As children develop and grow, they may encounter barriers to their ability to participate in day-to-day activities. When this is the case, occupational therapy can be helpful in restoring, maintaining, and improving skills as well as making modifications to a child’s routines and environments to improve their independence. Occupational therapy seeks to treat the whole child and considers a wide breadth of factors to address needs.
Through occupational therapy, a child can develop skills and abilities so that they can interact with their peers at age-appropriate levels. Occupational therapy promotes fine motor development such as grasp, eye-hand coordination and pre-writing skills. Our occupational therapists are skilled in working with children who are having difficulty with feeding, social skills, and play skills. Tolerance to movement and touch, improved visual perception, and independence in self-care are also addressed.
Meet our occupational therapists
Kelsey Hernandez
MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Kelsey has been with Innovative since March 2022. She holds a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University in Norcross, GA and a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science from Oregon State University.
Emily Kidney
OTD, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Emily has been with Innovative since January 2021. She holds a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Bachelor’s of Art in Linguistics from Antioch College. She specializes in behavior and sleep.
Jennifer Shaul
OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Jennifer has been with Innovative since January 2022. She holds a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. She specializes in ALDs, IALDs, and fine motor skills.
Stephanie Zaepfel
MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Stephanie has been with Innovative since January 2014. She holds a Master of Occupational Therapy from Washington University School of Medicine, and she is a Somatic Movement Educator from the School of Body-Mind Centering. She specializes in pediatric evaluation and treatment of both gross and fine motor skills, cognitive skills, feeding skills, ADLs and IADLs, and sensory processing and integration.
