Rachael H., MS, OTR/L

Rachael has over 3 years of professional experience working in the outpatient setting and natural environments (home, daycare, etc.) to evaluate and treat children of all ages. She has experience with a variety of diagnoses and delays including Autism, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Sensory Processing Disorder, Failure to Thrive, Feeding Delays, Motor Delays, Social Skills/Cognitive Delays, and more.

Rachael has always been passionate about working with and being around children, and sought ways to incorporate this passion into jobs starting at a young age with babysitting, a position at a children’s museum, then pursuing a career in pediatric occupational therapy. She focused her studies in graduate school towards pediatrics including completing a Critically Acclaimed Topic (CAT) research poster on interventions for children with cerebral palsy, undergoing elective Interactive Metronome training, and completing pediatric fieldwork rotations for both level-1 and level-2.

Professionally, Rachael excels at coaching and working alongside families to empower caregivers to support their child’s needs both in and outside of therapy sessions. She utilizes an individualized strengths-based model and understands the importance of play based therapy to make sessions meaningful and enjoyable for kids while working towards meeting their goals. Rachael has studied and practiced using child-led and Floortime methods, which has improved outcomes for all functional abilities. Rachael continues to educate herself on new methods for feeding, primitive reflex integration, sensory processing, and other areas to provide the most up-to-date and effective methods for goal attainment. She grew up and went to school in Michigan, started her career in Virginia, and is excited to continue serving families here in North Carolina after a move to the area with her husband.