Occupational Therapy
"We encourage, coach and guide each child to develop skills for the job of living. There's no pre-packaged program. The therapy is customized to the child's and family's needs."
- Dawn M. Forsmith, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapy facilitates and improves motor, sensory, and cognitive development through meaningful activity. These programs help children who:
- Experience difficulty with the performance of self-care activities including brushing teeth, buttoning a shirt and tying shoes.
- Have difficulty with fine motor activities such as handwriting or cutting with scissors.
- Have difficulty with oral motor skills, including sucking, biting, chewing, and licking.
- Have difficulty initiating or completing tasks such as doing a simple puzzle or playing on the slide or swing.
- Experience problems in school with visual motor and visual perceptual activities such as copying from the board and completing assignments accurately.
- Exhibit an aversion to tactile input, including not wanting to participate in "messy" activities or becoming frustrated when physical contact is given.
- Have difficulty maintaining balance during motor activities, including climbing stairs, running, jumping or skipping.
- Have difficulty with cognitive tasks such as following instructions, problem solving and organization.
- Have difficulty in social situations including interacting and playing appropriately with other children.
Occupational Therapy Team
Dawn M. Forsmith, MOT, OTR/L
Dawn opened Memorial Pediatric Therapy Associates, PC in January of 2005. She graduated with honors from the University of Houston-Downtown with a degree in Biological and Physical Sciences. She received a Master of Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman's University in Houston. Dawn holds certifications in Sensory Integration Therapy and Neuro-Developmental Therapy. She has been in private practice since 1997. She is also a clinical instructor for the Master of Occupational Therapy program at Texas Woman's University, providing pediatric training to OT interns. Dawn is a current member of the Texas Occupational Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Contact Dawn directly at
Meredith L. Hargis, BS, COTA/L
Meredith graduated with highest honors from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. While at UH, she received extensive training and practical experience in applied behavior analysis with the Texas Young Autism Project. She received her certification as an Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) from Houston Community College. Meredith continues daily to develop her therapeutic skills for working with children with Autism and related disorders. She has participated in intensive trainings in Dr. Greenspan's DIR®/FloortimeTM approach, sensory integration, behavior modification and remediation of handwriting deficits using a multi-sensory approach. Meredith is a current member of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Contact Meredith directly at
Brittany W. Smith, MOT, OTR
Brittany graduated with honors from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science and Texas Woman's University with a Master of Occupational Therapy. She has participated in intensive training in sensory integration therapy and Dr. Greenspan's DIR®/FloortimeTM model. She has also received training in nutrition therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and in remediation of handwriting problems for preschool and school-age children. Brittany continues to work daily to develop her therapeutic skills for working with children with autism and related disorders.
Contact Brittany directly at
Jessica Y. Vargas, COTA
Jessica graduated from Houston Community College where she received her certification as an Occupational Therapist Assistant. She is bilingual, fluent in Spanish. Jessica has completed advanced fieldwork in physical rehabilitation and in pediatrics at MPTA. She also completed her first level fieldwork in Early Child Intervention. Jessica has participated in intensive training in Sensory Integration and has had additional training in Dr. Greenspan's DIR®/FloortimeTM model. She continues to work daily to develop her therapeutic skills for working with children with autism and related disorders. Jessica is a current member of the Texas Occupational Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Contact Jessica directly at
|
