Our Team

Susanne is an occupational therapy with over 40 years of experience in pediatric practice, specializing in child development, sensory integration, learning difficulties, visual impairment, and autism. She obtained her BS in OT at Indiana University, her MS in Allied Health Sciences at Boston University and her doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) at the University of Southern California. Susanne is in private practice in Orange County, California serving children and families through evaluation and consultation services. She was certified in sensory integration in 1977, studied under Dr. A. Jean Ayres, and co-founded and then directed the USC/WPS sensory integration certificate program for 14 years. She is currently the co-founder and president of the nonprofit organization, Collaborative for Leadership in Sensory Integration (CLASI), providing a sensory integration certificate education program, offered in many countries around the world. She is a past chair of the Commission on Practice and the Sensory Integration Special Interest Section for AOTA and a contributing author of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process, 2002 and 2008. She is an internationally recognized author and lecturer and co-editor of the books, Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration with Diverse Populations and Sensory Integration: Applying Clinical Reasoning to Diverse Populations. She is a fellow of the AOTA and recipient of the AOTF Virginia Scardina Award of Excellence and AOTF A. Jean Ayres Award.

For more about Susanne’s projects and publications [Click Here]

Dr. Aja Roley is an occupational therapist (OT) specializing in pediatrics across clinic, home, school, and community environments. She received her masters degree in OT from the University of Southern California and her doctoral degree in OT from Thomas Jefferson University. Her doctoral work focused on advanced mentorship and post-professional training in Ayres Sensory Integration via online and multimedia platforms. She has an advanced practice certificate in neuroscience from Thomas Jefferson University. She is certified in Sensory Integration through USC/WPS. Dr. Roley owns a private pediatric practice in Southern California, Centerpointe for Children, specializing in assessment, intervention, and collaboration, and consultation of infants, children, and young adults with a variety of diagnoses, including autism, ADD/ADHD, social-emotional vulnerabilities, feeding difficulties, and visual impairment. She has extensive experience collaborating and consulting with families, educational, and multidisciplinary teams. She also works as a instructor for the non-profit organization, the Collaborative for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration (CLASI). Her goal is to improve the quality of life for families and infuse fun into daily routines. In her free time she enjoys hiking, dancing, and going to the beach with her dog.

Richard Furbush, M.S., OTR/L, is a highly experienced occupational therapist with over 25 years in the field and more than 40 years specializing in autism. His expertise includes working with non-speaking children, adolescents, and young adults. Richard holds dual Master’s degrees: one in Occupational Therapy and another in Child and Family Studies, with additional coursework in Psychology and Special Education.
Before his career in occupational therapy, Richard gained significant experience in behavioral intervention as a teacher and supervisor at a private residential school for children and adolescents with autism. He also served as a consultant for the Virginia Autism Resource Center (VARC).
In addition to his clinical work, Richard manages the Sensory Integration Global Network (SIGN) Facebook page and has delivered courses and workshops to therapists and parents both locally and internationally.

Carey Strombotne supports the practice in her critical role of office administrator. Her background in customer service and a certified health coach helps to create a strong support for our team. Carey is passionate about health and nutrition and when she isn’t behind the scenes in the office she is creating plant-based recipes and posting them on her blog, The Plant Pusher.

Lauren is a licensed occupational therapist. She received her Master of Occupational Therapy degree from The University of St. Augustine in San Marcos. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Maryland in Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology. She earned a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Family-Professional Collaboration from Towson University and focused on working 1:1 early intervention education with children with autism and related disorders for 3 years in Baltimore, MD. Lauren has post-professional training in Ayres Sensory Integration® through the Collaboration for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration (CLASI) and is qualified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT) and the Evaluation of Ayres Sensory Integration (EASI). Lauren is passionate about engaging in playful and fun interactions with her clients and aims to facilitate the greatest quality of life possible through her occupational therapy intervention. In her free time Lauren enjoys cooking, running, camping with her husband, and playing with their dog Layla.

Tribute to Mary Alice Shea Singer

12/14/1955 – 05/09/2023