Courtney attended Kansas State University for undergraduate and Wichita State University for graduate school. She has worked in skilled nursing, acute care, and the school setting. Her therapeutic interests include receptive and expressive language in the area of birth to five as we see language take off and children experience the success of communication. Courtney has advanced training in Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing for children with apraxia.
Courtney looks forward to including families in the therapy process to assist in carry over of the skills learned in sessions. Her personal interests include roller skating, rock climbing, and paddle boarding.
Pediatric and Adolescent Occupational Therapist Noella earned her Doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy from Baylor University. Noella has always been passionate about restoring hope and purpose through rehabilitation after recovering from her running injuries and from her dad’s recovery from cardiac arrest. Her passion for Occupational Therapy grew deeply in the special education classroom during her time as a paraprofessional. Her students will always have a special place in her heart but one student in particular who never let her disability stop her has forever changed and inspired Noella to never give up. Now, Noella strives to help all children reach their full potential no matter what the barrier or circumstances is. She is a strong advocate for children and family, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to maximize treatment sessions and promote functional activities in everyday life.
During her fieldwork rotations, Noella gained experience in home health, the school system, outpatient, and inpatient rehabilitation with adults and pediatrics. During her capstone experience she worked with high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to help bridge the gap for transitional work and life skills after graduation.
Noella believes in advocacy, inclusion, fun and client centered care to help all individuals reach their full potential.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends/family and being involved in the community. She also enjoys exploring nature, playing board games, and trying new things!
Madison has practiced in a variety of setting including early intervention (0-3 years of age), private practice, acute care, and rehabilitation hospitals. Madison has experiences in treatment of pediatric feeding disorders, articulation/speech sound disorders, language disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, difficulties with feeding/oral phase of swallowing, open mouth posture, tongue ties, and “tongue thrust” issues, picky eating, and supporting oral intakes for non-oral eaters. Additionally, Madison has received her training in SOS Approach to Feeding, Tethered Oral Tissues Trained, and working towards her Certification in Lactation Counseling.
When Madison is not practicing her passion, she enjoys spending time with her family, cheering on her favorite sporting teams, and her pet cat.
Briauna earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Kansas Medical Center. She was an intern at Playabilities her last semester of her undergrad and later was a tech as well. She found her passion for working with the pediatric population and in an interprofessional environment. Bri has clinical experience working with the pediatric population from her 12 week clinical rotation at a Children’s Mercy outpatient clinic. She had the opportunity to work with children aged 0-18 years old with a variety of developmental diagnoses, orthopedic conditions, Amplified Pain Syndrome, EDS, and more. She looks forward to growing her experiences and finding her areas of interest. During her time at KUMC, Bri completed training through the LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) program. This consisted of experiencing clinical treatment, research, interdisciplinary class discussions, community experiences, family immersion, and advocacy in the government and community. With her classmate, Anna Hegarty, they continued to develop and promote “ablefitness.org”, previously developed by Adam Schnacker and Mackenzie Moore, a website used to promote health and improve access to adaptive sports in the greater KC area.
Bri was also a swim instructor with the Sensory Enhanced Aquatics program, a swimming and water safety program for children with autism spectrum disorders, and continues to sub when needed. Bri looks forward to building long term relationships with her patients and their families. She believes that family involvement in care is important and helps promote long term success.
In her free time, Bri enjoys walking her dogs, planning her wedding, playing pickle ball, playing yard games and board games with her family and friends, hosting dinner parties, playing golf with her fiancé, and cheering on the KC Chiefs and Royals and Kansas Jayhawks.
Katie earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Saint Mary. She attended the University of Kansas for her undergraduate degree where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. Her pediatric clinical experiences consist of multiple pediatric settings including home health, early childhood intervention, and in outpatient pediatrics where she has treated a wide variety of medical conditions and levels of motor function. To further expand on her clinical knowledge, Katie has experience working with neurological injuries such as strokes, spinal cord injuries, and brain injuries in adults. Katie has a strong passion for working with children of all ages and abilities. Communicating success with their families is her favorite part!
Katie was born and raised in Kansas City. Outside of the clinic, you will most likely find her cheering on her Jayhawks and Chiefs, spending time with her dogs, or baking yummy treats to share with her family and colleagues!
