Kathleen "Kiki" Dickinson, MPT, PAqI

Meet Kiki

Kathleen "Kiki" Dickinson, MPT, PAqI, is one of Aquatic Therapy University's longest-standing instructors and the founder of North Star Aquatic Therapy in Hudson, Wisconsin. For more than three decades she has practiced pediatric and adult aquatic physical therapy at St. Croix Therapy, guiding children from birth-to-three through complex neurological care and adults through ortho-neuro rehabilitation. Learners trust her because she teaches from the pool deck and the clinic floor — with the same clarity she brings to national stages.

Over roughly twenty years she has created and co-created large amounts of aquatic therapy content for ATU: pediatric manuals, sensory-motor coursework, hands-on ortho/neuro labs, and early aquatics education for speech-language pathologists. She holds Aquaticist credentials from ATU and is certified in Halliwick, Bad Ragaz, Ai Chi, and cranio-sacral therapy.

In 2026 the Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy honored her with the Judy Cirullo Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Area of Aquatic Physical Therapy — recognition of consistent service and clinical practice that has shaped how a generation of therapists enter the water.

Her accomplishments

Highlights from a career spent teaching therapists how to work in the water — in the clinic, on campus, and on national stages.

Hudson campus

Kiki teaches at her campus in Hudson, Wisconsin — about thirty minutes from Minneapolis–St. Paul. Pool labs meet at St. Croix Therapy (742 Sterbenz Drive, Hudson, WI 54016); lectures are often nearby. North Star Aquatic Therapy is her company and ATU's Midwest campus home: a place where pediatric, sensory-motor, speech-language, and ortho-neuro courses come alive in the pool.