KIDA - Offering OC Children Exceptional Social-based Learning and Play-based Programs

Staff

Aparna Guttery MA, OTR/L

Licensed and Registered Occupational Therapist

Aparna received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. Aparna has worked as an Occupational Therapists for 7 years in both the private sector and for a local Orange County school district to evaluate and provide intervention for a diverse pediatric population. She has collaborated and worked closely with many multi-disciplinary teams to develop and implement individualized programs to meet the specific needs of each child.

Aparna has attended advanced pediatric courses in sensory integration and motor development. She has provided trainings to multi-disciplinary staff to educate them on principles of sensory integration and use of sensory based strategies to facilitate enhanced learning, along with techniques to address children’s motor development.

Aparna’s role as senior occupational therapist at KIDA is to provide and ensure innovative and effective individual and group therapeutic interventions for children with special needs from ages birth through adolescence. Aparna has co-authored the KIDA Block, a play-based social skills curriculum blending occupational therapy and speech and language therapy to elicit play and social skills for children who have difficulty with successful social interactions. Aparna has also contributed to the development of the Baby Booster program to educate parents on awareness of early developmental motor milestones and creating developmentally appropriate sensory environments for the purpose of enhancing parent infant interactions. Aparna contributes to ongoing curriculum development, monitoring and revision of existing programs, along with development and implementation of future programs and services, based on the changing needs of the community.

Michelle Wahlquist M.S., CCC-SLP

Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist

Michelle completed her Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Psychology and Dramatic Arts and the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then attended Arizona State University, where she completed a Master of Science Degree in Communicative Disorders, with specialized training in pediatric speech and language disorders as well as cleft palate/craniofacial disorders.

Michelle began working as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Speech Pathology Associates (SPA) in Irvine in 2001. She continues to work at SPA, focusing much of her time developing both individual therapy programs as well as social-cognitive groups for children on the Autism Spectrum. She is the director and coordinator of SPA’s early intervention Toddler Language Groups, designed to facilitate the development and generalization of speech, language, social-pragmatic and play skills within the context of a naturalistic peer-driven environment. In addition, she is a member of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Cleft/Craniofacial Team, participating in monthly multi-disciplinary meetings that provide parent training and education, as well as screenings of speech, resonance and language skills for children with cleft and craniofacial disorders.

Michelle is thrilled to be part of the KiDA team! With a strong belief that children learn and retain information best when they are having fun, she is excited to be involved in creating a supportive, energetic and nurturing play-based therapeutic program in which children of all ages can explore their motor-systems and develop their communicative and social competence at the same time. Michelle works as the Speech Language Pathologist for the KIDA Block program as well as individual co-treatment sessions with an Occupational Therapist.

Kathleen Mulligan Murphy Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Kathy received her doctorate in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University in 1997. Since she began her graduate studies and throughout her professional career, her focus has been serving young children with speech/ language and developmental disabilities in naturalistic, group learning contexts.

After completing her studies, Kathy served as a Research Faculty member in the Infant Child Research Program at ASU under the direction of M. Jeanne Wilcox, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. Kathy was active in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level in addition to serving as a field researcher in developing programs to facilitate speech and language skill development within the classroom setting. She has presented research at numerous national professional conferences and served as an editorial consultant for professional journals.

Her focused interest and work with young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder began when her family moved from Arizona to Newport Beach in the Fall of 2003. In October 2005, Kathy began her employment as a Speech Language Pathologist with the Newport Mesa Unified School District. She has had the great fortune to work with a progressive staff in the Seahorse/ Starfish preschool program and currently with a newly organized sports league. Many of her ideas and strategies for working with young children with autism have developed in this collaborative environment where opportunities to target and practice speech, language and social skills are around every corner and during every minute on the playground. Her treatment philosophy is focused on impacting an improved quality of life for challenged individuals by establishing a strong set of functional communication skills, facilitating an improved awareness and success in the social environment, and building meaningful relationships with people most important in life through play.

