Jessica Ravineala, MS, OTRL, is an occupational therapist and owner of The Therapy SPOT. She graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, after studying psychology, human development, and art at Central Michigan University. She has experience treating autistic children/young adults, children who have sensory processing and regulation issues, feeding and oral motor difficulties, visual processing and perceptual issues, as well as other physical and neurological impairments. She also has experience working with children who struggle with anxiety and mood disorders. Her continuing education has focused on a variety of areas, including visual development and perceptual skills, the vestibular system, neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT), Therapeutic Listening, Myofascial Release, Visceral Manipulation, feeding & oral motor, Social Thinking strategies, DIR/Floortime, the Collaborative Proactive Solutions model (CPS) and responsive parenting. She is passionate about following a child’s interests and learning neurodivergent affirming approaches. Her favorite part about working with kids is being able to affect the entire family’s ability to function by helping children overcome their challenges and realize their potential. When she’s not working, Jessica’s hobbies include traveling and spending time with her family.
Jaimie Durden, MS, OTRL, is an occupational therapist, who joined the Therapy Spot team in March 2019. She graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, after psychology and Spanish from the university. Jaimie has experience treating children and young adults with various diagnoses, such as autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing dysfunction, feeding difficulties, fine motor delay, anxiety, and mood disorders. Her continuing education includes DIR/Floortime, Social Thinking Curriculum, and Trauma and Feeding. Jaimie loves working with children and collaborating with their families to create the just right challenge in order to promote growth and success in their environment.
Janel Davis-Heitzmann, MPT graduated in 2003 with a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from Oakland University. She has worked primarily with young children in the outpatient setting, treating everything from sports injuries to balance/coordination difficulties. She loves helping infants and toddlers meet their gross motor milestones and coaching parents so they can carry on with therapy at home. She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and holds two kinesiology taping certificates. Janel’s continuing education courses have been extensive and include the latest techniques in pediatric yoga, pilates, torticollis treatment, DIR/Floortime, autism, orthotics/DAFOs, and early intervention. When she’s not working as a physical therapist, she can be found cheering on her twin boys at their activities or out running in preparation for her next distance race.
Julianne Martin, MS, SLP, joined The Therapy SPOT to complete her clinical fellowship in 2019. Julianne graduated with her Master’s degree from Bowling Green State University after obtaining her Bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University. She has experience working with pediatric and adult populations in a variety of settings including clinics, schools, summer camp, outpatient rehabilitation, individual therapy, and group therapy. Julianne enjoys working with children and their families to achieve their communication and language goals. When she is not working, Julianne enjoys reading, hiking, kayaking, walking her dog and spending time with her family and friends.
Amy Lazar, B.A., COTA/L completed her education at Macomb Community College and Oakland University. She holds an associate degree in Occupational Therapy and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She has also completed extensive training through the Optometric Extension Program's Vision Therapy Institute. She has worked in the outpatient pediatric setting for over 25 years, providing vision therapy since 1994 and occupational therapy since 2010. Amy's continued education has included Beckman Oral Motor Treatment, Universal Exercise Unit, Assessment and Treatment of the Baby via NDT, Interventions for Challenging Behavior, Interactive Metronome, Animal Assisted Interventions, Handwriting Without Tears, Kinesio Taping, Self Regulation and many more. Her favorite part about working with children is seeing the look of pride on their faces when they are able to achieve their goals, no matter how big or small. Amy has recently completed the Master Gardener course through MSU Extension Program and enjoys gardening at home as well as through volunteer work. In her free time, she also enjoys reading, cooking, kayaking, playing the piano, sailing and yoga.
Muhiba Mehmedovic, MA, SLP , graduated from Central Michigan University with a Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology. She is passionate about providing neurodiversity affirming therapy and has interests in augmentative and alternative communication and echolalia. Muhiba loves to work through a child-led and family-based approach. Her favorite part about being an SLP is watching children gain confidence and find their voice! Outside of being an SLP, she enjoys hiking, drinking lattes and spending time with her husband and their two cats.
Jenn Rhein, MS, OTRL , is an occupational therapist who graduated with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2011 after receiving an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan. She spent the first 6 years of her career providing Early Intervention services in the Chicagoland area and working in both clinic and therapeutic day school settings. After relocating to the Detroit area, Jenn worked for several years in a community mental health setting. In this role, she had the opportunity to combine her passion for working directly with families in their natural environment with her interest in psychology and gained a wealth of knowledge of trauma-informed practice. Jenn is committed to building strong relationships with her clients and providing creative intervention focused on the areas of occupation that matter most to each individual family.
Alyssa Wood, B.A.A, COTA/Lis an occupational therapy assistant who completed her education at Macomb Community College and Central Michigan University. She holds an associate degree in Occupational Therapy and a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She also has a minor in American Sign Language and has had many work and educational opportunities getting to utilize this unique language. Alyssa has over 8 years of experience working with diverse pediatric populations, including fieldwork experiences in both outpatient and school settings. She has experience with a wide range of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, sensory processing disorders, feeding difficulties, fine motor delays, and more. Her favorite part about working with children is getting to utilize a play-based approach while incorporating each child’s unique interests to make therapy a fun, motivating, and rewarding experience. Her mission is to approach each child with kindness and ambition, and to positively impact each of their lives, while empowering them to strive for their maximum potential and to achieve their goals. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys working out, spending time outdoors, playing with her dog and kittens, spending time with family and friends, and boating!
