matthew haddon

Matthew started volunteering and working as a Therapy Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator at Healthy Strides during his undergraduate studies. He completed his Honours project in his final two years, exploring the feasibility of the Kindy Moves program, which has since been published in BMJ Open and presented at international conferences. This period sparked Matthew’s deep commitment to paediatric neurorehabilitation and research. 

Matthew joined Healthy Strides as a Physiotherapist and concurrently began work at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), gaining experience in complex cases across orthopaedic, neurology, oncology, and spinal rehabilitation teams.

Matthew made a move for most of the year to Derby Hospital, leading paediatric services for Aboriginal children in remote communities while exploring the beautiful Kimberley region. This was followed by returning to PCH as the Acting Senior Physiotherapist in Cerebral Palsy Orthopaedics, working alongside the Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Medicine teams to support children and families across the journey of orthopaedic surgery.

While continuing in the Cerebral Palsy Orthopaedic role, Matthew also worked extensively in Rehabilitation Mobility Clinics and the new Rehab in the Community service at PCH. In this time, he co-authored a study published in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology on the effectiveness of task-oriented training, and started leading a systematic review with interstate and international researchers exploring the minimum required dose of active lower limb training required to improve goal and motor outcomes. 

Now at Healthy Strides in a mixed clinical, research and project role, Matthew is dedicating his time to advancing neurodisability care through innovative research, education, and intervention.