Munira graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology (suma cum laude) from Saint John's University (NYC) in 2005 and a Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2007 from Midwestern University (IL) . She has since worked in a variety of settings including outpatient pediatrics, schools, acute care, orthopedics, and neurology.
Munira's passion lies in working with children and she strives to make therapy sessions client-centered, educational, and most importantly — interesting and FUN! Recognizing the essential role that "play" has in development helps her facilitate growth through this occupation, which fuels her in the world of pediatric therapy. She continues to learn how outstanding a child's brain can be! She always endeavors to make the child feel supported and collaborate with families to better understand their concerns and ways she can support them outside of therapy sessions.
Munira has experience treating a range of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing disorder, neurological disorders, ADHD, developmental delays, low muscle tone, coordination difficulties, and fine-motor delays. Munira is trained in the Handwriting Without Tears program, Therapeutic Listening, DIR/Floortime, and is currently taking Continuing Education Classes to obtain her Certificate of Clinical Competence in ADHD (CCC-ADHD). She additionally has a strong passion for vision and helping to address visual-motor & visual-perceptual issues (ex. convergence insufficiency, tracking, saccades) in children of all ages alongside collaborations with developmental optometrists and is becoming certified as a functional vision rehab specialist (CFVRS).
Munira lives in the western suburbs of Chicago. She enjoys spending time with her 3 children and fueling their creative side by working on crafts, Lego building, and jigsaw puzzles. She also volunteers every Saturday at religious school to teach children with special needs.
Zara graduated from the Master of Occupational Therapy program, From University of Derby (U.K.) in 2013. Her education program focused on teaching a strong foundation in the theories and framework of occupational therapy. Zara has experience in working with a range of pediatric conditions, Including Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing disorders, attention deficit disorders and neurological based disorders. As well as working part time in pediatric outpatient, Zara also works full time in a school, therefore having a good knowledge base of the IEP process and occupational therapy in the school environment. Her interventions specialties include sensory based equipment activities, progressing fine and visual motor skills, behavior modification, along with progressing self care skills. In her free time Zara loves to keep active in the gym and try out new restaurants.
Kaylee graduated from Calvin University with her Bachelors degree in Social Work, and Lewis University with her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy. Kaylee has experience working with children and young adults in their home and clinic settings. She has treated clients with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, developmental delays, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and anxiety. She has extensive experience addressing mental health, social skills, executive functioning, and independent living skills. Kaylee is passionate about taking a strengths based approach in working with clients and their families to help them achieve their own unique goals. In her free time, Kaylee enjoys going to the aquarium with her husband and son and walking their French bulldog.
Natalie graduated with her bachelors in occupational science in 2020 and then with her masters in occupational therapy in 2021 both from Saint Louis University. Natalie chose a career in occupational therapy because she is passionate about helping others reach their goals. She has worked with a variety of diagnoses and age ranges. She has experience with sensory processing disorders, ADHD/ADD, Autism, and developmental disabilities
Natalie spends most of her free time cuddled up with her pug, Harry, reading.
Anna graduated with her Bachelors of Rehabilitation Science in 2021 and her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Concordia University Wisconsin in 2022. Anna has always had a passion for working with children - she loves helping kiddos to meet their personal goals and build their self-confidence. Anna is a proud ‘fine motor promotor’ and loves all things sensory. She has experience with a variety of pediatric populations including ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and developmental disorders. Anna lives in the Western suburbs with her husband, Andrew. She spends most of her time baking, reading, crafting, or playing video games. She is an introvert at heart and loves to spend her days appreciating the great indoors!
Tracy earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Colorado (1995) and Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois (2000). Since then, she has spent the majority of her career working with infants and children. She has worked in a variety of settings including private pediatric clinics, early childhood and elementary schools, and home-based early intervention. Her experience entails helping children with a variety of diagnoses including autism, ADHD, sensory integration and processing disorders, regulatory and executive functioning disorders, as well as developmental motor delays.
Tracy holds specialized training and credentialing in programs such as DIR/Floortime, Early Intervention, Therapeutic Listening, Handwriting Without Tears and Interactive Metronome, which have proven to be invaluable tools when working with her clients over the years.
She is a mother of 4 older and keeps busy following college and high school sports as well as playing competitive platform tennis and pickleball. She enjoys skiing, time at the gym, walking her two English Cream retrievers and traveling with her husband.
Savannah is a graduate from Fox College OTA program and is currently continuing her studies through the University of Cincinnati in Occupational Therapy and Psychology. Savannah has clinical experience working with a wide range of pediatric conditions including ASD, ADHD, SPD, Down Syndrome, eating disorders, and orthopedic conditions. She primarily has worked with children ranging from 3-12 years old. She also has clinical experience working with adults at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the neurology unit. Some common diagnoses she has provided treatment for are stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, craniotomy, and more!
Savannah is passionate about creating a fun and safe environment as she feels the best therapy to provide is through a child’s heart and social-emotional well-being.
She enjoys cooking new dishes, baking, and spending time with her 2 dogs Mason and River.
Jacqulyn graduated in 2021 from Elmhurst College with a bachelors degree in communication sciences and disorders and a masters degree in Speech Language Pathology. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech Language Pathology.
