What Is Occupational Therapy and How Can it Help My Autistic Child?
Occupational therapy gives children with autism the tools and support to develop their abilities. The skills they develop enable them to live fuller, richer lives.
Meet the Amazing COTA Shannon!
Meet the amazing COTA Shannon! Shannon is a COTA (Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant) here at PediaPlex! She works at our Alliance location and has been part of the PediaPlex Family for a year and half now.
What Is A COTA?
A COTA is a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant. COTAs help clients gain the skills needed to be independent in several areas of their life including daily living activities (like dressing and grooming/hygiene), education (like handwriting and cutting), and play! They focus on developing the specific skills needs for independence by working on fine motor skills, visual skills, gross motor skills, and sensory processing. As a COTA, Shannon works under the supervision of an occupational therapist but still has the freedom to develop her own treatment sessions based off the goals that her supervisor makes. “Because I don’t perform the actual evaluation, I get to spend more time treating clients (which I love!) and I get to work closely with my supervisor during the evaluation process.”
Being a COTA
Shannon decided to become a COTA because she wanted a job where she could make a difference. She found occupational therapy and knew it was right for her! She loves being able to treat clients with a more holistic approach and loves being creative every day at work! Shannon’s favorite part about working at PediaPlex is:
“Working with my clients and the other staff here. I love how we all work together and collaborate to help clients achieve their goals and be as independent as possible. Another thing I love is that I get to educate parents and other professionals about how they can carryover what we are working on in occupational therapy to other areas. I believe that knowledge is power and by educating others we are creating an environment where these kiddos can learn the skills needed to be successful!”
About Shannon
Shannon was born and raised in New York and moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2012. She loves to read and do crafts as well as spend time with her husband and two dogs! A fun fact about her is that she traveled to New Zealand for 3 weeks and explored both islands. How fun!
Thank you Shannon for the amazing job that you do at PediaPlex! Shannon, you are such a great member of our team and bring so much joy and brightness to our family!
If you’d like to learn more about Occupational Therapy, visit our website or call us today!
-The PediaPlex Family
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