As a teenager, Kristy represented her country in gymnastics before injury introduced her to physiotherapy and sparked a new ambition. 

‘The person who was always smiling and there for me was my physio. 

‘I loved the energy in the clinic and the way physiotherapy could help people return to the things they loved doing. 

‘That’s what drew me into the profession.’ 

After moving from Canada to Queensland to complete a Master of Physiotherapy Studies, Kristy discovered her passion for paediatrics during clinical placements supervised by Associate Professor Yvonne Burns, Dr Pauline Watter and Julie MacDonald, who saw her potential before she did and guided her onto that path. 

‘From the outside it can look like we’re just playing but every activity is grounded in musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory and developmental knowledge. 

‘Turning that science into something meaningful for a child is the part I enjoy most.’ 

Graduating in 2005, Kristy began work at the Brisbane-based Glenleighden School (now Mancel College), a specialist school for children with speech, language and communication needs, where she learned to work with non-verbal children. 

‘The students at the school taught me that communication is so much more than words. 

‘Movement, play and connection became my language and it completely reshaped how I practise.’ 

Paediatric physiotherapist Kristy Nicola was a member of the team that developed the APA’s Valuing Skills Thriving Kids information sheet

Her experiences at the Glenleighden School led her to undertake a PhD, completed in 2014, exploring motor function and participation in children with communication and neurodevelopmental challenges, while also moving into a university teaching role. 

Over nearly two decades she has combined clinical practice with research and teaching across several Australian universities. 

Kristy’s leadership has extended beyond Australia; she served a four-year term on the executive board of the International Organisation of Physiotherapists in Paediatrics, contributing to international standards and collaboration in paediatric physiotherapy. 

This experience has shaped the way she thinks about equity of access and best practice for children. 

Seeking new challenges, Kristy returned to community therapy in 2023 as practice principal for one of Early Start Australia’s multidisciplinary paediatric clinics. 

In this role she leads a multidisciplinary paediatric team while maintaining a strong clinical case load. 

‘At Early Start Australia I can work one-to-one with families while also shaping how our whole team delivers care. 

‘That combination of hands-on practice and system-level impact is incredibly energising.’ 

Kristy has a longstanding association with the APA, much of it in volunteer leadership roles—developing curriculum and teaching the Paediatric Physiotherapy Level 1 and 2 courses and representing the APA on a range of advisory and expert groups. 

She is the deputy chair of the APA Paediatric national group and, having finished two terms as chair of the group’s Queensland branch, is now completing her ex-officio role. 

She also serves on the APA’s NDIS taskforce and was a key member of the team writing the APA’s Valuing Skills Thriving Kids information sheet, advocating for physiotherapy in early intervention and supporting clinicians across Australia. 

Alongside these roles, Kristy is helping to shape a national project that brings together paediatric physiotherapy expertise, contemporary evidence and practical clinician resources, creating tools to support paediatric physiotherapists and to strengthen physiotherapy’s leadership within allied health. 

This emerging collaboration embodies her ongoing challenge: using everything she knows to help children reach further than anyone first expected, then equipping physios nationwide to achieve the same. 

‘I love those moments when a child achieves something that once felt out of reach, whether that’s taking their first steps or joining in at school in a new way. 

‘My constant challenge is to help each child or adolescent reach their unique potential and, at times, go beyond what anyone initially expected was possible.’