Rachael Bowen is the Westfield Chatswood local hero 2023 her work at Giant Steps, which supports children and adults on the autism spectrum.
Rachael Bowen started working at Giant Steps in Gladesville as a graduate speech pathologist 17 years ago. She is now the centre’s director of speech pathology and was ‘humbled’ to be chosen as the Westfield Chatswood local hero in October.
“I was also absolutely surprised,” she says. “I always think that the work with the young people of Giant Steps is a result of the collective experience and commitment – plus the dedication and expertise of many people in our community.”
“I feel very grateful and it’s wonderful to know that what I do is having a positive impact on the young people that we support in our school, but also more broadly, in other school environments.
“I was nominated alongside some very equally deserving people!” the mother-of-two adds.
Giant Steps will receive $20,000 from Westfields, which Rachael says will come in handy for the not-for-profit which survives on donations, sponsorship and government funding.
“We don’t charge fees for our students who attend and obviously the gap between the government funding we receive and what it costs to operate the school is quite significant,” she explains. “We rely on the generosity of the people in our community, the friends of the organisation, corporate sponsors and the connections of family and friends.”
Rachael says Giant Steps will use the $20,000 to work towards being able to accept more students as its wait list is quite extensive. Giant Steps was established in 1995 and has 103 students from kindergarten through to Year 12 who come from all over Sydney – the North Shore, to out west and the south. It also provides a program for adults with a post-school program.
Winning this award is a high achievement for Rachael. “I came here as a newly-graduated speech pathologist and I had some incredible mentors,” she remembers.
“Giant Steps therapists work in quite a different way to how we train at university. It’s a very integrated model of therapy. We’ve worked in the classroom with the kids alongside teachers and other professionals and we really get to know the kids and how they engage at school.
“My job has been to work out how we can support students to communicate effectively and to understand information effectively.”
Giant Steps has 45 adult participants and the oldest adult in the program is about 35. “Giant Steps is very much an organisation that has grown and evolved with the needs of our community,” Rachael explains. “It was originally founded by a group of families who were looking for a service that could support their young people who had complex needs to thrive.”
Rachel said the organisation is very appreciative of the support of its corporate sponsors as well as longtime supporters who don’t necessarily have a young person with autism in their life, but have been connected in various ways.
By Pamela Connellan