Karen Wong
Psychologist; Behaviour Consultant
Karen is one of the most experienced ABA and autism clinicians in Australia; she was the inaugural president of The Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia (ABAA) and has spent more than 25 years in the field, teaching children, adolescents and adults to learn, grow and succeed.
Karen is a Registered Psychologist with a Masters of Education in Applied Behaviour Analysis. She started working in the field of ABA in 1994, having the privilege of working with one of the ‘founding families’ who brought ABA to Australia from America. She began working for the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) when they opened the Australian office in 1997 and quickly moved her way up the ranks until 2002 when she was promoted to the role of Senior Managing Supervisor and successfully managed the clinic for over a decade. In 2013, she took over ownership of CARD Australia and rebranded it to The Learning Clinic (TLC), leading TLC as the Clinical Director for over 8 years before founding Silverlinings in 2021.
In 2019, Karen received the Dean’s Award from Monash University for Academic Excellence as the top graduating student in the Masters of Education in Applied Behaviour Analysis. In 2020, Karen received the Geoff Potter CPBS Award for Excellence in Applied Behaviour Analysis in recognition of her contributions to the field of ABA.
Karen designs custom programs for early childhood, adolescents and young adults and has experience working in a trans-disciplinary team providing consultation, training, one-on-one behaviour therapy, diagnostic and ongoing assessments and counselling services to families throughout Australia and Asia.
Karen has worked with and been mentored by several internationally renowned experts in the field of Autism and ABA. She has significant experience training and leading high calibre clinical teams, ensuring her programs meet our clinical standards and core values.
Karen maintains an active role in the autism and ABA community through regular peer supervision, presenting to parent and professional groups and mentoring and supervising new and established clinicians entering and progressing in the field of psychology and ABA.
Karen continually updates her skills and knowledge by attending conferences and workshops, which have also allowed her to cultivate her special interests in Positive Behaviour Support and teaching Theory of Mind and Executive Functioning skills to her clients.
Aarathy Kumar
Early Childhood Educator; Behaviour Consultant
Aarathy has over two decades of clinical experience, having started started her ABA career with CARD Australia in 2001. She has a background in Early Childhood and Education, with a minor in Psychology from Macquarie University. Aarathy became a behaviour consultant in 2004, providing program consultation and therapy to children, adolescents and adults all over Australia. Aarathy has worked with and been mentored by several internationally published and renowned experts and has gained significant experience being mentored by and working alongside Karen Wong over the past 20 years.
In 2013, along with Karen she took over ownership of CARD Australia, reborn as The Learning Clinic, and lead the team as Managing Director for over 8 years before founding Silverlinings in 2021.
Aarathy continues to design custom programs for learners of all ages, with a particular focus on adolescents and young adults working towards their goals of independence and leading the delivery of Silverlinings Feeding Clinic.
Aarathy has over a decade of experience in recruiting and training exceptionally high calibre therapists to deliver ABA programs to families all over Australia. She focuses her recruitment strategies on profiling and matching values and attitudes to ensure a good fit and long term positive outcomes. She is able to use her clinical skills and background to provide a unique perspective when offering administrative support, leadership and management skills to coordinate and facilitate training and events and oversee teams and clients.
Aarathy is a regular conference attendee and presenter, placing high value in strengthening her clinical and administrative skills to ensure families always have access to the best treatment options and experiences available.