockholm, Sweden. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field of neurodevelopmental conditions. Sven directs of the KI Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (“KIND”), is editor in chief of the Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychology and Psychiatry and in the board of the European Network for Hyperkinetic Disorders (EUNETHYDIS) and the European ADHD Guidelines Group. For his work, he has received several recognitions, such as the ”Life Watch Nordiska Priset”, ”Årets Ljus” (Society Attention), Psynk award GNET” (Sweden’s Municipalities & Regions), and ”Fellow of the International Society for Autism Research” (INSAR). Sven has published more than 500 original articles, reviews, book chapters, assessment and intervention tools in the field of ADHD, autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions, and has been cited more than 26,000 times. In the last 10 years, Sven has been working with the WHO, the ICF Research Branch and researchers and stakeholders around the world with the implementation of the ICF in ADHD, which offers a holistic view of neurodivergence.

Professor Bölte will be presenting on the topic: “The Neurodivergent Individual in their Unique World – implementing WHO’s ICF system in ADHD”

Christine Layton presents one of ABC Radio Perth’s four flagship programs, statewide Afternoons. From Mornings at ABC Great Southern in Albany to broadcasting across the country on National Drive, Christine has spent the last decade interviewing every day Australians, high profile politicians, elite athletes and performers such as Dame Emma Thompson, Jimmy Barnes, Premier Mark McGowan and Cathy Freeman OAM.

When Christine was diagnosed with ADHD 10 years ago, she made a decision to pursue radio in the hope it was more suited to her skill set. As Afternoons Presenter, she now covers 8-12 stories over the course of her weekday three hour show whilst speaking to hundreds of talkback callers on a range of local and national topics. Christine enjoys the hard-timed nature of radio and the challenge of monitoring the 24-hour news cycle on 3 TVs whilst operating 6 studio screens and a live 12 fader panel on air.

At the start of the pandemic, Christine recognised the need for open conversations around mental health and created Australia’s first regular segment ‘Inside Out’ with Tash Broomhall from Blooming Minds (finalist at the WA Mental Health Awards 2019, 2020). An award-winning lindy hop performer and former teacher, Christine is a mother, wife and ambassador for Endometriosis Australia and The Bell Tower.

Emma was awarded a Doctor of Clinical Psychology (Child Specialisation) through the University of Melbourne in 2010. Emma is a Senior Clinical psychologist working in the Developmental Assessment and Management Program at the Alfred Infant Child and Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Service. Prior to this Dr Sciberras worked in an academic position at Deakin University (2015-2023) as an Associate Professor leading a program of research focused on ADHD. She is an elected board member of the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association and contributed to the development of the Australian ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline. Emma has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications and has attracted ~$9M in research funding.

Dr. Belinda Oddy commenced her medical training at the University of Melbourne and was awarded a Commonwealth Academic Scholarship. After completing her internship at the RBWH in 2010 she commenced psychiatric training with advanced training in Consultation-Liaison and Addiction Psychiatry. After undertaking a fellowship year in pain medicine at the Professor Tess Cramond Multidisciplinary Pain Centre at the RBWH in 2018, Belinda has worked in both public and private practice, where she has developed an interest in working with people who have ADHD. She has undertaken research previously in the field of women’s mental health.

Dr Oddy utilises an evidence-based approach to provide a holistic approach to patient care.  This includes medication, talking therapies and lifestyle and social interventions.

Areas of interest:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults
• Substance Use Disorders
• Mood Disorders:
  Depression including Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder
• Anxiety Disorders:
  Including Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Phobia

Dr Aggie is a General Paediatrician, with a special interest in infant and parent mental health and neurodiversity. She completed her specialist training at Royal Darwin and Princess Margaret Hospital and has further qualifications in Infant and Parent Mental Health through the University of Melbourne. She continues to work at Perth Children’s Hospital as well as consulting privately. She is passionate about her work with families and their children, and as a mother of two neurodiverse children herself,  understands the chaotic juggle of parenting and modern life.

I provide assessment and treatment of ADHD in teenagers and adults, starting at about 16 and continuing into later life as needs be. I am in full-time private practice in Nedlands. My focus is on medication treatment and I liaise closely with colleagues who provide the essential aspects of a multimodal treatment approach e.g. psychologists and coaches.

I have over 30 years experience treating ADHD, as well as being involved in published research, and supporting community and professional ADHD groups. Specifically, I’ve been on the Professional Advisory Body of ADHD WA since 1994 and on the management Board since 2017.

