Focus Matters

Our Team

People, partners and communities working together with care.

This page introduces the people and organisations shaping the mission as the project develops.

Our proposed mission team brings together health, education and communication specialists, including ENT, audiology, speech pathology, paediatrics and education/language-access expertise.

The project is also strengthened by Australian supports, including invaluable contributions from members of the local Deaf community, a Deaf-led business and Brisbane schools.

Portrait of Julie Tait

Julie Tait

Education & Language Access

Teacher of the Deaf, Auslan interpreter and Deafblind consultant supporting communication access and educational collaboration.

Julie Tait is a Teacher of the Deaf, Auslan interpreter and Deafblind consultant with almost four decades of experience working alongside Deaf children, families and educational communities across Australia.

Her work within Focus Matters focuses on communication, language pathways, educational collaboration and the development of culturally respectful resources that support Deaf children and their families in Laos.

Read More Expanded Biography

Julie began working in Deaf Education in 1986 after completing a Graduate Diploma in Educational Studies (Hearing Impairment & Language Disorders). Over the past four decades she has worked across specialist Deaf education, mainstream support services, interpreting, TAFE, regional advisory roles and statewide educational projects.

Julie has extensive experience supporting Deaf children with additional disabilities, including Deafblindness, and has worked closely with families, schools and multidisciplinary teams throughout Australia. Her professional background includes work as a Teacher of the Deaf, Auslan interpreter, regional consultant and statewide Auslan advisor.

Through Focus Matters, Julie’s role includes relationship building, educational collaboration, language resource development and supporting pathways for communication access within the Laos mission partnership.

Alongside her professional work, Julie is also a passionate traveller and photographer, with a strong interest in culture, language and human connection.

Peuples et Montagnes du Mékong wordmark

Peuples et Montagnes du Mékong

Peuples et Montagnes du Mékong (PEMM) is a French non-government organisation supporting community-based projects across Laos, with a focus on education, health and sustainable development.

Focus Matters is connected to PEMM through an evolving partnership supporting the School for the Deaf in Luang Prabang and the broader development of communication and hearing support initiatives within Laos.

The mission continues to grow through collaboration between educators, medical professionals, families and community partners across Laos, France and Australia.

Peuples et Montagnes du Mékong Official Website
Lao Friends Hospital for Children logo

Lao Friends Hospital for Children

Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) is located in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang in rural northern Laos. The hospital provides compassionate paediatric medical care free of charge for children from across northern Laos. LFHC also serves as a referral and teaching hospital, supporting the development of clinical paediatric leadership in Laos.

A paediatrician from LFHC will provide an important clinical link within the proposed multidisciplinary mission team.

Maïna Reslinger

Maïna Reslinger

Project & Communications Manager, PEMM

Based in Luang Prabang, Laos, Maïna Reslinger is the Project and Communications Manager for Peuples et Montagnes du Mékong (PEMM). She coordinates international partnerships and supports the planning and delivery of health and education projects throughout Laos.

For the 2027 Laos Deaf Education Mission, Maïna is coordinating logistics, communications and stakeholder engagement, ensuring effective collaboration between the French, Lao and Australian project partners.

Dr Antoine Perdu supporting paediatric hearing care

Dr Antoine Perdu

ENT Surgeon

Dr Antoine Perdu is an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon with more than 30 years of experience supporting Deaf and hard of hearing children. Throughout his hospital career, he has participated in the development of many advances in paediatric hearing care.

Since 2011, Antoine has travelled regularly to Laos, partnering with local health services to strengthen paediatric ENT care. His work began in Phonsavan and now focuses on Luang Prabang, where he is leading the development of this collaborative hearing and language mission.

Professional portrait of Nicolas Sadoc

Nicolas Sadoc

Audiology

Nicolas Sadoc has been a state-certified hearing aid specialist since 2002, specialising in paediatric hearing care. He worked as a cochlear implant programmer for both adults and children in hospitals in Paris and now works for Amplifon in Bordeaux.

He also develops software for audiologists through the company Audivimedia. During the mission in Laos, he will oversee the fitting of hearing devices for children and the production of custom earmolds.

Nicolas has previously participated in hearing missions in Cambodia and will be based in Luang Prabang with his family from January to March 2027. His extended stay following the January mission will provide valuable continuity for hearing aid follow-up, relationship building and support for the long-term development of the project.

French Speech Pathologist

Speech Pathology

Specialist role supporting communication, language development and collaborative education planning.

LFHC Paediatrician

Paediatrics

Paediatrician from Lao Friends Hospital for Children supporting child health and developmental perspectives.

Professional portrait of Julie Lyons

Julie Lyons

Resource Adaptation & Student Connection

Julie Lyons is a Deaf Consultant and Teacher connected with Our Lady of Lourdes (OLOL) School in Brisbane, Australia. She has extensive experience supporting Deaf children and promoting accessible communication through sign language and bilingual education.

For the 2027 Laos Deaf Education Mission, Julie is assisting with the adaptation of Social Stories and Language Experience Readers, helping to create accessible bilingual and signed resources. She is also fostering connections between students at OLOL Sunnybank and students at the Luang Prabang Deaf School through shared learning and cultural exchange.

Neil Wood

Neil Wood

Auslan Consultant & Resource Adaptation

Neil Wood is a Deaf consultant based in Brisbane, Australia, and a third-generation Deaf Auslan user. Raised in an all-Deaf family, Neil brings a lifetime of lived experience, a deep understanding of Deaf culture, and extensive expertise in Auslan language, mentoring and interpreter services.

For the 2027 Laos Deaf Education Mission, Neil is providing Deaf community perspectives and reviewing educational resources to ensure they are linguistically accurate, culturally appropriate and accessible for Deaf learners. His guidance helps strengthen the authenticity and quality of the project's bilingual and signed resources.

Educational Partnerships

Early support for the project has included conversations and contributions from educational communities in Australia who recognise the importance of communication access, language development and inclusive learning opportunities for Deaf children.

Focus Matters gratefully acknowledges the support of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School for their contribution of iPads to support communication, literacy and digital learning initiatives connected to the Laos mission partnership.

Strathmore Wood

Strathmore Wood offers both face-to-face teaching and visual/online learning methods such as Zoom, helping people across Australia learn Auslan and use Auslan actively with the Deaf Community. Learning is topic-based and can be provided in a specialised or customised manner.

Strathmore Wood provides Auslan learning on both a fee-for-service or NDIS-funded basis.

Focus Matters gratefully acknowledges the support of Neil Wood and Strathmore Wood for his contributions to the project.

Future team bios and links

Additional team profiles, partner acknowledgements and collaborative resources will be added as the mission develops.