Amy Shoemaker, MS, CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist who recently joined The Therapy SPOT team. She graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with a Master of Science in Communication Disorders, after studying Communication Sciences and Disorders at Baylor University. Amy has worked with the pediatric population for over 15 years in both the schools and pediatric outpatient settings providing individual and group therapy for children and their families. She truly enjoys working with children and their families to build connections and confidence. When not at work, Amy enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, and traveling.
Haley Seidman, MA, CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist from Colorado. She earned her Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology at the University of Northern Colorado in 2018. She has five years of experience in the outpatient pediatric setting. Haley is bilingual in both English and Spanish. She is passionate about providing services to Spanish-speaking families. Her other areas of interest include literacy (phonemic awareness, decoding, reading comprehension, vocabulary, written expression), executive functioning, stuttering, and social- emotional growth to help her patients develop meaningful connections with others. She also has experience with obtaining and implementing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for children. Haley strives to provide functional therapy, maximize each individual’s strengths, and empower caregivers. She enjoys traveling, music, concerts, working out, hiking, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her cat and 3 dogs.
Jessica Bleske, MS, OTRL, is an occupational therapist who received her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy at North Central College in 2021. Prior to receiving her OT degree, she received her bachelor’s in Exercise Science from Grand Valley State University in 2019, and is currently pursuing her second master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from CMU. She has always wanted to work with children, specifically within the neurodivergent community. It has been a true passion of hers and she loves exploring a child's potential and individual brilliance each day. She enjoys developing meaningful relationships, while continuously discovering a new part of a patient’s world. During her free time, she enjoys being with friends and family, watching football, cuddling her cat, being outdoors and reading!
Maleeha Sheikh, SLP, obtained her Master of Health Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto after studying psychology at York University. She was previously registered with the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario. Maleeha has experience working with children and adults in pediatric settings, acute care and adult rehabilitation. After working in Ontario, Maleeha moved to Michigan and is completing her Clinical Fellowship Year at the Therapy Spot. She is passionate about continuing education; her additional training includes: Introduction to Prompt, Hanen's More Than Words and Lidcombe Program for Early Intervention of Stuttering. She uses a child led approach and enjoys working collaboratively with parents and other professionals to help her clients achieve their goals. Outside of work, Maleeha enjoys spending time with family and friends, spending time outdoors and cooking.
Abi Clark, CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist who graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Masters of Communication Sciences and Disorders, after receiving her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University where she also played Division I Softball. Abi has over 5 years of experience in school and pediatric outpatient settings. She has developed a passion for providing child-led, play-based therapy through a neurodiversity affirming approach with interests in early language, alternative and augmentative communication, echolalia, and childhood apraxia of speech. Abi truly cherishes the opportunity to meet and connect with so many families while supporting their child’s development. When she is not working you can find her spending time with family and friends, preferably at the lake, enrolled in a fitness class, checking out new local restaurants, and cheering on Detroit sports teams.
Dana Laughlin, MS, OTRL, graduated from Wayne State University with her Bachelors of Science in Psychology and received her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Grand Valley. She has experience working in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings with clients across the lifespan. Dana has experience treating sensory processing differences, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, fine/gross motor delays, regulation and engagement difficulties. Her continuing education courses have included DIR Floortime Introductory Certification, Therapeutic Listening, and Beckman Oral Motor training, and neurodiversity affirming goal writing. She has a passion for using kids' interests in sessions to build strong relationships and make meeting their goals fun! Dana presumes competence with each of her clients and strives to empower her clients to feel safe and confident in their daily lives. When she is not at work, you will most likely find her spending time with her 2 cats and dog, spending time outside, doing yoga, and crafting.
Amy Maurer, MS, OTRL, is an occupational therapist who graduated with her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Grand Valley State University in 2020 and her Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from Michigan State University in 2018. She has experience with DIR/Floortime, advanced training from the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing, and is currently pursuing a Post-Master's Certificate in Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice from New York University. Amy has always had a passion for working with children and loves creating safe spaces to allow each child to be their true selves and reach their full potential while creating meaningful, trusting relationships. She enjoys using a child-led approach while providing neurodiversity affirming therapy. In her free time, Amy enjoys working out, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and cuddling her guinea pig!
Carissa Heestand, OTD, OTRL, received her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University in April 2024. Throughout her academic journey, she successfully completed a capstone project focused on the development and implementation of an 8-week caregiver coaching program aimed at promoting co-regulation within family dynamics. Carissa has gained extensive fieldwork experience across the lifespan, including hands-on involvement in the NICU, PICU, adult and pediatric oncology, and adult inpatient rehabilitation settings. She is particularly passionate about providing neurodiversity-affirming care through play-based and child-led approaches for children of all ages. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors and cooking for family and friends.
