Bianca Santi

Bianca’s knowledge and passion are a perfect fit for her role here at GTK. Before becoming an Occupational Therapist, she wanted to be a mechanic as she likes working out how things operate and then repairing them. Her role as an Assistive Technology Consultant allows to to blend her Occupational Therapy knowledge with her love of mechanics when setting up and optimising assistive technology solutions.

An exercise and fitness enthusiast, Bianca studied Sport and Exercise Science and worked with the Penrith Panthers before deciding to study further and obtain her Occupational Therapy degree. Passionate about paediatrics, she was awarded a scholarship with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance for support and professional development during her final year of study. Bianca then worked at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance for a few years, focusing on both mobility and computer assistive technology, particularly in paediatrics.

Bianca is particularly passionate about the early use of powered mobility in children. She proudly describes setting up a power wheelchair with head array for a two and a half year old boy, where it wasn’t expected that he could operate a power wheelchair independently. The power wheelchair was a huge success for this young boy and his family, allowing him to independently operate the power wheelchair via a head array and be able to chase his older siblings as they rode around the park on their bikes. Bianca says that being able to assist these children and families is the best part of her job, as her role provides her “with the equipment and tools to make such a positive change in people’s lives so they can show their full potential”.

When she’s not setting up power wheelchairs for little ones, Bianca can often be found keeping active with Crossfit and training. If you happen to look up at the sky on weekends and see some adrenaline seekers jumping out of a plane, make sure to look out for Bianca. She’s often out skydiving when the weather plays nice.