Inclusive Practice in the Early Years

Bernie, Charmaine: - Charmaine Bernie is a clinician, educator and researcher with a focus on children's early years. She has 25 years' experience in paediatric occupational therapy across education, community and tertiary hospital settings in Australia, and overseas. Charmaine has specialised in developmental screening and surveillance, evidence-based multidisciplinary assessment, and participation-focused supports for young and primary school-age children. She has explored best practice identification and support provisions for below school-age children with inclusion and additional support needs in her research and clinical practice, and is currently a research fellow with an early years-focused laboratory in Australia. In 2022, Charmaine completed her doctorate exploring pathways to autism diagnosis in Australia, with the University of Melbourne. Charmaine continues to lead research projects that explore ways in which children's early support and inclusion needs can be identified, and acted upon in the community contexts where they spend the majority of their time, including early childhood education and care settings.