Roxie eared her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from Maryville University in St. Louis in 2017. Her clinical experiences included Early Intervention and Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation at Ranken Jordan Hospital. After graduating, Roxie took her first job at Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas. She treated children with a wide variety of diagnoses and ages in an outpatient setting. She was able to hone in on her manual handling skills, specifically with patients with neurological diagnoses. She became certified in Kinesiotaping as well as treating children with torticollis and cerebral palsy. She was also involved in a NICU discharge clinic, helping premature infants meet their gross motor milestones.
After leaving Texas Children’s Hospital, Roxie provided in home pediatric services, primarily to infants with torticollis and tongue tie. Roxie has over 4 years of Pediatric experience. She has provided care to children of all ages and a wide variety of diagnoses including torticollis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, down syndrome, rare genetic diagnoses, toe walking, and developmental delay. She has a passion for teaching children how to walk and the many challenges and rewards it presents. Over the years, Roxie has found that parents are one of a child’s greatest motivators. She believes that empowering every parent to know they are a big part in their child’s progress is crucial! Above all, Roxie wants every child to reach their greatest potential.
In her free time, Roxie enjoys spending time with her husband, 2 year old son, and puppy.
Kate is a Kansas City native who earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during her few years spent living on the east coast. Her clinical experiences at Carolina included UNC Children’s Hospital, Duke University’s outpatient pediatric clinics, and therapeutic day camps for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Kate’s capstone project explored the contribution of early mobility to infant cognitive development as well as language and social skills.
Kate and her husband moved back to Kansas City to be closer to family, where she worked in an outpatient orthopedic setting prior to joining the Playabilities team. She has experience working with pediatric neurologic, orthopedic, and developmental diagnoses as well as pediatric equipment evaluation. Kate has over 10 years of experience working with children in various capacities, and she is passionate about helping them explore and find value within their own abilities. She enjoys getting to know each child individually and partnering with families in order to tailor therapy to their unique needs and goals.
Outside of the clinic, Kate enjoys spending time with her family and yellow lab, traveling, and being outdoors.
Jenny earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Rockhurst University in Kansas City in 2013. After she received her degree, she moved to St. Louis, where she worked as a pediatric physical therapist in early intervention and in a pediatric outpatient clinic. Jenny and her husband moved to Kansas City in April 2017 and she has been with the Playabilities team since summer 2017. Jenny has experience with a wide variety of diagnoses including Autism, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, hemiplegia, hypotonia, torticollis, genetic duplications/deletions, and global developmental delay.
She specializes in infant and toddler development, but works with kids through 18 years. She enjoys working with children and helping them feel stronger and more confident in their bodies as they make progress with their gross motor skills. She focuses on integrating play into therapy. She believes that therapy continues beyond the clinic and works hard to involve the whole family, making it as functional and achievable as possible.
Outside of work, Jenny spends time with her husband, daughter and golden retriever. They enjoy traveling, taking walks, visiting family and playing outside.
Luke holds his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, KS. He is a licensed physical therapist in both Kansas and Missouri. His areas of expertise include pediatric rehabilitation including NDT facilitation, manual therapy techniques, primitive reflexes, balance rehabilitation, and young athlete rehabilitation. Luke also works at Infant Toddler Services of Johnson Co., specializing in infants to 3-year olds.
He has served an autism diagnostic team administering ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) and CARS (Child Autism Rating Scale) testing, while also providing therapies to children with autism. Luke has received training in family centered care, vision rehabilitation, torticollis therapy, NDT muscle facilitation, orthopedic rehab, feeding techniques, and orthotic implementation. He knows the importance of providing parents with knowledge and home treatment strategies for best success. Luke has always enjoyed the enthusiasm of children and feels lucky to help all kids achieve their best ability in order to play and interact with their peers.
He is a husband and father of 2 young children. He enjoys taking trips to the mountains or lake with his family, exploring Kansas City, and going to sporting events. He keeps active by biking, golfing, visiting friends, and going to parks with the family.
Susie received her Master’s degree from Rockhurst University in Communication Sciences and Disorders and her Bachelor’s degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing sciences from the University of Kansas. During her first year of graduate school, she worked part-time as a speech and language para educator for a school district where she gained experience programming an AAC device, educating interdisciplinary members, and providing therapy. Since that experience, she has provided individual and group intervention to individuals who use AAC devices. She has served a variety of clients in various settings such as schools, summer programs, and outpatient rehabilitation facilities. Susie loves collaborating with families to ensure goals will benefit both clients and their families. She has serviced a variety of individuals including those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Down Syndrome, speech and language delays, fluency disorders, and those who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices.
In her free time, Susie enjoys staying active at the gym, cooking new recipes, binging TV series, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
