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A Rare Specialty

Developmental Education

Peter Calderone, registered Developmental Educator

Peter holds Individual Accreditation and is a practicing member of Developmental Educators Australia.

What Is A Developmental Educator?

An Allied Health Specialty Built Entirely Around Disability

A Developmental Educator is an allied health professional who specialises entirely in disability. Where other therapies often focus on one area, such as movement or speech, a DE looks at the whole person across their whole life: learning, behaviour, communication, independence, relationships and the big transitions between life stages. The profession is recognised by the NDIA and accredited through Developmental Educators Australia Incorporated, and with only around 500 practising nationally, most people have never met one.

Our founder Peter is one of them: a registered Developmental Educator with a Master of Autism Studies completed with distinction, backed by 23 years of hands-on practice across day programs, supported accommodation and employment support. Developmental education with us covers assessment, planning, skill-building programs and practical strategies, delivered wherever the learning needs to happen: home, school, work or out in the community.

Talk to Peter

Who It Helps

Support For Every Stage Of Life

Developmental education works across the whole lifespan, and it looks different at every stage. Here's how it helps at three of the big ones.

Children & Young People

Early skills, school readiness, communication, play and behaviour strategies that make sense to the whole family. We work alongside parents, educators and any therapists involved, so what happens in a session keeps working at home and in the classroom.

School Leavers

The move from school into work or further learning is one of the biggest transitions there is. With two decades of school leaver employment experience behind us, we build the road map early: skills, confidence, work experience and a plan that fits the person.

Adults

Skill development has no age limit. For adults, developmental education means practical skill-building for home, work, relationships and community life, plus considered planning support for the changes life brings, from moving house to changing jobs to becoming a parent.

Developmental Education FAQs

Get To Know The Profession

A Developmental Educator assesses how a person learns, plans support around their goals and then teaches the skills to get there, whether those are communication, daily living, social, work or independence skills. DEs also design strategies other people can use, so families, teachers and support workers all pull in the same direction. Think of it as therapy where the method is teaching and the goal is a fuller life.

Developmental Educators are listed in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements under capacity building supports, most commonly through the funding stream for daily living skill development in your plan. If you're unsure whether your plan covers it, send us a message through our contact form and we'll give you a clear answer, and we're glad to speak with your support coordinator or plan manager directly.

There's real overlap, and DEs often work alongside both. The difference is focus: disability is the whole of a DE's training, and the approach is educational, building skills through structured teaching across every part of life and every life stage. Many families use a DE to turn recommendations from other professionals into day-to-day progress.

You don't need a referral, a diagnosis letter or anything formal: you can contact us directly and start the conversation today. If a support coordinator, teacher or another professional is helping you explore options, our referral form makes it easy for them, and we respond to every enquiry within 24 hours.

Ready When You Are

Let's Start With A Conversation

Call us or fill out our contact form and we'll get back to you within a day for a free initial chat, with no obligation at all. We work with self-managed, plan-managed, agency-managed and privately-funded participants alike.

0410 606 694Make a referral