Audrey Darby, Director/Occupational Therapist

Audrey is a qualified Occupational Therapist. She spent the early part of her career working in multiple specialities such as hands and plastics, neurological rehabilitation, orthopaedics, and general medicine. Audrey specialised in Paediatrics, working with children with complex needs form age 0-12 in a preschool and school setting. 

In 2004 Audrey specialised in Paediatrics, working with children with complex needs form age 0-12 in a preschool and school setting. She realised that Early Intervention was her area of special interest in Occupational Therapy, and was privileged to witness the positive effects that Early Intervention can have in supporting children’s development and improving their quality of life. Audrey has experience working with children with Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Visual Impairment, Sensory Processing Disorder, Global Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disabilities, complex syndromes and much more. 

About 15 years ago, she had the fabulous opportunity to incorporate the equine environment as a therapeutic medium into her practice, and has never looked back. She was an integral part of the development of an Equine Therapy Unit, and provided and facilitated sessions for children with a range of needs. Her specialism is children aged 0-5, but she has worked with clients of all ages both within the equine environment and in a more traditional clinic environment. 

Audrey is passionate about how the unique movement of the horse can be adapted and used to facilitate maturation of the neurological systems in a child and support development. The equine environment in unparalleled in its value as a therapeutic platform for Occupational Therapy, from the movement of the horse, to the horse-human connection, to caring for animals in nature. So when the opportunity came 

to set up EquiSense with an equally passionate Therapeutic Horsemanship Coach, it was the perfect opportunity to develop a service whereby the needs of the whole family were catered for and prioritised through a range of services provided by a range of professionals all striving for excellence in service provision. 

Audrey has studied with the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA), presented in conferences across the world on the topics of the effectiveness of Equine Assisted Occupational Therapy (EAOT), and the benefits to families of Equine Assisted Services. 

As a member of Svitani – Academy of Equine Assisted Services, Audrey is one of an international group of experts in the field of EAS who provide education and mentoring in the field. She is actively involved in the European Equine Assisted Therapy Network (EEATN) – a dynamic group of European Therapists (Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Speech & Language Therapy and Psychomotor Therapists) who aim to support standards of education, and work on collaborative EAS projects / research to deepen the knowledge base in this specialised field. 

Audrey is a CORU registered Occupational Therapist and also a member of the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland (AOTI). Audrey has completed a range of continued professional development courses throughout her career to ensure she can offer families the most up to date evaluations and interventions.