OT Spotlight

Therapy Team Spotlight: Occupational Therapy

Collaborative Care for Successful Futures

Who can help a child who is overwhelmed by loud noises learn strategies to feel comfortable in different environments? Help a kid bothered by food textures eat a healthy, varied diet? Improve illegible handwriting? Occupational therapists!

Here at TPP, we have a highly-qualified team of OTs who accomplish these things and more every day. Read on to learn more about occupational therapy and meet our team!

What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?

Pediatric occupational therapists help kids succeed at tasks of daily living and feel regulated in their environments. Here’s a snapshot of the amazing things they do:

Fine Motor Skills

• Grasping
• Handwriting
• Cutting
• Balance
• Manipulating toys/objects

Activities of Daily Living

• Dressing
• Feeding
• Toileting
• Self-care and hygiene skills
• Community engagement
• Household responsibilities

Sensory Integration

• Proprioception
• Auditory, olfactory, visual processing

Visual Motor Skills

• Visual tracking
• Visual perception
• Light stimulation
• Recognizing contrasts

Executive Functioning Skills

• Problem solving
• Task initiation, organization
• Attention
• Working memory
• Emotional regulation

Meet Our Occupational Therapy Team

TPP’s clinic-based occupational therapists have a diverse range of skills and areas of expertise. We asked them what they most enjoy helping the kids on their caseload do and why they love working at TPP!

Courtney Van Alstine, OTR/L, Lead Therapist

Courtney received her master’s degree in occupational therapy from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed a graduate assistantship at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Courtney has achieved certification in the Learn Play Thrive (LPT) approach for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as the Get Permission approach for feeding.

“My favorite area to work in is sensory feeding—this makes up the biggest part of my caseload!” Courtney said. “I love helping kids and families build healthy, realistic relationships with food and helping children become more comfortable with food at home and in the community.”

Courtney’s favorite thing about working at TPP is the atmosphere of collaboration on the staff. “We all value each others’ input and problem-solve together,” she states. “I also appreciate how much each therapist I work with cares about the children on their caseload—there is such a high standard of care here for our clients that’s unmatched by any other place I’ve worked or shadowed.”

Sydnie Stewart, OTD, OTR/L, CTRS

Sydnie received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from Creighton University. Sydnie found her love and passion for occupational therapy through her involvement with Missouri Special Olympics and as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. She knew through those experiences that she wanted to continue to empower children and their families to feel as confident and independent as possible.

“The skills I most love working on are improving strength and dexterity skills for independent dressing and play skills!” Sydnie said. “I love working at TPP for the collaboration of coworkers. I also love the families and kiddos that I get to work with!”

Kylee Kuecker, OTR/L

Kylee received her master’s degree in occupational therapy from Missouri State University. She found her love for pediatrics when she completed a fieldwork rotation at The Pediatric Place and decided to come back!

“I enjoy working on fine motor and executive functioning skills,” Kylee said. “I love working on cooking skills and problem solving. My favorite thing about TPP is the collaboration amongst therapists. I learn so much each and every day from the other therapists that I get to work with.”

Carolyn Simpson, COTA/L

Carolyn Simpson is a certified and licensed occupational therapy assistant. She found her love for pediatrics during one of her pediatric rotations in school. Carolyn’s loving, goofy, and crafty personality shows during her treatment sessions. Carolyn practices at our Knob Noster location and in local schools serviced by TPP.

“Skills I like working on most are handwriting and executive functioning because it can help the child succeed at school and bring them as much independence in their lives as possible,” Carolyn said. “I like that I have the opportunity to treat children in the schools in areas where they most likely wouldn’t have access to the services we provide in our outpatient locations.”

By Amy Wolcott, M.S. CCC-SLP