Maude Le Roux is an accomplished pediatric occupational therapist with great affinity for learning and understanding the human brain. She was born and raised in South Africa, and graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town in 1984. Maude married Charl Le Roux in 1986 and moved to the USA in 1993. Together, they opened A Total Approach in September 2001. Maude is SIPT certified and specializes in Sensory Integration services as it applies to functional activities of daily living, including improving the ability of any child to partake in his/her learning environment. She also holds a certificate in DIR®/Floortime™ and this adds to more fullness while treating children who have difficulty communicating and relating, such as spectrum disorders. Besides holding several other certifications in different forms of listening therapy such as Therapeutic Listening, The Listening Program, and Samonas, she is also a certified Tomatis Consultant. Maude is a member of the International Association of Registered Certified Tomatis Consultants. Maude is also a certified Interactive Metronome Provider and uses Lindamood-Bell programs in her intervention plans for children with reading and writing difficulties. Maude is also an Irlen Syndrome Diagnostician and is finding this specific work extremely gratifying. She has also participated in international speaking engagements with regards to the field of sensory integration and autism. Maude has no children of her own, though she falls in love with every child that passes her way.
Janice A. Buckwalter, OTR/L, IMC, Irlen Syndrome Diagnostician, graduated magna cum laude from Temple University in 1978. She became certified in administration and interpretation of the SCSIT in 1980 and used it extensively until it was replaced by the SIPT. Janice began her pediatric career at Crozer Chester Medical Center where she assisted in the development of a pediatric OT program. She continued her career in school districts in Delaware until the birth of her son David in 1984. In order to balance career and family life, Janice became an OT contractor in 1984 and worked in various school districts in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. After 23 years working in school settings, Janice began looking for an exciting change and found it at A Total Approach where her therapeutic frame of reference in sensory integration could be broadened. Since joining ATA in October 2004, Janice has become a certified Interactive Metronome trainer and has gained an understanding of Tomatis, DIR®/Floortime™, and Therapeutic Listening.
In addition to her role as a therapist, Janice has a personal insight to the challenges families face raising a child with a disability. In 1988, Janice's 10 month old son, Philip, became brain injured secondary to a viral infection. OT was no longer just a career choice but played a major role in Philip's rehabilitation and education. Philip is also benefitting from his mother's association with ATA. He has been provided with a Therapeutic Listening program under the supervision of Maude LeRoux. Janice lives in Landenberg, PA with her husband, Jeff.
Angela Gaudiuso Johnson OTR/L, IMC, SIPT, CEIM, Clinical Supervisor, is an experienced Pediatric Occupational Therapist, practicing since 1989, and has worked in medical, educational, and private practice settings in staff and supervisory positions. She been working at A Total Approach since 2002, and enjoys being part of a group of experienced therapists dedicated to helping children grow to their fullest potential. Angela's experience in working with children with special needs include a variety of diagnosis such as PDD (including Autism & Aspergers), Developmental Delay, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, ADD, ADHD, Traumatic Brain Injury, etc. In addition to her years of clinical experience with special needs children, she has personal experience raising a son with sensory integration challenges and learning differences. Although a diagnosis may be important to obtain services, she believes in assessing a child's individual potential and empowering parents in assisting their child's growth. She is certified in Interactive Metronome, Therapeutic Listening, Infant Massage, and in administering the Sensory Integration Praxis Test. She also holds a certificate in Sensory Integration. Angela has had training and is experienced in sensory integration treatment, DIR®/Floortime™ approach, infant massage, and sound therapies amongst others. Angela shares our company philosophy that each child and family are unique and deserving of the best quality occupational therapy services she can provide.
