Evelyn, OTR/L

Evelyn has worked for the past 43 years evaluating and treating children in a variety of settings (home, school, daycare, clinic, community). She has treated children with sensory processing disorder, feeding difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, Fragile-X, cerebral palsy, Downs syndrome, high-risk infants, dual sensory impairment (children identified as deaf/hard of hearing and blind/visually impaired), failure to thrive, global developmental delay, tongue tie/lip tie, torticollis, medically complex, and rare genetic/chromosomal disorders like Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. Evelyn has collaborated and worked closely with other professionals, families and clients to provide a comprehensive understanding of client needs.

After graduating from Quinnipiac College, Evelyn started working as an OT at Bronx Developmental Center, servicing children that were in the on-site private school. She also evaluated and treated individuals that were placed in the residential area of the facility. Since many of the students had global developmental delays, she became quite knowledgeable about handling, positioning, adaptive equipment, feeding and eating, and learned sign language. After Bronx Developmental Center, Evelyn worked with United Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey (UCPNJ). This led to other career opportunities to teach, collaborate, and work with others in the specialized field of pediatrics.

After moving to North Carolina, Evelyn had the opportunity to design and build a clinic environment that met fidelity measures for an Ayres Sensory Integration clinic. She has guided, taught, and supervised hundreds of students over the course of her career. In 2000, she was the proud recipient of the Arc of North Carolina Professional of the Year Award. She has strengths in many different approaches that address feeding challenges, self-regulation, fine and gross motor delay, attention and focus issues, and uses herself therapeutically to support positive outcomes associated with the therapeutic relationship. Evelyn likes to follow the lead of the child to build a safe and connected relationship with her clients. She is a good listener and nonverbal reader, subsequently, she has a strong ability to be adaptive and skilled in the area of child occupations in particular play.