Carisa

Carisa graduated from Midwestern University in Phoenix, AZ with a dual Masters in Occupational Therapy and Bio-Ethics. She became interested in Occupational Therapy through volunteer work while attending Indiana University. After college she went on to obtain her Massage Therapy License while simultaneously caring for a 7 year old with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which budded her interest to focus on children with Autism. Following grad school, Carisa began her career in the Phoenix school system where she fell in love with the constant variability and unpredictability of her students. Eventually, she began to take on extra hours for a family run company that provided clinic, in-home based therapy, Hippotherapy and Aquatic therapy. In 2012, Carisa and her husband moved to San Francisco at which point she stepped away from the direct therapy role and became a Clinical Manager at Easter Seals Bay Area working with the behavioral teams in the ABA program. After three years, she realized how much she missed working with the kiddos and went back to the school system and home-based therapy. She now has 12+ years of experience working as a school-based, home-based, and clinic-based pediatric therapist treating children from 1-21 years of age. She has a passion for working with children with Autism and other sensory processing needs as she feels the sensory system is the foundation for natural development and behavior.

Carisa enjoys furthering her education by taking continuing education courses. She has focused on topics such as diet expansion and creativity for picky eaters, mealtime strategies, sensory integration, positive behavior interventions, executive functioning, handwriting strategies and many more. Additionally, she has become a Certified Nutrition Consultant and a provider for The Listening Program.

Carisa lives in San Francisco with her husband, and newborn daughter and loves to explore the beautiful outdoors.