Ayesha Ganges, MA, CCC-SLP, is a Pennsylvania-licensed and ASHA (American-Speech-Language and Hearing Association)-certified speech language pathologist (SLP). Born in Scotland and raised in the Midwestern United States, she came to the East Coast in 1991 where she attended Bryn Mawr College. After obtaining her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Bryn Mawr in 1995, Ayesha went on to work with children with autism for several years as a Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS), then as a behavioral consultant. She received her behavioral training through several different companies, including Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center and Douglass Outreach in Rutgers, NJ. She received her Master's Degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing from Temple University in 2004, where she was voted to receive Honors as a promising clinician by her colleagues. Ayesha completed her speech and language clinical fellowship training with Theraplay, a pediatric outpatient clinic located in West Chester, Horsham, and Drexel Hill, PA.
Yearning for a more individual approach to intervention and child-centered treatment of children with autism and developmental delays, Ayesha attended several workshops and trainings to study the DIR®/Floortime™ approach from 2001 to 2005, and subsequently attended the week long summer institute in Virginia. She became a floortime therapist for several children on the autism spectrum and their families. She believes strongly that each child learns differently and, therefore, the structure of therapy sessions needs to focus on these individual differences. She believes in taking 'A Total Approach' to each child's therapeutic needs. Ayesha is currently pursuing certification in DIR®/Floortime™ through A Total Approach.
Ayesha is a well-trained and well-educated speech pathologist able to evaluate and treat a variety of speech, language, and feeding disorders. Please see Speech and Language Services for the types of evaluation and treatment services she provides here at ATA.
Ayesha does not yet have children of her own, but loves the children she works with! She builds a strong rapport with children of all ages and makes therapy fun! She truly believes in the philosophy here at A Total Approach and is thrilled to be part of the team!
We are pleased to have Ayesha back from maternity leave and working with us on a part time basis as she continues to balance work life with family life
Karen Myers, OTR/L, IMC,
has been practicing occupational therapy since 2002. She received her B.S. in occupational
therapy at Temple University, one of the leading universities in the field. After finishing
her degree, Karen moved to Chicago, IL with her husband. She began her pediatric career at
Beth Osten and Associates, a private practice in Skokie, IL. At Beth Osten & Associates
Karen provided services to children with developmental, learning, sensory integration, and
regulatory disorders, and children on the autistic spectrum. She has received supervision
around using the DIR®/Floortime™ model in therapy for the past 5 years and has attended three
continuing education courses on the ® model. Karen plans on pursuing her certification
in the DIR®/Floortime™ model. She has also received continuing education in Assessing/Treating
Regulatory, Emotional and Sensory deficits; Beckman Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention;
Sensory Defensiveness; Treatment of the Baby; Interactive Metronome; Therapeutic
Listening, and Vestibular Habilitation from the Core. Karen and her husband recently moved
back to Pennsylvania, and we are pleased with her choosing to make ATA her base for furthering
her career goals.
Nicole Alexander, MOT, OTR/L, SIPT,
received her B.S. from Albright College in Psychobiology, which laid the groundwork for
her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Temple University, where Nicole graduated in
the top of her class. Nicole has worked with a variety of children and adolescents
from 2 years to 21 years of age. She has worked in Early Intervention centers, home
care, school settings and clinical programs.
Nicole has done extensive work with social skills training and programming. Her
continuing education includes Handwriting without Tears, the "How Does your Engine
Run?" Alert program, Therapeutic Listening, and Interactive Metronome certification.
Nicole has joined A Total Approach to further her education
and practice occupational therapy by truly looking at and treating the whole child.
Nicole has recently gotten married and is busy starting a new life with her husband
Jason, a physical therapist. They both enjoy outdoor life in the mountains and traveling.
Melissa Doyle, IMC, is a clinical assistant at A Total Approach. In May of 2006 she received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Arcadia University, and is currently working towards her master's degree in mental health counseling through Capella University. She began working at A Total Approach doing the ESY program in 2003, and shortly after also started working in the Tomatis Training program. Melissa now does a variety of things to assist clinicians and exhibits a warm affinity toward the kids in her charge. She has gained much in her knowledge and expertise while working in several programs at ATA and feels that she would be apply to apply this information greatly in her future work as a mental health therapist. Melissa has completed the Interactive Metronome training and is IM certified. Her son assists us frequently in peer related DIR® work. He has fun talking about being and "employee" at ATA.
