Therapy Solutions for Kids


	Our Team As a therapist owned clinic, we provide the highest quality of services to our children and their families. It is our dream to build and maintain a team of professionals to support and carry out our mission each and every day. Loretta Gimse, OTR Occupational Therapist With 28 years experience, Loretta is an expert in sensory integration/processing and motor planning impairments. Over the years she has implemented a trans-disciplinary approach incorporating speech goals and some physical therapy into her sessions. With a family-focused approach, she works with children and teaches caregivers how to implement these therapies at home. She helps them work together to maximize their child's independence and improve functions during daily activities such as self-care, play, leisure and work. Loretta helps with fine motor development, hand-eye coordination, body awareness, visual motor skills, self-care (e.g. grooming), balance and mid-line body development. "My goal is to build on a child's individual strengths and to develop skills to make them function as confidently as possible." Contact Loretta via email with any questions. Deedra Weill Occupational Therapist, OTR/L Deedra’s background combines experience across a variety of settings, including neonatal intensive care, school-based therapy, and the private clinic setting. Her work with children of all ages has lead to a tremendous of appreciation of the parental role in a child’s development. She focuses on incorporating parents into treatment sessions and developing strong home programs. Deedra has specialized training in the areas of feeding, infant and child development, sensory integration, fine motor skill building, therapeutic listening, and play and communication skills. Her desire to help children be more independent and functional in their daily lives has led Deedra to the fulfilling profession of occupational therapy. At Therapy Solutions for Kids, she has found an environment where collaboration and learning are fostered and a family approach to care is valued. Deedra has spent time in Peru providing therapy to underserved children. She is also mother of twins. In her “free time”, she enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking, traveling, live music, and spending time with her family. Contact Deedra via email with any questions. Cindy Schaser, OT Occupational Therapist Cindy has been an Occupational Therapist since graduating in 1995 from University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Although she has experience working in various treatment settings across a range of ages and disabilities, most of her experience, continuing education, and passion lies in pediatrics. Cindy worked in The Children’s Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska and later shared a private practice with a speech-language therapist and physical therapist. She has also combined her loves of OT, culture, and travel by working in native Alaskan schools and volunteering with therapists in Peru and India. She recently returned from working in New Zealand for 1 ½ years with a multi-disciplinary team in a Child Development Center. “Each child is a beautiful and unique collection of strengths, personality, humor, creativity and potential. My goal is to help the child overcome whatever might stand in his/her way from using their skills fully and comfortably at home, at school, and in the community.” In order to achieve this, Cindy likes to develop a unique treatment plan for each child to develop their confidence and visual, sensory, motor, and perceptual skills. As children learn best when they are motivated and actively participating, treatment activities are designed with an ingredient of FUN. Contact Cindyvia email with any questions. Chelsea Gaston, OT Occupational Therapist Chelsea earned her Bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and her Master’s of Occupational Therapy from the University of Puget Sound. She has also been certified in the Therapeutic Listening Program. Chelsea greatly enjoys working with both children and their families to assist in all areas where a child may be having difficulties. She has experience with children of all ages and with diverse sets of needs. Contact Chelsea's via email with any questions. Debbie Solomon, OT Occupational Therapist Bio is being updated. Contact Debbie via email with any questions. Stephanie Wagers, OTR Occupational Therapist, Eugene Clinic Manager Stephanie now provides occupational therapy services from our Eugene/Springfield location. "Parents are the number one teachers, therefore my approach is to coach them through therapy with their child so that they are not sidelined," says Stephanie. "This, coupled with the environment at Therapy Solutions for Kids, makes the experience for the child very positive. The free-flowing communication between therapists enables us to build on the therapy that children are getting from all of therapists in the clinic. It is really different here." As an occupational therapist with eight years experience, Stephanie is trained in visual/vestibular issues, kinesiotaping and sensory integration (e.g. sensitivity to touch or noise). She