Jacqulyn spends her days working with students in the Chicago Public School System, after-which she continues her passion here at Color Along in an outpatient setting.
As a pediatric speech therapist, Jacqulyn specializes in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, and literacy delays and disorders. She is committed to using the most efficient, evidence-based treatment methods to help your child improve their communication and literacy skills.
Desiree has completed her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Saint Ambrose University. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Elmhurst College (now: Elmhurst University.)
Desiree has been specifically trained in See the Sound-Visual Phonics (incorporated into speech and reading therapy) that has been a unique feature of her education at Saint Ambrose University. During her graduate education, Desiree has worked with clients with various speech, language, and cognitive-communication disorders. She also has experience in working with clients who are on the autism spectrum, have aphasia, traumatic brain injury, dysphagia, and myofunctional disorders. Desiree is also passionate about serving the pediatric population with feeding and swallowing disorders. She has training in Oral motor Myofascial Treatments, including pre/post frenectomy stretching.
Her passion for this line of work developed when she was in 4th grade as she was diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia. She experienced difficulties in school, especially with reading and writing, and went through many years of tutoring and speech-language services. With her perseverance and success, Desiree’s goal is to empower her clients to achieve their goals and create a positive change in their lives.
Ivonne graduated from St Xavier University in 2018 with a Bachelors degree in Communication Science and Disorders. She then went on to earn her Masters in Speech Language Pathology in 2020. Ivonne is a bilingual SLP as she speaks fluent English & Spanish and is able to provide intervention in both languages. Ivonne's passion lies in working with children of all ages, helping them communicate with the world around them. Ivonne is also trained in AAC Evaluations and AAC device management. She has advocated and helped several of our clients obtain and educated families with the use of their child's AAC device.
Ivonne lives in the western suburbs with her 2 dogs and 2 birds. She is enjoys traveling, doing yoga, and trying new foods! Ivonne has a younger brother on the Autism Spectrum which ultimately was the reason she became an SLP.
Emilee graduated with both her bachelors and master's degree in speech pathology from Elmhurst College. As a clinical fellow, she received training for specializing in myofunctional therapy. It is here that she primarily treated oral motor dysfunction to improve feeding, swallowing, breathing, oral rest posture, speech, and TMJ health. Aside from this, Emilee is seasoned and enjoys providing speech & language therapy with the pediatric, school age, and adolescent population, as well as providing voice therapy, and neurocognitive based speech treatment.
Jenna graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2018 with a bachelors degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in dance. After graduating, she moved to Dallas, Texas where she worked as a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant at a pediatric clinic for 2 years before completing her masters degree in Speech Language Pathology from Saint Xavier University in 2022.
During the day, Jenna works with students in the public school system. Within this setting, she works with high school students who have a variety of diagnoses such as Specific Learning Disability, Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, and ADHD. Her passion lines with helping clients and students of all ages build and refine their receptive and expressive language abilities. She is dedicated to advocating for her clients and improving their communication skills.
Zahra completed her masters of nutritional science at the University of Alberta, Canada. Upon moving to the the States she completed her additional coursework needed in dietetics at Loyola University in Chicago, to become a registered Dietician. Zahra is passionate about educating families on obesity and promoting positive health behaviors among children. She enjoys working with families to tackle issues such as picky eating, behavioral issues related to food, and medical conditions that may require special nutritional care. Along with being an RD, Zahra is also a Certified Diabetes Clinical Educator and provides her services during the day to a global pharmaceutical company to help patients with diabetes live a more healthier life.
Zahra lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and 2 children. She enjoys running, cooking, and traveling!
Syeda is in charge of intake, registration, scheduling, insurance verification and keeping our office running smoothly! She is currently studying to obtain her masters in healthcare administration and comes to Color Along with a lot of enthusiasm to keep things organized, making sure parent questions are being answered, and to be a liaison between the doctor's offices and the families we serve.
Karen works part time to help with billing claims, managing payments, completing insurance verifications, and helping to educate our families on all things related to their insurance. Karen comes to us with experience working front desk at another healthcare practitioner's office, so when she came to Color Along, she fit right into her role- We are so lucky to have her on our team! Karen was born and raised in Guatemala and lived there until the age of 7. She currently lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her family with aspirations of going back to school to become a surgical tech.
Gianna is a Senior at Purdue University. She is currently pursuing her bachelors degree is communication sciences & disorders and plans to apply for Speech Pathology school in the Fall 2025. Here at Color Along, Gianna is our social media content creator and all things digital. She is the magic behind our social media presence on several platforms, helping us to stay connected with our clients online! If you have any content you would like to see, be sure to contact Gianna!
Copyright © 2020 Color Along Pediatric Therapy - All Rights Reserved.
Dedicated in serving families in Chicago, Hinsdale, Burr Ridge, Willowbrook, Clarendon Hills, Elmhurst, Oakbrook, LaGrange, Western Springs, Brookfield, Palos Park, Countryside, Darien, IL as well as the surrounding suburbs.
120 E Ogden Ave. Suite 17 Hinsdale, IL 60521
Ph: (630) 320-6904 Fax: (630) 566-4153
Email: info@coloralongpediatrictherapy.com
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