Deborah Dorsett, MOT, OTR/L, CEIM

debb@circletherapypeds.com

My love for children, families and my own personal experiences raising children with developmental needs led me to help create Circle Therapy. Our model is focused on helping families experience support in the context of their home, their family, and their culture.

As a mother of four, I can relate to the need to balance many roles as a parent. I believe that children achieve their biggest potential when parents understand and believe in their child’s abilities. My passion for hands on treatment drives an engaged and collaborative intervention style tailored to your families unique needs. Further, I understand that we can only do our best as parents when we are in a healthy space and participating in self care. It is an honor to work alongside families and children in their homes.

Besides providing OT services for children, I have held various roles including public speaking, mentoring, and teaching in my career. I have a commitment to supporting other therapists and the community as we help each other grow. Clinical approaches used in sessions include sensory processing, floortime / DIR, oral motor, feeding, and swallowing interventions, infant development, infant massage, craniosacral therapy, kinesiotaping, reflex integration, neurodevelopmental treatment, Beckman oral motor, and yoga to name a few. I currently host CEU events locally in NC and travel throughout the US to teach therapists wanting to broaden their pediatric evaluation and intervention skills.

Masters of Science, Occupational Therapy | Cabarrus College of Health Sciences

Bachelor of Science, Interdisciplinary Health Studies | Cabarrus College of Health Sciences

Associate of Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant | Cabarrus
College of Health Science

Licensed Occupational Therapist: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

Certified Occupational Therapist: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

Certified Educator of Infant Massage: Infant Massage USA

Derek Rodriguez, Vice President

derek@circletherapypeds.com

I fell in love with Occupational Therapy by observing how it is able to change children’s lives. When I had the opportunity to support the development of a company with ideals that I believe in, I knew it was the right decision for me and my family. I love being part of something that makes a real difference in our community.

Robin Hodges, COTA/L

Student Coordinator, Clinical Lead

robin@circletherapypeds.com

Before beginning my career as a COTA, I spent 6 years working in a pre-school setting with 3-year-olds. While there, I gained exposure to occupational therapy and fell in love with the profession. I went on to attend Cabarrus College of Health Sciences to earn my Associates in Occupational Therapy Assistant.

I am passionate about helping kids meet their goals and strive to make therapy fun through creative, play-based, meaningful activities. I have additional training and special interest in yoga, fine motor development, sensory processing, pediatric feeding, torticollis and primitive reflexes and other methods of pediatric intervention. I have worked with children who have a wide variety of developmental, genetic, and neurological diagnosis and enjoy helping families figure out challenges in a positive light.

When I am not working to help children maximize their confidence and independence, I enjoy movie nights, being outdoors and spending time with my husband, daughter and pets.

Bachelor of Arts, English | College of Charleston

Associate of Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant | Cabarrus
College of Health Science

Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

Madison Harmon, MS, OTR/L

madison@circletherapypeds.com

I decided that I wanted to be an occupational therapist because I love its focus on function and helping people complete daily activities. OT is so holistic, viewing each part of a client and seeking to find out how to help that person reach their greatest potential and be as independent as possible in the things they want to do and need to do. OT because gives value to each person in every walk of life. 

I have wanted to work with pediatrics ever since I was a kid! I love how kids are always changing, seeing things in a new and exciting way, and learning new skills. I am so excited to be part of each of my pediatric client’s journeys. Before joining Circle Therapy, I completed a 12 week placement at a pediatric outpatient clinic in Burlington, NC where I was able to gain experience in the field. I also volunteered at Camp High Five, a camp for children with hemiplegia focusing on Constraint Induced Movement Therapy. My special interests with pediatrics include sensory processing difficulties and fine motor skills.

The thing that I love most about OT is seeing it work! I love to watch children progress and meet their goals. I also love being able to form a relationship with each child and their family as we work together. Connecting with children, seeing them smile and supporting them in have a great time engaging in a session always warms my heart.

Masters of Science, Occupational Therapy | Winston Salem State University

Licensed Occupational Therapist: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

Certified Occupational Therapist: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

Katlyn Spivey, COTA/L

katlyn@circletherapypeds.com

I chose to pursue a career in occupational therapy after attending therapy sessions with a family member. I was hooked after witnessing the occupational therapy practitioner consider all pieces of the person to help them achieve their goals. I wanted to be able to provide that same holistic experience to others to help clients and their families thrive. I love that the scope of occupational therapy practice allows barriers to be tackled from all angles. No problem is too big or small, our skills as occupational therapy practitioners allow us to consider each piece of the puzzle. Being able to treat from such a holistic view allows practitioners to target a wide variety of barriers clients have.

