Meet the Team

Speech-Language Therapists

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Amy Dowling, MEd, CCC-SLP and Co-Owner

Amy Dowling is a Chicago-based pediatric speech-language pathologist who has years of experience working with early childhood. As a therapist, Amy has worked with children with a variety of delays, including, but not limited to, developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, apraxia, phonoloigcal delays, cerebral palsy, and receptive and expressive language disorders. Amy is committed to working closely with families to ensure overall communication growth in a variety of settings, so that every child has a way to communicate his/her wants and needs throughout the day. 

 
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Michelle Estand, MS, CCC-SLP

Michelle Estand is a certified and licensed pediatric speech-language pathologist. She earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Michelle has experience working with children with a variety of speech-language disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, apraxia of speech, phonological delays, receptive-expressive language disorders, feeding disorders, and more. Michelle has also worked with diverse populations of children in a variety of settings, including schools, outpatient clinics, and in-home therapy. Michelle is passionate about being an advocate for every child through family/team collaboration and creating meaningful individualized plans to meet every child's unique needs.

 

Theresa Murphy, MS, CCC-SLP

Theresa is a Clinical Fellow Speech-Language Pathologist who received her M.S. SLP from Saint Xavier University in Chicago in May 2021 and her B.S. SLP from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019.  She works full-time in a Chicagoland public school district with additional certification in Early Intervention speech services.  It has been a lifelong dream of Theresa’s to work with children of all ages to improve communication skills and, therefore, quality of life.  In her clinical education, she has gained experience with many different-aged children with various areas of disorders including Autism, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and receptive and language delays and disorders.  Theresa has a passion for not only helping improve children’s communication abilities, but also changing the lives of their families through effective parent communication and education.

 

Katie Ryan, MS, CCC-SLP

Katie Ryan is a passionate, fun, and dedicated speech therapist with over 20 years experience. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelors of Science and Communication Disorders in 1999. She received her Master’s degree from Governors State University in Health Sciences in 2002. She lives with her family in the Mokena area and provides speech services to children in southwest suburbs. She enjoys and has experience working with children of all ages and abilities. She has extensive experience working with individuals on the autism spectrum including non-verbal individuals and individuals using low to high tech augmentative communication systems. She has experience helping children with expressive and receptive language disorders, apraxia of speech, articulation disorders, sensory motor impairments, and more. Katie works closely with parents and caregivers coaching them and giving them ideas to make sure communication skills are carried over into a child’s everyday life.

 

Occupational Therapists

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Emily Connolly, MOTR/L and Co-Owner

Emily Connolly is a Chicago-based pediatric occupational therapist. Emily has extensive experience working with a range of populations including, but not limited to, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sensory processing disorder (SPD), Down Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and fine and gross motor delays. Emily is certified in Rhythmic Movement Training, a program that uses developmental movements, isometric pressure, and self awareness to rebuild the foundations necessary to help overcome learning ,sensory, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Emily is also experienced in teaching infant massage to maximize sleep, comfort, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. As a clinician, Emily is committed to learning her client’s unique needs, placing an emphasis on parent training, and advocating for the child’s best interests. Emily values the opportunity to work with parents to ensure generalization of skills through consistent home practice and communication.

 

Karianne Dvorak, MS, OTR/L

Karianne Dvorak is a Chicago-based pediatric therapist. Karianne has experience working with children of various ages and diagnoses, including but not limited to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Spina Bifida, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), hand and arm abnormalities, Anxiety Disorders, developmental delays, and fine and gross motor delays. Karianne earned her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2019 at Indiana State University and Bachelor of Psychology from Eastern Illinois University in 2016. Karianne works full time at an OT at an outpatient pediatric clinic in a Chicagoland suburb. During her clinical education, Karianne gained experiences in outpatient pediatric settings, as well as Acute Care at a Veterans Affairs Center. Karianne is passionate about giving families the confidence and knowledge necessary to give their child the best quality of life possible.

 

Elizabeth Hopkins, MS, OTR/L

Elizabeth Hopkins is a Chicago-based pediatric occupational therapist.  She earned her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University in 2014.  Elizabeth has extensive experience working with infants, children, and adolescents into early adulthood in the outpatient, school, and home settings. She is inspired by the emphasis that occupational therapy puts on both physical and mental well-being.  Elizabeth's passion lies in assisting children of all ages and abilities to maximize their participation in all aspects of their lives, while focusing on providing their families with the necessary tools to meet these goals across all environments. Elizabeth is trained in Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) and Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI), where she can focus on helping children progress towards developmental milestones at their own pace by facilitating and provoking foundational, automatic responses to stimulate neuroplasticity and motor development. She is excited to combine her love for pediatrics, family-centered care, and neurology by providing individualized client care at their homes, in their schools, and in the community.  Outside of work, you can catch Elizabeth traveling, playing her puppy, and enjoying quality time with family and friends.

 

Joanna Josten, MS, OTR/L

Joanna is a Chicago-based early intervention occupational therapist with a passion for helping young children and their families work together to reach their fullest potential. She graduated from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana with a B.S. in Community Health, and then received her Masters in Occupational Therapy from North Central College in 2020. Joanna has experience working with a wide variety of populations across multiple settings, teaching her the ability to communicate effectively and advocate for her clients with cultural competence. Joanna is skilled at providing comprehensive, evidence-based and family-centered care using a fun and interactive approach to address the unique developmental, physical, cognitive, social and emotional needs of each child.

 

Claire Moriarty, DOT

Claire Moriarty is a pediatric Occupational Therapist who received her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from St. Ambrose University in May 2021. Claire works full time as a school based OT in the Chicagoland suburbs and had significant experience working with children with autism spectrum disorder as an ABA therapist, prior to becoming an Occupational Therapist. During her clinical education, Claire gained experiences in school settings, as well as outpatient and inpatient pediatric settings. This provided her experience working with all children and adolescents of all ages and a variety of diagnoses including autism spectrum disorder, down syndrome, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, sensory processing disorder, as well as fine and gross motor delays. Claire is dedicated to identifying each child’s unique needs, and values building a therapeutic relationship with the children and families that she serves to positively impact their day to day lives.

 

Haley Rybczyk, MOT

I was raised in Chicago’s south suburbs. I attended Marist High school and Illinois State University for my undergraduate degree in Human Development. I went on to Chicago State University, where I graduated with a masters in Occupational Therapy. Working with children has always been my passion! From babysitting as a young adult to devoting my career to working with the pediatric population. I have a wide range of experiences when it comes to working with a variety of diagnoses. I have recently taken several torticollis courses and an occupational therapists role with this specific population. In addition, since having two young children of my own now, I am able to bring a different perspective to my treatment sessions.


Physical Therapist

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Tim McGinnis, DPT

Tim McGinnis is a Chicago-based physical therapist.  He earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy, D.P.T from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science and Exercise Physiology, B.S. from Marquette University. Although most of his experience is working in outpatient orthopedics, Tim is an Early-Intervention (EI) certified therapist with passion for providing excellent patient care.  He is committed to providing the best care to not only the children he works with but providing families with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to succeed.