Paula L. Horner Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Paula L. Horner received her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She has specialized in working with infants, toddlers, and families at-risk for the past 25 years. She has practiced in outpatient pediatric clinics, neonatal intensive care nurseries, early intervention programs, private practice, home health, and university-affiliated programs. In addition to maintaining a private caseload and serving as a consultant to hospital and early intervention programs, Dr. Horner has taught graduate and undergraduate coursework at several universities. Her primary areas of interest focus on infants and toddlers at high risk, parent-infant social communicative development, and literacy with children below a functional age of 36 months. She has presented nationally and internationally to early intervention specialists and therapists regarding issues related to the assessment and treatment of children 0-36 months and their families.

Paula is the creator of KIDA’s exclusive “Baby Booster” program and parent handbook, and co-leads the program along with Aparna Guttery MA, OTR/L.

Caoimhe King

Caoimhe received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University, San Bernardino. Currently, she is attending National University where she is concluding her Master’s degree in Special Education. Caoimhe will also be sitting for her board certification in applied behavior analysis in November 2009.

Caoimhe has worked with children with developmental disabilities for over 8 years. She has worked both in clinic based settings as well as in home settings creating and providing individualized programming and support to children and their families. Her experience ranges from intensive early intervention behavioral programs providing PRT and DTT to school based consultation providing behavioral techniques including proactive strategies, teaching strategies, and reactive strategies. Caoimhe has worked with a diverse population ranging in ages from 18 months to 16 years of age. Additionally, she was trained directly at the Lovaas Institute with Dr. Ivar Lovaas.

Caoimhe’s role as ABA Program Coordinator at KIDA is to develop and provide individualized programming and behavior intervention for children with developmental disabilities from toddler age to adolescence.

Elizabeth (Eliza) DelPizzo-Cheng, Ph.D., BCBA

Licensed Psychologist, California Board of Psychology

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)

Dr. DelPizzo has dedicated her entire professional career to children with autism since first being introduced to them during her undergraduate years studying psychology at State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. DelPizzo obtained a Master’s degree in psychology and education from Virginal Commonwealth University in 1985, and her Ph.D. in school psychology from University of California, Riverside in 1999. She completed pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainings at University of Pennsylvania’s Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Princeton Child Development Institute (PCDI), Princeton NJ, and the Devereux Foundation, in PA with specialty in the treatment of children with developmental disabilities and mental retardation, specifically with children with autism spectrum disorders. She is board certified in applied behavior analysis since 2001.

Dr. DelPizzo has more than 15 years experience with the clinical and educative treatment of children with autism spectrums disorders. She has been a licensed psychologist for 5 years. Prior to licensure, she worked as a credentialed school psychologist and board certified behavior analyst with children with autism and other developmental disabilities, and severe behavior disorders at university-based day treatment programs, residential treatment programs, and public school districts. Dr. DelPizzo is a member of ABAI Autism Special Interest Group, and participated as an article reviewer for the National Standard Project, an efficacy review for behavioral treatment approaches for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Dr. DelPizzo presents at local and national conferences.

Dr. DelPizzo is a child behavioral psychologist at KIDA. She participated in the development of the Kids at Home program. Dr. DelPizzo consults with KIDA staff and parents on the application of applied behavior analytic strategies for the treatment of children on the autistic spectrum.

Jane E. Martin-LaCroix, MA, OTR/L

Licensed and Registered Occupational Therapist

Jane received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy, and a Master of Arts degree in Occupational Therapy- each from the University of Southern California.

As a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist for the last 20 years, Jane has worked in both the public and private sectors. Jane’s contributions to her professional community are manifold. She has given presentations at the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Occupational Therapy Association of California annual conferences. At the University of California, she co-taught a course on occupational therapy as a profession and was a guest speaker for several years for the Medical Lectures course on Autism.

Throughout her career, Jane has evaluated and provided individualized intervention for a diverse pediatric population. Designing and providing group programs for children with special needs, Jane focuses on each child’s successful participation in developmentally appropriate social activities.