ADHD and developmental paediatrics

Rina is a consultant paediatrician who assesses ADHD, autism and developmental presentations in children and young people, alongside acute and chronic medical conditions suitable for telehealth.

ADHD is rarely the whole picture. Autism, learning and intellectual difficulties, anxiety and mood difficulties either sit alongside it or account for the presentation outright, and separating them is the substance of the assessment. At Pandion these are screened as standard rather than treated as an optional extra, and where ADHD is not the right answer the family is told so clearly, with an explanation of what comes next.

She also holds subspecialist recognition in neonatology and perinatal medicine, which gives her a clear view of the earliest end of a child’s history. Where a developmental picture reaches back to prematurity, a difficult neonatal course or early medical complexity, that background is part of the assessment rather than a footnote to it.

Background and training

Rina graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in 2000. She became a Fellow of the College of Paediatricians of South Africa in 2009, completed her Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health in 2013, and earned Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2021, with subspecialist recognition in Neonatology and Perinatal Medicine.

She has more than fifteen years of experience across South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia, working in tertiary neonatal units, retrieval services and rural paediatrics. Since moving to Western Australia in 2018 she has held senior registrar roles at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth Children’s Hospital and NETS WA, before becoming a consultant paediatrician.

Rina practises with empathy, evidence and a family-centred focus, and works with parents on behavioural difficulties in a way that keeps the family’s own understanding of their child at the centre.

Outside the clinic

Rina explores the outdoors with her husband and their three lively daughters, usually accompanied by the family pug. Weekends run to beach walks and park adventures. She is a dedicated runner and regularly takes part in charity events supporting families and communities.