Child Development Costa del Sol
Meet the team
Aynsley Carter
Director and Head of Occupational Therapy
Aynsley is a qualified Occupational Therapist who has supported Shine from the beginning. She completed her studies, walking away with a Masters Level, at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand
Aynsley has over 10 years experience working within multiple settings including; hospitals, schools, home-based, community along with private and public child development centres across several countries; New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong and currently Spain. Her expertise involves assisting children/students with sensory integration dysfunction, gross motor, fine motor, visual perceptual difficulties and executive functioning skills. Her aim is to assist children/students to reach their full potential across all environments in life; home, school and community.
Aynsley values professional development and has completed courses within Play Therapy Foundation, DIY Floortime, Brain Gym, Rhythmic Movement Training, SIPT ( Sensory Integration Training), Handwriting without Tears, Therapeutic Listening, Yoga Teacher Training and continues to participate in Neuro-Development courses.
Aynsley dedicates her free time towards running in the mountains training for Ultra races and building a sustainable container home with her overly patient husband and 3 adorable cats.
She is a member of the Spanish Association of Occupational Therapy, Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, Sensory Integration Network based out of the U.K. and the Hong Kong Association of Occupational Therapy.
What gets Aynsley out of bed everyday to work is experiencing and feeling the joy children express when they see themselves achieving their goals, pure bliss.
Katie Smith
Director and Head of Speech and Language Therapy
Katie Smith, is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, experienced in assessment and therapy intervention for all children’s speech, language and communication needs. She has been working in Spain since 2017 and has been with Shine from the beginning. Prior to that, she spent 10 years working in the NHS and privately with children with special and additional needs in the UK.
Katie graduated from University College London with a B.A. in Linguistics and subsequently an MSc in Speech and Language Therapy. She is a proud member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, UK. She is also registered with the HCPC, UK. Katie continually completes professional development courses. For example, Hanen, PCI, Makaton, PECS, and many more.
In her spare time, Katie enjoys home time with her crazy household of 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and (last but not least!) husband. Every opportunity we get we like to travel. Having grown up in Hong Kong we love to experience new things.
Katie believes in an evidence based, child centred approach with fun filled and inclusive therapy. She is dedicated to obtaining the best practice for the child, so we can give our clients the maximum opportunity to achieve their developmental and educational goals.
Kate Cassidy
Shine Occupational Therapist
Kate is a qualified Occupational Therapist from Manchester, U.K, completing her BSc degree in occupational therapy at York St John University. She has worked as a rotational therapist in the NHS for nearly ten years, with experience in a wide range of areas including neurosurgery and neuro rehabilitation, major trauma and paediatrics. Kate is registered with the HCPC and is a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapy.
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In 2018, Kate took a career break to work in Barcelona, teaching English to children. From this experience, she recognised that her passion was to work with and support children.
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In her spare time, Kate enjoys travelling, walking, salsa dancing and spending quality time with family and friends.
Linsey Verstappen
Speech & Language Therapist
Linsey Verstappen is a fully qualified Speech and Language Therapist from the Netherlands. She graduated from the HAN in Nijmegen with a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Speech and Language Studies. She is a member of the Dutch Association of Speech and Language Therapists (NVLF).
She did her minor in Dutch sign language and after she graduated she did a course in preverbal therapy. She loves to see how children develop and explore for themselves. During her work in the care of the disabled she learned how to achieve big goals by looking at small differences she could make. Being a Speech and Language Therapist is more than teaching a child to speak, it is giving the child possibilities to communicate and grow in their environment.
In her free time Linsey enjoys singing, hiking and exploring the beautiful nature of Spain together with her boyfriend and 2 dogs.
Cecelia Cienska
Speech & Language Therapist
Cecelia is a qualified Speech and Language Therapist from Canada. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Zoology and then went on to graduate with a Master in Health Science in Speech-Language Therapy. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). Cecelia is a life-long learner, always with a course on the go, such as Hanen, Oral-Facial Myology, Orton-Gillingham and Pathways to Proficient Reading.
With her husband who is a foreign correspondent, Cecelia’s life is full of travel. She has lived in Canada, the United States and Poland, and worked in hospitals, rehab centers, and schools. During her 13 years working at the American School of Warsaw, she worked as the elementary speech-language pathologist and later as Director of Learning Support PreK3-Grade 12. There she honed her skills in articulation, motor speech difficulties and reading development as well as collaboration and team building. She firmly believes that parents, therapists and teachers must work together as a team to see the whole child and support his or her growth.
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Cecelia continues to love to travel, especially to visit her 3 children who live in Poland, Thailand and Canada. She is an avid fan of pilates, hiking, theater and taking long walks with her dog.