I have experience, continuing education and certifications in motor development (certified in neurodevelopmental treatment), trauma-informed care, infant mental health, sensory processing, feeding (trained in the SOS model plus multiple other trainings), handwriting (trained in handwriting without tears), integrated listening system (including their rental program), screening and fitting for orthotics, Autism Navigator training, The Growing Brain training, Alert Program ("How does your engine run"), and Social Thinking including Zones of Regulation. I received my Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of WA where I also received my bachelor's degree in Spanish.

While I love working with all children and their unique situations and challenges, I have a special interest in working with:

• Children who are suspected to be or are tested as gifted or 2E (twice exceptional): I have a unique love for working with children who have been tested gifted as I understand personally the amazing strengths and unique challenges that children (and parents of children) who are gifted face. At Willow Pediatric Therapy, you will find a supportive, understanding occupational therapist who will work with you to find solutions.

• Children with motor challenges and delays (twice exceptional): Watching a child learn to master new motor skills is magical. Sometimes it can be a very slow process and sometimes - with the right exercises - it can happen so fast! As your occupational therapist, we will work together to figure out the right balance of play activities to best facilitate your child's motor development. I will educate you on all the underlying factors that may be affecting your child's development including "typical development", tone, motor planning, vestibular processing, proprioceptive processing and more to help give you the knowledge to best support your child.

• Children and families experiencing feeding challenges: I grew up as a picky eater and have two children who have had difficulty with feeding. I enjoy working with children who are picky eaters, problem feeders, fed by tubes and are progressing to eating orally, infants who have difficulty progressing to solid foods, kids who have difficulty with the oral motor skills for chewing, and any combination of these challenges. I have a unique position in that I understand from a personal, parental AND therapeutic perspective the feelings including pressure, guilt and anxiety that parents can feel when their child is not eating. At Willow Pediatric Therapy, I will work with you to help find the underlying causes of your child's eating challenges while working with your medical providers to help provide the best possible care and outcomes.

• Children with sensory processing and vestibular challenges: I have a strong passion for working with children experiencing any difficulty with sensory processing. This can look like hypersensitivities such as being over-reactive to touch, food textures, sound, movement etc or hyposensitivities (needs more input to register a response or seeks out input) which can look like a child who constantly is moving and/or crashing into things or makes noise. While EVERYONE has sensory differences, when they affect a child's ability to participate in their everyday life activities, that's when an occupational therapist can help.