Meet the Owner:
Karen J. Hefler, OT, OTR, FAOTA, is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. She has over forty years of occupational therapy experience in pediatrics, school based services, fine motor and perceptual motor development, and sensory processing disorders. Professional experience includes staff occupational therapist at Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett, Massachusetts, staff occupational therapist and then clinical supervisor at North Shore Children's Hospital in Salem, Massachusetts, staff occupational therapist and then director of occupational therapy at Primaricare in Salisbury, Massachusetts.
Currently, Karen is the owner/director of Rehabilitation Therapy Associates LLC, a pediatric occupational therapy private practice that she founded in 1985. Her company primarily contracts with schools and provides assessment services, occupational therapy services and consultation, in-service training, and program development. Her mission is to provide quality occupational therapy services to a variety of clients to increase independence and skill development and to provide a mentoring, supportive environment for occupational therapy practitioners. 
Karen reporting on updates to occupational therapy licensure and legislative activities at the MAOT Annual Conference in Norwood, MA, November 2013 |
Credentials:
Licensed as an occupational therapist in Massachusetts and New Hampshire Certified in the administration and interpretation of the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests and the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests Trained in Neurodevelopmental (NDT) Feeding, the Wilbarger Deep Pressure and Proprioceptive Technique (DPPT), the Alert Program, the Ready Approach, MORE, Therapeutic Listening, Handwriting Without Tears, (HWT), Myofascial Release, and the Sensory Oral Sequential (SOS) Feeding Approach. Certified as a Fieldwork Educator by the American Occupational Therapy Association. As a practitioner, Karen has fostered the OT/OTA partnership in her private practice and has facilitated Level 1 and Level 2 Fieldwork programming for OT and OTA students in the public schools. Professional Affiliations: American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Massachusetts Association for Occupational Therapy (MAOT) New Hampshire Occupational Therapy Association (NHOTA) Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA) Professional Activities: Editorial Board of the Rehabilitation Technology Journal (alumni) Chairperson MAOT School System Special Interest Group MAOT Executive Board Member MAOT Special Interest Group Representative MAOT Government Relations Representative MAOT President 2012 Linda Savino Political Achievement Award, MAOT 2019 Herbert Hall Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession of Occupational Therapy, MAOT 2021 Fellow, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) AOTF Leaders and Legacies Society North Shore Community College OTA Program Advisory Board Collaborated with other occupational and physical therapy practitioners to revise the Massachusetts Guidelines for OT/PT in the Schools to be published by MAOT |
Core Beliefs
•Inclusion/integration • Independence for students • Students as successful learners • Passion for program and professional development
•Inclusion/integration • Independence for students • Students as successful learners • Passion for program and professional development