Pediatric Services at a Glance
Every child deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported in their own way of being.
Who I Support
Infants & Toddlers
Early intervention through play, movement, and caregiver coaching to support regulation and development, while advocating for services that meet each child’s unique needs.
Children & Adolescents
Therapy that builds regulation, sensory processing, and participation in daily life. Advocacy ensures that schools and systems provide affirming supports instead of compliance-based demands.
Families
Coaching and support for parents and caregivers to reduce stress, build advocacy skills, and create safe, connected environments at home and in the community.
Why Pediatric Work Matters
Children communicate through play, movement, and behavior more than through words. Too often, their signals are misunderstood as defiance or delay, when in truth they reflect how the nervous system experiences the world.
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At Building Pathways, pediatric services are rooted in a neurodivergent-affirming and trauma-informed lens. This means recognizing ADHD, autism, sensory sensitivities, trauma histories, and differences in learning or regulation not as deficits but as unique ways of being.
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Healing for children does not happen in isolation. Advocacy is essential to ensure families are supported, schools provide strength-based accommodations, and systems respond with compassion.
Children do well when they can. When we understand the nervous system, we discover how to support them in feeling safe enough to grow and connect.
Who I Support
Infants & Toddlers
Through play, children build the pathways for regulation, connection, and lifelong learning
Early intervention builds strong foundations, and play is at the center of this work. As Albert Einstein said, “Play is the highest form of research.” Through play, infants and toddlers explore, experiment, and make meaning of the world around them.
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My approach draws from DIR/Floortime, which emphasizes following the child’s lead, nurturing relationships, and building development through joy and connection. Sessions support early regulation, motor skills, and sensory processing, while empowering caregivers to recognize play as a powerful tool for growth.
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I support families navigating evaluations, early intervention services, and new diagnoses. I walk alongside parents and caregivers to ensure their child’s needs are understood and supported, and that services honor the child’s developmental stage and unique ways of being.
Children & Adolescents
Children thrive when spaces create pathways that honor safety, autonomy, regulation, and meaningful participation in daily life.
School-age years bring new demands on attention, learning, and social connection. Many children struggle not because they are unwilling, but because their nervous systems are overwhelmed by sensory input, transitions, or abstract expectations.
Therapy at this stage focuses on sensory processing, regulation, and meaningful participation in daily routines at home, school, and in the community.
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I partner with families and schools to help educators understand nervous system needs, shift away from compliance-based or behavioral models, and create learning environments that truly support each child. This work is about reframing behavior as communication, honoring differences as strengths, and ensuring every child has access to connection and growth.
Families
When families are resourced and empowered, they become the strongest advocates for their children.
Parents and caregivers are central to a child’s growth. I partner with families not only to provide coaching and regulation strategies, but also to strengthen their advocacy voice in IEP meetings, medical systems, and community programs.
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Sessions often focus on helping caregivers reframe behaviors through a strength-based nervous system lens, practice co-regulation, and carry strategies into daily routines. The goal is not to make families “do more,” but to resource and support them so they can feel grounded and confident in their role
How I Work With Children
Every child’s nervous system holds wisdom. My role is to help families and caregivers understand that wisdom and discover new ways of supporting growth, connection, and participation in daily life. My work integrates holistic occupational therapy with play, advocacy, and nervous system-based approaches, always centering the child’s ability to engage meaningfully at home, in school, and in the community
Occupational Therapy Evaluation & Treatment (including Independent OT Evaluation (IEE) – Holistic OT assessment of strengths and needs in sensory processing, regulation, motor skills, and meaningful routines. Specializing in children with complex sensory profiles and need for autonomy (ie: trauma mental health needs and Pervasive Drive for Autonomy (PDA).
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Play-Based Therapy – Using play as the child’s natural language to build skills, strengthen regulation, and foster engagement.
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Brainspotting (for older children/adolescents) – Supporting the release of stress and trauma stored in the nervous system in a gentle, child-centered way.
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Family Coaching & Advocacy – Equipping caregivers with practical strategies and advocacy support to navigate schools, IEPs, and healthcare systems.
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School Collaboration & Advocacy – Working directly with teachers and teams to ensure supports are affirming, functional, and rooted in safety rather than compliance.
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My Approach
I practice holistic occupational therapy, guided by the understanding that children are whole and wise just as they are. Every survival response whether withdrawal, shutdown, or explosive energy is honored as the nervous system’s way of communicating and seeking safety.
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My work is trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming, and rooted in Indigenous values of relational being. Advocacy is not an add-on, it is integral to the process of helping families feel supported, ensuring children are not mislabeled or misunderstood, and holding systems accountable to provide what children truly need.
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Progress is measured not by compliance or normalization, but by increased connection, confidence, and meaningful participation in everyday life.
What to Expect
Sessions are individualized, playful, and collaborative. Direct occupational therapy services take place in the natural environment (at home, in school, or in the community) so that children can build skills and regulation where they live, learn, and play.
Focus on sensory exploration and motor skills, caregiver coaching, and nervous system support.
Advocacy and coaching prepares parents for IEP meetings to assist children's school teams in reframing behaviors as communication.
The goal is to support children in therapy, and ensure they are understood and resourced across environments so they can thrive.