Zyron trained as a Clinical Psychologist, first at the University of South Africa, and in 1983 completed his Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology (Cum Laude) at the University of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. On his arrival in Perth in 1988, he commenced work in a Child Development Centre dealing primarily with child-related behaviour and developmental problems and problems related to marriage and family life. It was here that he developed and interest in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Zyron is the principal clinical psychologist at Premia Consulting Psychology in Osborne Park, Perth and has been in private practice since 1984.

Zyron is a member of the following professional organisations: The Australian Psychological Society (APS), The APS College of Clinical Psychology, The Institute for Private Clinical Psychologists of Australia (IPCPA), and The Association of Clinical Psychologists of Australia (ACPA). He has been on the Professional Advisory Board of ADHD WA for over twenty years.

Zyron’ s main clinical interests are parenting issues, child behaviour problems and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children and adults, marital and sexual problems, and adult coping with life problems,

Professor Wai Chen is Professor of Youth Mental Health and Developmental Neuropsychiatry, Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA. He is Professor, Psychiatry Discipline Lead, Curtin Medical School, Curtin University. He is also adjunct professor, Graduate School of Education, UWA; adjunct professor, School of Medicine (Fremantle), Notre Dame University Australia, WA; and adjunct professor, Department of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University. He is a member of the international Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) consortium. He completed his s M.Phil. at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, before a PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London.

His research is in the areas of ADHD, neurodevelopmental disorders, emotional dysregulation, dissociation, treatments, resilience, and social recovery in children, adolescents and youths.
He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, with over 7000 citations. In 2010, he was jointly awarded the BMA Medical Book Awards: ‘Highly Commended’–for “Living with ADHD”. He served between 2011-2013 as an external peer reviewer for the DSM-5 Clinical and Public Health Committee (DSM-5 CPHC) during the DSM-5 revision.

In recent years, he served as a member of the State-wide Mental Health Research Strategy Advisory Group, WA; and also, as a member of the Interagency Expert Advisory Group of the Ministerial Taskforce into Public Mental Health Services for Infants, Children and Adolescents in Western Australia.

He has contributed the chapter on Child Neuropsychiatry in the Oxford Textbook of Neuropsychiatry (Oxford University Press), and has been commissioned to author a book on ADHD, by invitation from Sage Publication, London. In 2022, one of his publications on ADHD was cited by DSM-5-TR to support text revision (TR) on the ADHD section published in the electronic version of DSM-5-TR.

OAM, ADHD WA Management Board Chair, Member of ADHD WA Professional Advisory Body, ADHD Coach and Consultant.

Michele has been supporting people with ADHD since 1995 through ADHD WA, and currently serves on the Board and PAB. She has completed a PhD in the field of ADHD. Aside from her academic qualifications Michele’s coach training is extensive. She completed her basic studies with CoachU in 2009, and then went on to study advanced coaching techniques with the ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA). She holds coaching credentials with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Professional Association of ADHD Coaches (PAAC). She is a member of the teaching faculty at the ADD Coach Academy, and a registered mentor coach.

Michele coaches adults, university students, high school students and parents to achieve their goals. Her coaching creates an ongoing collaborative partnership employing her extensive, ADHD knowledge, best coaching practices, and ADHD-friendly skills & tools to bring about positive personal and professional change for her clients. Together with her clients she observes what is preventing them from reaching specific goals, explores ways in which they can maximize strengths, talents, and passion, and designs strategies to suit the ADHD client’s learning, processing, and organisation styles.

Over my 25-year teaching career, I have been fortunate to have taught numerous children, all with their unique traits Supporting and championing every student led me to train as an ADHD coach. My international, 15 years, and local teaching experience has allowed me to follow my love of learning and bring that to all the students I have been lucky enough to teach. Understanding how your brain works and the processes in which you learn is the first step to overcoming challenges and being who you truly are. The various ways in which students learn and think, is enlightening to me and was a stimulus for me to take on this new pathway and help students and families succeed.

As a passionate Educator with 29 years of experience in Independent schools, I have been advocating for neurodiverse students and families as they navigate the complex world of education. My strengths lie in my ability to connect with, understand the needs of and successfully implement tools to help students achieve social, emotional and academic success. I moved from being a classroom and specialist teacher, to being the Gifted and Talented Specialist. My leadership position afforded me the opportunity to advocate for students, mentor them in a case management capacity, and to support families and Educators alike. I found my work with these students and families inspirational; this was a community I knew I wanted to support. I look forward to working with people to help them understand their unique brain-wiring and to unleash their superpowers