I am an experienced Pediatric Physical Therapist working in the western suburbs of Illinois. I have a Masters degree and Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University. My Bachelors degree in Biology is from University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. I have worked in the outpatient, inpatient Neonatal Intensive Care Unit settings as well as in Early Intervention treating patients from 0-3 years in their homes. I primarily treat babies and toddlers, but I work with patients all the way to 21 years old.  I have advanced training in Neurodevelopmental Treatment which is a way of treating infants and children with a deep understanding of typical and atypical development and facilitating muscle activation.  I also have advanced training and special interest in premature infants, medically complex infants and children as well as children with breathing problems related to movement.  I have taught courses in pediatrics, geriatrics and neurology for PTA students as well as mentored a number of PT students and co-workers, educating them in effective evaluation and treatment planning. If I am not busy enough, I also taught group exercise for over 15 years and hold a certification in group exercise fitness.  My favorite formats are Pilates and Yoga and I often include them in my pediatric treatment.

 I am also a Mom to my three amazing children, Zachary, Bradley and Jenna. They are the loves of my life. I don’t believe that you have to be a mother to be an effective therapist, but I do believe that it gives you a different perspective on what parents go through in a day. It also helps you to realize the joys and worries of being a parent.

I believe that parents who find themselves in physical therapy for any reason have a unique benefit.  The therapist provides weekly guidelines for how those parents can effectively work with their child and ideas for how they can play with their child.  Pediatric physical therapists are experts on how children move and how the developmental progression happens. Therefore I intimately know what muscles need to be lengthened, what muscles need to be strengthened and when this needs to happen in order to produce effective movement. I have been told over and over again that parents do not want to leave therapy because they love the instruction they are given in how to work with their babies.  It got me thinking that there has to be a way to provide this experience of expert advice to every parent, hence this blog.   I have a passion for teaching all parents how to effectively exercise their children in order to prevent needless delays and to promote their overall health and well being.  If you are concerned that your child is delayed, however, please contact your physician or a pediatric therapist in order to get a full evaluation   as this blog cannot provide you with all the individual direction you may need for your child.

I am more than happy to answer any questions that you might have about your baby at babiesfirstfitness@gmail.com or contact me via the form below.

Thank you for your follow and I look forward to inspiring you to effectively exercise with your baby and toddler.