During my clinical experiences while pursing my degree in OTA, I was able to support children meeting their goals and gaining skills. Each small skill is such a big celebration for kids. I particularly love watching children’s confidence in themselves improve as they practice new skills. Working with children also allows us to help those around them and provide them with the tools to help their families flourish.

While in OTA school I completed a rotation at a constraint induced movement therapy camp where I was able to work with a variety of conditions that caused hemiplegia. I also completed an 8-week placement at an outpatient clinic where I was able to gain experience in pediatrics. I have completed additional training in oral motor assessment and intervention for pediatrics. My special interest include sensory integration, oral motor, global developmental and neurological conditions. 

Associates of Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant | Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

Emily Edwards, COTA/L

emily@circletherapypeds.com

I love occupational therapy’s philosophy that you make what is most important to the client important to treatment intervention.  I find occupational therapy to be a field with endless possibilities for critical thinking, problem solving, and being able to be creative with clients on a daily basis.  The profession is so client-centered and thereby promotes a holistic view of how children can participate in therapy.

I’ve always loved working with children.  I’ve often found that when you give children the space to be treated with understanding and respect, they flourish with enthusiasm and willingness to learn.  I love that children are always excited by new things and able to try despite obstacles.  I worked as a camp counselor for many summers, and knew that I wanted to work with children in some capacity in my career.  I found out about occupational therapy work in pediatrics from an article my class read in my junior year at UNC. The article detailed the activities OT practitioners would use as interventions to improve handwriting.  I found that the prospect of using play with children to help them improve a meaningful aspect of their lives was an inspiration.

I am especially interested in oral motor and sensory processing difficulties within pediatrics.  Additionally, I find that addressing social skill development is important because it can be used to enable many other aspects of a child’s ability to grow and learn.  I’m also interested in fostering strong family relationships because caregivers have much power in affecting the development of their children.  I am excited about being able to help educate and enable parents in their role.

What I love most about my profession is the ability to address all aspects of the person.  Occupational therapy can support people in so many settings, ages, and diagnoses.  It’s inspiring to think about occupational therapy being a medium for people to achieve what’s important to them.  This profession allows us to be passionate about facilitating our client’s passion.  I can think of no better way to work!

Bachelors of Science, Exercise and Sports Science | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Associates of Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant | Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

Elise Herring, COTA/L

elise@circletherpaypeds.com

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved helping others and knew a future in healthcare was right for me. Fast forward several years, I learned about OT through a family friend whose son was receiving OT services. I fell in love with OT from that moment on after seeing everything that you could do to help someone live their life with such independence just by working on the activities they valued most.

My areas of interests within the OT field include: Sensory processing, behavior modification, Handwriting, development and social skills, and oral motor. In addition I love the freedom and creativity that this profession allows. OT gives you the ability to find a solution no matter the situation especially in the pediatric field. Having fun and playing is the best way to work on all skills.

Bachelors of science, Exercise Science |Appalachian State University

Associates of Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant | Cabarrus College of Health Sciences

Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

Ariona Smith

ariona@circletherapypeds.com

Ariona graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University with her master's in Occupational Therapy. She completed a fieldwork in her last year of graduate school at Circle Therapy under Debb in 2023 and has been a part of the Circle Therapy family since. She has had different roles at Circle Therapy and has enjoyed each one thoroughly. She is happy working as the Supervising OT to support her therapists in providing the best care they can for the families we serve. She enjoys seeing the families and therapists interact as they discuss the great progress their kiddos have made and how the parents love their therapists. 

Madison Faulkner, OTR/L

maddie@circletherapypeds.com

I grew up next to a camp that was dedicated to making the whole camp experience accessible to children with disabilities. I loved this idea of meeting people where they are and making solutions on how to make the world more accessible. From that experience I began to research jobs where I could help people complete the things in life that they want/need to do and found Occupational Therapy. From the moment I learned about OT I knew that this was my calling,and throughout the years of making this dream a reality I have only fallen more in love with this profession.

Since then I have fallen in love with how OT focuses on getting clients back to the things that matter the most to them! We look at the whole person and are able to develop a plan that specifically targets their desired goals. OT’s are able to use their creativity to find unique solutions to different situations and I have personally seen how these solutions have changed families lives. My motivation to work in pediatrics specifically came from knowing that I can help children build a strong foundation in many skills that will support them as they grow up, which also gives me the opportunity to support families as a whole. Prior to joining the Circle Therapy team I completed a 12-week fieldwork in pediatrics in Columbia, SC where I was able to hone my skills in fine motor and developmental skills. I learned that I love every part of pediatrics, but my special interest includes sensory processing, fine motor, developmental, and oral motor skills.

Bachelors of Science,Exercise Science with a concentration in Psychology | Montreat College

Masters of Science, Occupational Therapy | Lenoir-Rhyne University

Licensed Occupational Therapist: North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy  

Certified Occupational Therapist: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy