The Author

Hi there!  This is the "meet Bunty McDougall page!"  Thanks for popping by to meet me.

Bunty Mcdougall is an occupational therapist from Cape Town, South Africa. She is the developer of The Wall Model and The Happy Handwriter handwriting series.My name is Bunty - yes, it is my real name - I'm not sure what my mother was thinking!  I married into the McDougall part of it and will forever be glad to be part of their family (along with their bad handwriting!)

I am an occupational therapist who has worked in the field of learning difficulties for over 30 years.  I graduated way back from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and have remained connected to them ever since.  I subsequently became qualified in Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI), and Neuro-developmental Therapy (NDT).

In my early years as an occupational therapist, I worked at the Red Cross Children's Hospital which I loved and remember with deep affection.  I then moved on to Vista Nova School where I first really got to grips with how learning challenges affect children in the classroom.  From there I moved to working in Private Practice, focusing on children with motor and learning difficulties.

During the long mid-year break for the Soccer World Cup in 2010 , The Happy Handwriter's first book was published.  At the end of 2010, I took a break from active individual treatment to focus on the development of further resources for handwriting skills.  I continued to run classroom based fine motor groups across the spectrum of schools, including previously disadvantaged schools until the happy Handwriter grew to a point where I focused on facilitating and supporting others to implement the groups in the classroom setting.

Handwriting has always been one of my passions and I did my final year research project at UCT on handwriting.  I hope that it has long since been lost - I knew very little in those days!  A deep and sincere thank you to my then supervisor, Marie Penberthy, who set me on this path.

I am well known for my dynamic and practical parent and teacher workshops on various topics related to learning difficulties.  I am also the sole developer of The Wall Model® of occupational performance.  I was a part-time lecturer at the UCT department of occupational therapy for 20 years and have written a text book, The Wall, which accompanied my module on learning difficulties in children.  I have also lectured for the South African Institute for Sensory Integration treatment courses for occupational therapists, the Institute of Private Practitioners courses for pre-school teachers, run workshops for therapists under the auspices of the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA) and have presented at international Sensory Integration and Neuro-developmental therapy congresses.

I have worked on the development of pre-school programmes to facilitate school readiness skills to assist in limiting the need for specialist intervention.  More recently I had the privilege of developing a pilot programme for the Department of Social Development for implementation in an AIDS orphanage in Cape Town.

Good morning Bunty
This might be a random mail, but I just wanted to take the time to thank you for your incredible work.  I am sitting writing a report and I am not even at the main part of the report yet and I have already referred the client to your website and blog for inspiration.  Since attending your fine motor and handwriting course in 2015, I have been able to better identify and communicate difficulties and limitations in handwriting and fine motor skills.  I love love love your activity ideas and beautiful resources.  I don't think I have written a report since in which I have not referred to your website or recommended one of your books.  Please consider doing another updated course for OT's!  I would love love love to learn more from you.  We can even do a tele-course 🙂

You are incredible.

Have a blessed weekend
Kindest regards
Manja Otero, Occupational Therapist, Sunningdale

I am married to Mike who always walks beside me, and we have two wonderful children.  Thomas is the master of good humour and fine conversation, while Hannah with her understated humour is my partner in crime!  My family really is the light of my life.  I love feeling the wind on my face, laughing until my tummy aches, and have been privileged to follow my dream of developing The Happy Handwriter.

In addition to OT, I studied the Education of the Gifted Child through UNISA and have worked on the establishment of programmes for gifted and talented children in various schools.  I am registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA); the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA);  and the Western Cape Paediatric Practitioners Group (WCPPG.)

And that is enough about Bunty McDougall - I would love you to pop over to some of my other pages!

Bunty McDougall, Occupational Therapist