Jo-Anne Weltman graduated from Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1991 with a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy. She went on to complete her MRSc. with research focused on hip dysplasia in children with Cerebral Palsy. Over the years, Jo-Anne has pursued extensive additional training in a variety of specialized therapies, including NDT, Conductive Education, Therapeutic Taping, Theratogs application, the Therasuit Approach, TASES (NMES) including spinal neuromodulation, Vestibular-Ocular therapy, CVI, CME III (one of the first three trained worldwide), Reflex Integration, Sensory Integration, and Orthopaedics in Children, among many others.

Jo-Anne’s passion has always been to provide the highest quality care to the children she serves. To meet the growing need for comprehensive developmental and orthopedic therapy, she founded S.M.I.L.E. Therapy for Kids, a private practice dedicated to child development. She remains committed to ongoing research and continually seeks the best treatment options for her patients, collaborating with specialists globally to ensure the best possible outcomes.

In addition to her clinical work, Jo-Anne is the co-founder of Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) therapy. DMI is a comprehensive intervention that incorporates current research on neurorehabilitation, technologies, and methodologies.  This therapeutic technique is used by physical and occupational therapists to treat children with gross motor impairments by improving and/or provoking the desired action with great emphasis on alignment, sensory integration, and function.  The goal is to promote progress toward developmental milestones.

Jo-Anne is deeply committed to mentoring and training new therapists, sharing her knowledge and expertise with the next generation of professionals.

Jo-Anne is an advocate for children with special needs and their families and works hard at trying to make changes in many areas to help these children as well as increasing their general level of care by educating those who will provide care to them. 

She travels internationally to lead therapy intensives for families, helping them access specialized care.Her mission is to continue traveling, teaching, and expanding her reach to improve the lives of children worldwide.