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.

Nicole has been an occupational therapist at RUSH Kids since May 2022. Nicole completed both her undergraduate and master's degree at Lewis University. She has experience working with a variety of diagnoses to help child build the confidence and skills needed to feel successful within their home, school and community settings. Her background includes helping children address any difficulties with fine motor, gross motor and/or executive functioning skills, as well as any concerns with emotional and self-regulation. She is dedicated to making therapy sessions fun and engaging to ensure positive outcomes for each child. In her spare time, Nicole loves to travel and enjoys staying active by participating in aerial yoga.

Clare is a pediatric occupational therapist with over 3 years of experience working with children with sensory processing, neuromuscular deficits, developmental delays, autism and ADHD in hospital and private practice settings. Clare holds a post-master's certification in human nutrition and functional medicine and is currently completing her supervised practice experience with the American Nutrition Association to become a board certified nutrition specialist. Clare specializes in treating patients who benefit from sensory processing and feeding & nutrition intervention. Clare has completed continuing education and trainings for feeding interventions with the Get Permission Institute. Outside of her professional life, Clare enjoys traveling, fitness and spending time with her friends and family.

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.

Kat is a speech-language pathologist working for RUSH Kids in Orland Park since 2022. She is a new graduate and has clinical experience providing care in a center for children with autism spectrum disorder, a school for children preschool through 8th grade and a Head Start program. She enjoys an individualized and functional approach to speech-language treatment. Kat received her undergraduate education at Elmhurst University and received a master's degree in speech-language pathology from Lewis University. She provides services related to a variety of client populations. This includes articulation, fluency, receptive-expressive language, voice and social communication. She strives to apply the newest evidence-based treatments to all patients.

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.

Meghan has been a behavior analyst at RUSH Kids in Orland since 2022, and has 4 years of experience in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA). She received her master's degree in ABA with a focus in Autism Spectrum Disorder from Ball State University. Meghan has experience providing behavioral services to individuals with ASD and other intellectual disabilities in both the home and clinic setting. She is well-versed in areas including behavior reduction, skill acquisition, family training and social skills training, as well as collaborating with other disciples to create cohesive treatment plans for her clients.

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.