Orland Park

Heather has been a physical therapist since 2013, working for RUSH Kids since 2019. While she enjoys treating a variety of conditions, Heather has taken a special interest in treating scoliosis, torticollis and pediatric athletes. Heather has started her certification in Schroth, passing level 1, and currently practices under the Schroth-Barcelona Institute's principles. She is also working toward completing her certification in Total Motion Release (TMR), specializing in treating asymmetrical postures, as seen in torticollis. Heather completed her undergraduate degree at North Central College, going on to receive her doctorate of physical therapy from Midwestern University. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her kids outdoors.

Ashley has been with Select Medical since 2020, with 8 years of clinical experience. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in education from Illinois State University. She earned her master's degree in applied behavior analysis and Autism certification from Ball State University. She has worked in outpatient, in-home and school settings. She also has her public educator license, and was a classroom teacher for five years prior to working in the field of applied behavior analysis. She was introduced to applied behavior analysis while working as a special education teacher at a therapeutic day school for individuals with Autism. Ashley's experiences have included severe behaviors, early intervention, social skills, functional communication training, verbal behavior training, parent and staff training and functional analyses. Ashley has also supervised individuals pursuing certification since 2018. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys running and spending time outdoors with her husband and kids.

Julie has been a member of RUSH Kids Pediatric Therapy since 2021. She has worked in outpatient orthopedic and pediatric settings with clinical experience in early intervention, aquatic therapy and conductive education. Julie is also an early intervention specialist, providing services to children 3 years old and younger. She completed her undergraduate education at St. Ambrose University and received a doctorate of physical therapy from Governors State University. During her free time, Julie enjoys spending time outdoors with her puppy.

Aileen is a pediatric speech-language pathologist with over 12 years of experience in the field. She has been a member of the RUSH Kids team since 2011. Aileen is one of the pediatric market managers, overseeing six of our RUSH Kids centers in the Chicagoland area. Aileen has specialization in feeding disorders from birth to 18, and orofacial myofunctional therapy. Aileen works to support her patients and their parents with family-centered goals and treatment plans that best support the child's needs in their natural environment. She also enjoys working with the positive and collaborative multi-disciplinary team at RUSH Kids in order to provide a holistic approach to therapy. In her free time, Aileen enjoys spending time with her husband and two children and traveling.

Clare joined the Rush Kids Pediatric Therapy team in August of 2022, with 3+ years of clinical experience. She has dedicated her time to treating children in the outpatient clinic setting. Clare has experience working with a wide variety of communication disorders, including speech sound disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, fluency disorders, language disorders, pragmatic disorders and voice disorders. Clare completed her undergraduate education at Saint Xavier University and received a master's of speech, language and learning from Northwestern University. She and her husband have one dog and a baby on the way and enjoy relaxing and spending time with friends and family in their free time.

Michael joined the Select Medical team in 2022. He holds a certificate of clinical competence from the American speech-language-hearing association (ASHA) and is currently licensed to practice in Illinois. Michael has experience in evaluating, diagnosing and providing treatment for individuals with deficits/disorders in the following areas: articulation, phonology, apraxia of speech, expressive/receptive language, social communication, voice, fluency, auditory processing and aphasia. Michael earned his master's degree in speech-language pathology in 2021 from Saint Xavier University, where he also completed his undergraduate education, earning his bachelor's degree in communication science and disorders in 2019.

Nicole joined the RUSH Kids Pediatric Therapy team in April 2023. She has worked in outpatient pediatrics and has clinical experience in early intervention and hand therapy. She attended Governs State University where she completed her undergraduate education in public health with a minor in psychology and master's degree in occupational therapy. She enjoys treating a variety of conditions, but has taken a special interest in sensory processing and emotional regulation. She enjoys staying active, traveling and hiking.

Armi has been a member of RUSH Kids Pediatric Therapy since 2017. She has worked in the outpatient, school and home settings. Armi specializes in treating patients with developmental delays, sensory deficits, poor executive functioning skills, feeding difficulties and delayed fine motor development. She also has experience leading social groups. Armi completed her undergraduate education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received a master's degree in occupational therapy from Rush University. She also has certification in early intervention. Armi and her husband have three young children and enjoy traveling together. She enjoys reading.