Suzanne Gabriele MOT, OTR/L, IMC, CEIM, received her B.A. from West Chester University in Psychology in 2002 and went on to work as a Therapeutic Support Staff (TSS) with children on the Autistic Spectrum for several years providing interventions that included behavior plans, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and DIR®/Floortime™ in home and school settings. She subsequently went on to pursue her Masters of Occupational Therapy at Temple University where she worked on a grant in collaboration with adults with autism in how to train support staff to work with children in a relationship-based model. The grant was funded by Youth Advocate Programs and is currently being used by this company to train their staff throughout the state of Pennsylvania. During her studies at Temple University she was provided the opportunity to be a student at A Total Approach where she deepened her understanding of how to treat the "whole child."
Since finishing her coursework at Temple University, Suzanne has started the beginning education requirements of the DIR® certificate program by attending the DIR® Summer Institute where she furthered her knowledge and understanding of this approach.
Suzanne is thrilled to be starting her career as an occupational therapist as a part of such an accomplished team and is committed to furthering her education in the field of pediatric occupational therapy. She states: "A Total Approach provides the avenue for children and their families to receive comprehensive treatment from a staff who truly cares."
Janine Gargano, Floortime practitioner is a dedicated Floortime practitioner and our ATA Play Project Partner. She has over 10 years experience working with a wide range of children on the Autistic Spectrum. After graduating with a B.S. from Drexel University, Janine began her journey as a home ABA therapist and as a one to one instructional assistant in various South Jersey school districts. She gained further experience by attending a variety of workshops and intensive training on the DIR model. Janine had the opportunity to participate in a DIR Summer program for 2001 & 2002 in North Jersey. Due to her skills, she was employed by a South Jersey school district to provide services for a many children with school and home based DIR programs. Under the supervision of Maude Le Roux, Janine has enjoyed working in both home and school DIR sessions with children on the spectrum. She conveys her special fondness for working with children and their families in the comfort of their own home. Janine expresses how much the DIR approach respects each child's individual strengths. "When you validate the child and then see that spark in their eyes, there is no greater reward." She is so excited to be pursuing the Play Project certification developed by Dr. Rick Solomon MD, Medical Director.
Janine is a wife and a mother of two with a one year old daughter and a three year old son. Her son had been diagnosed with PDD-NOS at age two. Both her husband and she are very appreciative to have the guidance of A Total Approach and the therapy services available to their son. As a mother of a child on the spectrum, she states , "I now have a greater understanding of the emotional undertaking and impact this road has on the everyday lives of the families . When either of our children reach a milestone, we are extremely grateful for each one, no matter how big or how small."
Barb Pezik, Physical Therapist graduated from Quinnipiac College in 1980 and began working as a physical therapist, which had been her goal since she was 15. She has worked in a variety of settings, focusing on pediatrics since 1999. She's worked with children from birth to age 3 in their homes, with preschool-age children with severe physical disabilities in their classroom, with 7 to 21-year-olds in a school-based program for children needing physical support, with elementary-age kids in a public school setting, with birth to 21-year-olds in an out-patient facility, and with people of all ages and disabilities on the back of a horse (which is called hippotherapy - using the horse to improve balance, coordination, etc.) In 1990 she founded and then directed for eight years a hippotherapy program in Unionville, and now works as an equestrian therapist one evening a week. Her continuing education courses have included infant massage, sensory integration, Floortime, and language enhancement. Having a son who received special education services for a year gave Barb a slight glimpse into the difficulties of finding time to work on specific skills with one child in the midst of a busy family's life. All three of her adult children (apparently!) enjoy living with her.
