Description
This is a recording of the live session that ran in April 2026 presented by Dr Gina Rencken.
Dr. Gina Rencken qualified as an Occupational Therapist at the University of Pretoria in 2001. She worked at Kalafong Hospital and then Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital until 2010. During this time, she qualified in sensory integration and neurodevelopmental therapy and completed a Masters degree through the University of the Free State. She commenced a career in Academia at the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2012. She has a special interest in neonates and early intervention. Gina lectures in Paediatrics at the University of KwaZulu Natal, as well as on the theory course for the South African Institute for Sensory Integration. She completed her PhD in 2025, exploring the neurobehavioural functioning of infants born to mothers seropositive to HIV. Gina is the module coordinator for the paediatric theory and fieldwork module and coordinates clinical services at the UKZN Occupational Therapy clinic. She is involved in school outreach programmes and empowering educators in helping children overcome barriers to learning. She is a board member of the South African Institute for Sensory Integration (SAISI), as well as the council chair for the International Council of Educators in Ayres Sensory Integration (ICE-ASI). Gina has presented at multiple congresses nationally and internationally in the fields of Occupational Therapy related to Paediatrics, Ayres Sensory Integration, Paediatric Neurology, Infant and child mental health, maternal mental health, and Early Intervention.
The course gave practical examples of how we can implement various interventions in the NICU settings in our low resource facilities to best benefit our babies.