Padra Smith, MS, OTR/L, SIPT
Founder & Clinical Director
Occupational Therapist
Kate Foster, MS, OT/L
Occupational Therapist
& Practice Manager (Remote)
Padra Smith is the founder and clinical director of Mighty Minds and Muscles who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and Physical Education from Arizona State University. After obtaining her B.S., she pursued a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Washington University School of Medicine and trained at Mayo Clinic & the University of Champaign Hosptial and Clinics (and other locations).
To build on her exercise and research background, when Padra continued her studies at Washington University School of Medicine she studied how cognition develops and changes through the life cycle. Additionally, she studied how the physical environment affects one's ability to participate and be successful in the world. She also took care of a child with severe physical and mental diabilities and traveled internationally with and assisted a professional adult with quadripegia on a daily basis. These experiences inspired her to develop her practice using neurodevelopmental therapeutic interventions and coaching strategies. In addition to providing O.T. services, Padra also incorporates her skills as a Professional Organizer in order to help clients and their families to interact with their belongings and successfully complete life tasks in a calm organized fashion. She also acts as a consultant to a number of schools and provides teacher and parent workshops regularly.
Padra is constantly promoting her own knowledge and seeks to grow with each client as they grow and learn. Padra also provides mentorship to other therapists and emerging clinicians.
Padra is a Certified Tomatis Method® Practitioner, Certified Therapeutic Listening Provider, Certified iLS Provider and Certified in Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) and a Licensed Cellfield Reading Intervention provider. She is also training in the Masgutova Sensory Neural Reflex Integration program. She is very experienced in Handwriting Without Tears, Balametrics, Astronaut Training, The Alert Program and incorporates concepts related to Orton Gillingham, Writer's Workshop, Singapore Math, Brain Gym, Beckman's Oral Motor Techniques, NDT and many more programs.
When she is not working Padra loves to spend time with her devoted husband, visit with her family and friends, read, design (anything), cooking, photography, arts & crafts, going to the movies or shows and most of all she loves to travel.
Kate joined the MMM clinic team with a wealth of experience working with families and children in homes, clinics, and ABA center based schools. She graduated from Seton Hall University with a Masters degree of Occupational Science and jumped head first into the Early Intervention program for babies/toddlers 0-3 years old.
She believes strongly in the benefits of a therapeutic connection between child and therapist. She strives to give each child specific challenges to watch themselves attempt, fail, learn, grow, and succeed in their therapeutic activities and exercises. She has experience with selective eaters, delayed fine motor, increasing social skills, and leading group therapy sessions.
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Outside of her work hours she enjoys meditation, playing piano, yoga, sweets, and jogging. She is recommitting herself to learn how to cook dinner meals for her family and always tinkering around making DIY toys for fine motor.
Kelly Burton, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
& Clinical Manager
Sapna Soin, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Gabriella (Gaby) Pireno, MS, CCC-SLP, TSSLD-bi
Speech and Language Pathologist
Christine Lee, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Gabriella Pireno is a bilingual speech and language therapist with over a decade of experience working with toddlers, children and adolescents with a variety of speech, language, communication and feeding challenges. Gaby has worked with children of all abilities and ages in both English and Spanish through Early Intervention, in public and private schools and in private practice. A native New Yorker, Gaby attended Stuyvesant High School and later Vassar College. Discovering speech and language pathology allowed Gaby to integrate her background in both hard sciences and liberal arts with a passion for linguistic and cultural diversity.
Gaby takes a holistic approach to treatment-- considering the whole person using a collaborative model that incorporates caregivers, educators, medical professionals, OTs, and PTs as partners in care. Starting from the foundation of a trusting and engaging therapeutic relationship, each session is customized to support each child in building on their strengths and facing their challenges in a fun and functional way. Her experiences with neurodiverse children and young adults further shaped her approach to therapy as highly individualized and based on addressing all the client's needs from the physical to the sensory, and in turn supporting more effective communication. Gaby is excited to be a part of the Therapy Cooperative @ Mighty Minds and Muscles, which fosters the collaboration of therapists across these disciplines to best support the client.
Gaby lives locally in Manhattan and loves to spend her free time with her husband and young daughter exploring the many adventures NYC has to offer.
Credentials:
· DIR-Floortime Trained
· PROMPT Trained
· Solid Starts Foundations for Feeding
· Certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association
· Certified Bilingual Speech Therapist and Teacher for Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD-bi) from Teachers College at Columbia University
Alison Bennett, MAT
Jessica Lehner
Occupational Therapist
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Jessica Felton
Occupational Therapist
Cathy Procopio, PT
Physical Therapist
Cranial Sacral Practitioner
Malinda Smith
Graphic Designer
Billing Assistant
Malinda continuously works to transform Padra's creative thoughts into a final product she loves!