also helps children with handwriting, feeding issues, dyspraxia, visual and perceptual skills, fine motor skills and behavior issues. Her hands-on approach enables her to connect with the kids she treats and to meet their individual needs. Contact Stephanie via email with any questions. Renee Currier, MOT, OTR/L Occupational Therapist Renee also provides occupational therapy services from our Eugene/Springfield location. She has six years experience as an occupational therapist. Prior to her work in Eugene, she worked at Children's Village in Yakima, WA. She takes a family centered approach allowing families to guide her in the individual needs of each child. Renee is skilled in the areas of feeding, sensory integration, self-care, fine motor skill development, and behavior management. She is also trained in Brain Gym. Her interactive style allows her to relate well with children and their families to provide them with the skills/education to meet their goals. Contact Renee via email with any questions. Lorna Day Occupational Therapist Lorna has nine years of experience as an occupational therapist, working primarily with children ages birth to 5. She worked for several years at Clackamas County ESD and, most recently, at NW Regional ESD in their early childhood programs. This experience has taught her that a family centered approach not only enhances a child’s developmental progress, but can also encourage a more meaningful and fulfilling family life. Lorna is also an instructor of infant massage and has enjoyed teaching private, in-home classes for several years. Her love of the profession and desire to serve underprivileged communities has led her to serve orphan children with special needs in Vietnam and Kazakhstan. Lorna has experience and interest in areas of sensory integration, feeding, infant development, motor planning and control, fine motor skills and handwriting. Contact Lorna via email with any questions. Molly Pierce Occupational Therapist Molly has 22 years of experience as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. Her specialties include diagnosing and treating neurologic and sensory disorders in children of all ages. Molly has completed advanced coursework in all areas of pediatrics with a special interest in pediatric feeding disorders. Contact Molly via email with any questions. Jen Boita Occupational Therapist Jennifer has 11 years of pediatric OT experience; she has both pediatric outpatient and school based OT experience. She currently works at our Eugene/Springfield location and in Springfield Public School District. This allows a well rounded approach to family centered therapy as well as knowledge of needs in school settings. She is skilled in feeding sensitivities, sensory integration, fine motor, visual motor/visual perception, body awareness, and self-help skills. She is also trained in Brain Gym and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and has taken numerous courses in sensory integration, therapeutic yoga, visual dysfunction, and autism. She appreciates family involvement and believes that collaboration between therapist and family is crucial. Jennifer also feels that therapy should be fun for the children and encourages child initiated activities with a therapeutic twist. Contact Jen via email with any questions. Lesley E. Freeling, PT, PCS Physical Therapist Pediatric Certified Specialist (American Physical Therapy Association) Lesley is a Pediatric Certified Specialist through the American Physical Therapy Association. She has extensive experience working with children with a variety of acute and chronic conditions from infancy to adulthood. Lesley's philosophy is to focus on the whole child, to make therapy fun and to empower the family to provide follow through at home. Lesley has been privileged to follow some young patients from tiny babies to college students. Contact Lesley via email with any questions. Annette Sabater, P.T. Physical Therapist Annette is a physical therapist who chose to work in pediatrics after three years of working in other therapy settings. These settings included adult rehabilitation and orthopedics. Also she worked at OHSU where she gained experience working with children with chronic disease, prematurity, torticollis, orthopedic injury, neurological dysfunction and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Following her hospital experience, she worked seven years with the school district in early intervention and early child development. She has been at Therapy Solutions for Kids since the clinic began. She enjoys returning to the clinical approach in therapy and strives to implement a team approach with her therapy. She integrates each individual child's therapy goals with their day to day routine and family style. She blends this approach to achieve steady and consistent progress. Contact Annette via email with any questions. Peggy Donovan, P.T. Physical Therapist Peggy has extensive experience working with infants, children and adolescents. Over the past 30 years she has worked in pediatric clinical settings, Early Intervention/Early Education, and public schools. She has a friendly optimistic style to support children and their families