I came to graduate school for occupational therapy on an impulse (a story for another time), and life fell into place as it tends to do. I found myself integrating what I knew about child abuse & neglect, working with a variety of families, and managing red tape into my new professional world. I helped on research teams at Washington University in St. Louis, where I went on to work for over a decade. I mentored graduate students and helped publish papers. I co-developed programs - like Baby Bridge (bridging babies from the NICU to home to decrease gaps in therapy) and the Infant Toddler Autism Program (coaching parents on strategies for building social engagement skills with their toddlers). I worked with hundreds of children & families. (You can read more about all of my experience on my curriculum vitae, found here.)

The more time I spent in research and program development, the more aware I became of how disconnected best practice recommendations were from reality. I began to question why. Why were so many "evidence based practices" being taught behind huge paywalls or in academic gibberish that required hours to decipher? Why were practitioners expected to work miracles, while getting so little support for themselves? Why did it seem like the most important information was the hardest to obtain for the people in the field (arguably, the ones who most need it!)

And these questions led to others - like is "best practice" always best? How do we know? Who gets to decide? 

The more I asked, the more I learned - and the more questions I had. This became my most cherished part of my work - asking questions in order to reflect on ways to better serve children & families. 

I left my full-time position and started Hello Joy OT in the spring of 2024 so that I could continue asking & learning, and ultimately sharing. You being here means the last part is happening. Thank you! I hope what you find here leads you to also ask questions & reflect on ways to inspire us all to better serve children & families.