Chantal gaston, OTR/L REGISTERED AND LICENSED OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
Chantal was born and raised in Newport, RI and Parkland, FL. She earned her Masters of Occupational Therapy in St. Augustine, Florida in 2017. She has practiced as a licensed occupational therapist in a variety of pediatric settings including elementary and middle schools, an outpatient clinic for Hasbro Children’s Hospital, teletherapy, as well as, Early Intervention. She has worked with a variety of diagnoses and disabilities and implemented an individualized holistic approach using evidence based practice to best support client’s and families needs and goals. She is DIRFloortime 101 certified, has Assistive Technology experience, and completed a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) training program at the University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development. She most recently started her venture to obtain a certification in becoming a Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist, which utilizes equine movement as a therapeutic tool in therapy. She aspires to provide a client and family-centered approach to focus on improving physical development, social and emotional development, activities of daily routine, and sensory processing skills to help enable clients to be able to fully function in everyday routines. In her personal life she lives close to family in Naples, Florida and enjoys spending time with her 6 animals.
Email: C.Gaston@bicountyslp.com
Nazifa Mahbub M.S., OTR/L Registered and Licensed Occupational Therapist
Nazifa earned her Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Long Island University in New York. She is licensed to provide OT services in the state of New York and the state of Florida. Her passion for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) started in graduate school when she performed a research case study in the effects of aquatic therapy facilitating more organized behaviors and increasing water safety awareness for children with ASD. She has provided school based OT services to children from ages 5 to 21 with ASD at Gersh Academy- School for Children on The Autism Spectrum. Her experience with Equine Assisted Learning Therapy was the foundation for her growing interest in animal therapy for children with special needs to increase their functional skills for daily living. School based therapy has been her passion as she also worked in the New York City Department of Education. She is very passionate about providing holistic, family and client centered therapy by providing services to increase their independence, teaching sensory integration techniques and treating children with developmental delays, ASD, Down Syndrome, intellectual disabilities and sensory processing disorders.
Email: N.Mahbub@bicountyslp.com
Stacey Kashi MS, OTR-L Registered and Licensed Occupational Therapist
Stacey was born and raised on Long Island in New York and Plantation, Florida. She attended Boston University and graduated from Sargent College of Allied Health in 1991. She did her Pediatric Clinical at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans where she solidified her love for working with kids. She spent over 25 years working at Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital and has vast experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Acute Care and Outpatient Settings. She is NDT (Neuro Developmental Technique) Certified for Pediatrics and Infants, Infant Massage Certified, Interactive Metronome Certified, and Sensory Integration Trained. She has extensive Kinesiotape as well as TheraTog training. She has enormous experience with a variety of diagnosis’s including but not limited to Cerebral Palsy, Stroke, Autism, Brachial Plexus, Downs Syndrome, Prematurity, Developmental Delay, Impaired Fine Motor Coordination, and Sensory Processing Disorder, Her love for kids and watching them reach their maximum potential and independence continues to drive her to make a difference in their lives every day.
Email: S.Kashi@bicountyslp.com
Edward M. Severhof, OTD, OTR/L registered and licensed occupational therapist
Eddie is an Occupational Therapist with 10+ years of experience working with pediatric patients in clinical, school-based, and telehealth practice. He became an OT in 2010 after graduating from the Medical College of Ohio with a doctorate in Occupational Therapy. After graduating, Eddie spent the next five years working for The University of Florida (Go Gators!) and John Hopkin’s All Children Hospital clinical pediatric departments. For the last 7 years, Eddie has been providing school based OT services in the brick-and-mortar & telehealth settings.
Email: E.Severhof@bicountyslp.com
Ambar cedeno OTR, REGISTERED AND LICENSED Occupational Therapist
Ambar Cedeño is our OTR. She is 25 years old She graduated from Barry University with an MSOT. This is Ambar's first job. She is so excited to work with the children of Bi-County. She loves to teach kids as well as learn from them. During her time off she loves going to the beach with friends and reading books outdoors.
Email:A.cedeno@bicountyslp.com
Maria Fernanda Rincon MS/OTR-L Registered and Licensed Bilingual Occupational Therapist
My name is Maria Fernanda Rincon; I was born and raised in Venezuela and moved to USA in 2010. I have always been passionate about working with children, and particularly those with special needs. Following my passion, I graduated in Early Childhood Education and then graduated with a master of Science in Occupational Therapy at Florida International University. I also became licensed in the state of Florida and certified with the National Board of Occupational Therapy. I started working in Bi-County Therapy in May 2014. In my job, I am always looking to grow as a professional and as a human being and I feel rewarded every time I see how children improve and how their families are filled with joy with this improvement. On a personal note, I enjoy spending time with my family, my husband and Mika, our dog. I also love to travel especially to meet with those family members who are still in my home country. I really like to dance, going to the beach and watching movies.
Email: I.Orduz@bicountyslp.com
Marie Tippenhauer COTA Certified Bilingual Occupational Therapist Assistant
Marie Tippenhauer graduated with honors from Keiser University with an Associate Degree in Occupational Therapy. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. Member of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education, she also has a degree in Early Childhood Education. She speaks English, French, and Creole. She worked for more than 30 years as a preschool principal. She moved from Haiti to the United States where she has the opportunity to further pursue her passion for working with children. She is currently working on her certification in “Handwriting Without Tears” and the “Touch Math” program.
Katrisha Michel Daphnis COTA Certified Bilingual Occupational Therapist Assistant
Katrisha is originally from Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Keiser University with an Associate Degree in Occupational Therapy. She has worked for 6 years as a pediatric occupational therapist. She has worked with a variety of diagnoses including; Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Delay and ADD/ADHD. She enjoys working with all populations, giving them not only the skills but the tools to improve their daily lives. She speaks English and Creole. In her spare time, she enjoys making arts and crafts and spending time with her three kids and husband.
Email: K.Daphnis@bicountyslp.com
Natalia Villa COTA Certified Bilingual Occupational Therapist Assistant
Natalia originally from Colombia but have been in the USA for over 27 years. I graduated from Concorde Career College in 2017 with an Associates of Science degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I am certified and licensed in the state of Florida by the National Board of Occupational Therapy. My job after I graduated has been at Bi-County Therapy. I feel comfortable and very happy to have the opportunity to help children and their families improve life’s functionality day by day. I have always been passionate about helping others. Prior to becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant, I was a full time certified personal trainer. I enjoy working with children. I am continuously seeking to increase my knowledge in the field of pediatrics, especially in sensory integration in order to provide high quality and professional services to my clients with diagnoses of ADHD, ADD, Sensory Processing Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and more. I am knowledgeable in gross motor performance and corrective exercise as well as nutrition. My hobbies and interests are working out, spending time with my family, and reading.
Email: N.Villa@bicountyslp.com
Tariq Azeez COTA Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant
Tariq is originally from Jamaica Queens, New York. He graduated from Keiser University with an Associate Degree in Occupational Therapy and specializes in pediatrics. He is licensed and certified with the National Board of Occupational Therapy to provide OT services in the state of New York and Florida. He is very hands-on and likes to engage his clients because he believes that skills develop better when having fun and when kids learn from real experiences.
Email: T.Azeez@bicountyslp.com