Shelley Portaro, NC Occupational Therapist, #4306

Shelley’s educational background begins with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Indiana University. Upon graduation in 1993 and over the course of four years, she worked as program aide, residential case manager, assistant manager, and manager/QMRP and finally evolved into the Program Director for a residential provider for children and adults with autism.

The returned to school in 1996 to earn her Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis so that she could better serve children with special needs.

Since 1993, she has been working with children with sensory processing disorders in the residential, school and clinic settings. Shelley has vast experience with autism, PDD, sensory integration dysfunction, fine motor and visual perceptual deficits as well as cerebral palsy, stroke, hemiplegia, brachial plexus injury, arthrogryposis and Down syndrome.

Shelley is certified in the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT) and Therapeutic Listening. Her continuing education includes Handwriting Without Tears, Myofascial Release, Kinesiotaping, and Neurodevelopmental (NDT) handling techniques, Functional Vision, MORE program, Applied Behavior Analysis and American Sign Language. In January 2007, Shelley completed the Handwriting Without Tears Level I Certification.