to achieve their therapy goals. Peggy creates functional activities with close collaboration with the family’s lifestyle to optimize success. Peggy enjoys an active lifestyle that includes exercise classes and yoga. Peggy's email Beth Lough, MS, CCC-SLP Speech Pathologist Beth is a speech pathologist with eight years experience working exclusively with children. She comes to Therapy Solutions for Kids after working five years at Providence Hospital. She has also worked in private practice and in the early intervention program in Clackamas County. She was drawn to Therapy Solutions for Kids mostly because of the management. "There are no surprises here making it easy for families to transition. We put families and children first." Beth's approach to therapy is family and child centered. "I try to make therapy as enjoyable and productive as possible and to train parents so they are able to implement therapy at home." A specialist in oral motor skills, feeding and dyspraxia, she has the ability to recognize even subtle issues that makes her more efficient in treating the whole child. Contact Beth via email with any questions. Beth Nesser, MS, CCC-SLP Speech Language Pathologist Beth is a speech language pathologist with expertise in a wide variety of speech and language disorders including dyspraxia, dysarthria, stuttering, articulation, tongue thrust, dysphagia (swallowing), feeding, voice and receptive and expressive language. She also works with children with executive functioning problems. Through her years as a speech language pathologist, she has worked with children with Down Syndrome, autism, PDD, ADD and ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, seizure disorders and many other syndromes. Beth’s approach to therapy is family-centered. She believes that in order for therapy to generalize into everyday life, the parents and siblings of her clients must be fully involved in therapy. “This environment enables me to assist parents in forming a fun and real-time remediation of their child’s speech and language difficulties, which is essential for success.” Contact Beth via email with any questions. Phaedra Urban Speech Language Pathologist Phaedra has enjoyed working with children in a variety of settings in the Portland Area including public schools, outpatient clinics, and family homes. Previous to joining Therapy Solutions for Kids, she was a clinician at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center at OHSU where she gained experience in several interdisciplinary diagnostic clinics such as those related to autism, neurodevelopment, feeding, and craniofacial disorders. "Communication is a dynamic process that occurs between individuals and their community. Communication allows us to effectively interact with others, express wishes, share emotions, and relate our experiences," says Phaedra. Treatment, she believes, should emphasize functional outcomes such as these. Contact Phaedra via email with any questions Darin Leedy Front Desk Receptionist Bio is being updated. Contact Darin via email with any questions May Tam Therapy Assistant Bio is being updated. Contact May via email with any questions Allison Matthews Office/Billing Manager Allie came to Therapy Solutions for Kids after working for five years in Multnomah County's early intervention program. She brings with her the experience of working as educational assistant in various Special Education programs as well as her vast knowledge in computer and organizational office skills. She handles the insurance billing, patient billing, new referrals, scheduling and multiple other office tasks. If you have any questions regarding your statement she can help. Contact Allie via email with any questions. Kyle Ulinger Intake Coordinator Originally from Florida, Kyle is a fine arts major with emphases in sculpture and printmaking. She is looking to pursue a master’s degree in art therapy at Marylhurst University. She has worked with children both as an arts and a recreation teacher for her hometown, Mount Dora, Florida. She has worked as a member of the arts literacy team of Waluga Elementary in Lake Oswego, as well as being involved with an at-risk youth home for adolescent males in Portland. Contact Kyle via email with any questions. Kayla Swingle Receptionist / Scheduling in Eugene Kayla is a Human Physiology major at the University of Oregon and is interested in pursuing a career in Physical Therapy. She recently transferred from Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, OR where she worked as a receptionist in a salon and as a secretary for a local farming company, while running cross country and track and field as an Owl. She is excited to be joining the team in Eugene as a scheduler/receptionist and getting some work experience in a therapy clinic setting before applying for physical therapy school next fall. Contact Kayla via email with any questions.	Staff Directory Loretta Gimse Deedra Weill Chelsea Gaston Cindy Schaser Debbie Solomon Stephanie Wagers Renee Currier Lorna Day Molly Pierce Jen Boita Lesley E. Freeling Annette Sabater Peggy Donovan Beth Lough Beth Nesser Phaedra Urban Darin Leedy May Tam Allison Matthews Kyle Ulinger Kayla Swingle