Caring and Experienced Therapists with Special Expertise
Our therapeutic space offers state-of-the-art equipment and a safe, playful environment with personalized treatment opportunities not always available in a hospital, school, or home setting. The Center’s main room resembles a gym that provides opportunities for a variety of movement experiences. Tactile materials and small manipulatives help address sensory and fine motor needs. A separate evaluation room provides quiet, focused space for an accurate and thorough assessment of specific needs.
Our Approach
Our holistic approach connects therapy with the settings and tasks encountered in daily life. Treatment plans are developed in close collaboration with home and school teams.
OT Center Therapy Areas of Focus
Gross Motor Development
Coordination, balance, motor planning, increased physical confidence, and safety awareness
Fine Motor Development
Hand skills, dexterity, bilateral hand use, eye-hand coordination, and handwriting skill development
Sensory Processing
Integrating responses to information perceived through touch, sound, movement, and other senses; specializing in addressing sensory registration and sensitivities
Play, Social, and Academic Skills
Engaging with people and the environment; organization, flexibility, and self-regulation
Daily Living Skills
Self-help skills for everyday tasks, appropriate social and communications behaviors
Audience and Services
Who does the OT Center serve?
Our staff of licensed, trauma-informed occupational therapists have extensive experience evaluating and treating children and adults with various needs, from typical individuals with mild delays to those with specific disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, ADHD, and other issues. OTC services are available to families, schools, and other agencies. When working with schools and districts, treatment plans are developed in close collaboration with school teams.
Signals that may indicate a need for occupational therapy include:
- Delays in motor or communication skills and/or academic achievement
- Over or under responsiveness to sensory experiences such as touch, movement, sight, or sound
- Physical clumsiness
- Distractability and/or impulsiveness
- Social and/or emotional issues
- Difficulty interacting with others
- Repetitive or unusually intense behaviors
- Resistance to change in daily routines
- Poor self concept
Services include:
- Individual treatment
- Evaluations – Sensory-motor and sensory processing
- Consultation to schools, daycare centers, families, and agencies
- Workshops and presentations for educators, parents, and healthcare professionals
- Auditory Integration Programs: Therapeutic Listening and Quick Shifts / Binaural Beats
What is Sensory Integration?
Sensory Integration is described as the organization of the senses and how they work together to guide the way that we perceive and respond to our environment. Basic sensory inputs such as touch, sound, movement, and body position help us to plan and execute new actions based on past experiences and the sensations that accompany them. For most of us, this process develops naturally through our usual activities, but when the system does not develop as effectively as it should, the result may be difficulties in learning, motor development, social awareness, or behavior.
With a staff that has extensive training and experience in Sensory Integration theory evaluation and treatment, the OT Center has become a leader in recognizing and meeting the special needs of those with autism disorders and other developmental disabilities.
Occupational Therapy Center Team
Karen Fiegenbaum, OTR/L
Karen Fiegenbaum has been an occupational therapist for over 20 years. She has experience working with infants to young adults and their families. In her role as a therapist, she has collaborated with educational teams and with community child welfare and mental health programming. Her experience supporting families with multifaceted needs and their children started in Early Intervention. Before working at the Occupational Therapy Clinic, Karen worked as a school –based therapist in a wide variety of educational programs throughout Hampshire county. As a consultant with a community agency, Karen applied her knowledge of sensory processing, complex trauma, attachment and self-regulatory challenges in supporting families and at-risk youth.
Position: OTR/L Registered Occupational Therapist and Clinic Coordinator
Email: otc@collaborative.org
Phone: (413) 588-5279
Lauren Grimard, OTR/L
Lauren Grimard has worked as a pediatric occupational therapist since 2021. She has experience providing services in private outpatient clinics specializing in sensory integration, as well as Early Intervention programs. She has previously worked with adults at a mental health hospital. As a therapist certified in trauma informed approach to care, she has completed an in-service on how trauma relates to sensory integration. Lauren is also certified in Primitive Reflex Integration as well as the Therapeutic Listening Program. She has utilized various modalities such as the Alert Program, Zones of Regulation, Astronaut Training, Interoception Curriculum, Wilbarger Brushing Protocol and Hand Writing Without Tears. Throughout her career, she has assisted clients with feeding and oral motor difficulties. Lauren is excited to share her knowledge with families while providing a fun and therapeutic approach to treatment.
Position: Occupational Therapist
Email: otc@collaborative.org
Phone: (413) 588-5279
Laurie Levine-Lowen, OTR/L, LMT, CKTP
Laurie Levine-Lowen has worked in all phases of Rehabilitation as an Occupational Therapist in her 20+ years of experience. She’s worked with ages from neonatal to geriatric in a variety of settings including hospital, home, school, group home, and consultation. In more recent years, she has specialized in the treatment of complex and chronic pain, but maintained a pediatric caseload, mostly treating clients with developmental delays and neurodiversity.
Laurie has dual licensing in OT and MT and has taken extensive training in a wide range of therapeutic modalities to treat both adults and children, including Total Motion Release (TMR) Myofascial Release, Muscle Energy, NDT handling, Craniosacral Therapy and is a certified Kinesiotape Practitioner. She has assisted and lectured in manual therapy classes nationally and internationally.
In her extensive work with adults with pain syndromes, Laurie became aware that many of these adults had backgrounds of trauma and sensory issues, as well as long standing postural imbalances. She is very excited to have a part in earlier and more comprehensive intervention in the hope of improving quality of life both immediately and in the future.
Position: Occupational Therapist
Email: otc@collaborative.org
Phone: (413) 588-5279