Dr Rodgers is an occupational therapist with 28 years experience in paediatric occupational therapy as a clinician, academic, and researcher. She has worked with children with developmental, motor, learning difficulties and children on the autistic spectrum. She teaches paediatric occupational therapy and supervises postgraduate students in research higher degree projects such as interprofessional education during practice placements, the occupations of mothering and parenting children with disabilities, parenting children with chronic medical and feeding issues, Singaporean children’s social skills, transitions to high school for children with CP, educational issues of children with ASD, diet and sensory issues of children with AS, randomised control trials of augmentative and virtual reality for children with burns during dressing changes.
Her research interests are primarily in the areas of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), top down interventions, Cognitive Orientation for daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), early intervention, family centred practice and parent education. She has attracted over $1.3 million in competitive research grant funding. She has over 120 national and international refereed journal publications, two edited book, 17 book chapters, and has given over 120 conference presentations, numerous invited presentations. She is editor of a new book on occupation centred practice for children due for release in the first half of 2010 by Wiley Blackwell.
Dr Rodger is on the editorial boards of Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, OTEIPS, British Journal of Occupational Therapy. She is a reviewer for the following journals: Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, British Journal of Occupational Therapy, International Journal of Development, Disability and Education, Focus on Health Professional Education, Disability and Rehabilitation, and some 10 other journals.
She is also has an interest in professional education, IPE, teaching and learning in occupational therapy and allied health education. She has completed a comprehensive review of the OT AUSTRALIA competencies and is currently undertaking their revision. She has an interest in curriculum reform, quality in practice education within occupational therapy and allied health and innovative fieldwork education.
