Kaylie Stearns, OTR/L
I am the owner of Sensational Steps Therapy, Inc. I am a registered, licensed pediatric occupational therapist and I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to provide OT services in the state of Michigan! I have been an OT and private practice owner for 10 years.
I use a play-based, child-led approach to treating developmental delays and sensory processing differences. I am a Sensory Integration certified therapist, Intermediate DIR Floortime provider, handwriting specialist, and feeding therapist. I have had formal training in Handwriting Without Tears, the SOS Approach to Feeding, Therapeutic Listening, and iLs Integrated Listening. In addition, I have experience providing interventions for social-emotional regulation and visual motor/perceptual development.
I have had the opportunity to practice in a variety of environments including in-home, private practice, early intervention, and school-based therapies. Today, I continue to work as a contract therapist and provide in-person pediatric OT services in/around the tri-cities area of West Michigan and teletherapy to the entire state of Michigan (and beyond).
Education: I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Michigan State University and my Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. In graduate school, my master's thesis focused on Autism Spectrum Disorder and anxiety.
Sarah Merritt, OTR/L
Meet Sarah Merritt! She is joining the team at Sensational Steps Therapy as a registered and licensed pediatric occupational therapist. Sarah has been working as a pediatric occupational therapist for a year now and previously worked as a recreation therapist for 5 years.
Sarah is very eager and excited to work alongside families in the west Michigan area! She loves incorporating every child’s specific interests to meet functional goals during her OT sessions. She finds play to be an important role in OT, as it assists children with meeting their developmental milestones. Sarah is currently trained in the SOS Feeding Approach and is looking forward to expanding her knowledge in various sensory integration approaches.
Sarah loves to be outdoors, go "up north", hike, and be out on the lake!
Education: Sarah received her Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Therapy with a minor in Psychology at Central Michigan University. She then obtained her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at Western Michigan University.
Erin Carmode, CCC-SLP
Erin is an ASHA-certified and licensed speech language pathologist and has been practicing for the last 5 years. This is Erin's second career!
Erin embraces a play-based, child-led approach to treating development delays including speech, language, cognitive, social communication and feeding difficulties. She passionately believes in a whole-child approach to intervention, meeting children where they are at. She has experience providing interventions for children with global developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, social-emotional and social-communication regulation difficulties, pre-natal exposure and prematurity, and alternative and augmentative communication needs. Erin has had formal training in the SOS Approach to Feeding, Hanen It Takes Two and More Than Words, the PLAY Project based on evidence-based DIR-Floortime underpinnings, LAMP: Words for Life and PODD: Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display.
In addition to providing therapies within the private practice world with Sensational Steps, Erin is a full-time speech-language pathologist and primary service provider for Early On Muskegon County, providing services to children aged birth-3 and their families within the home environment. She has experience practicing within a variety of settings including the schools, outpatient and early intervention.
Erin has two children, a large Great Dane and a quick-witted husband. She grew up in the Tri-Cities and loves raising her family here. She enjoys reading, traveling, speaking time outdoors, and be active through movement.
Education: Erin received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from Michigan State University and Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Grand Valley State University.
"Play is the most important occupation of childhood. The mission of Sensational Steps Therapy is to provide play-based pediatric therapy services, allowing each child to grow and develop to their full potential through meaningful activities."
Kaylie Stearns, OTR/L, SIPT