Brett DeVore
MS, OTR/L

Brett R. DeVore has been working to better the lives of children with a wide range of disabilities as a practicing occupational therapist for over 10 years. Brett’s focus has been work with kiddos from birth to age 21 and his passion is working with patients to improve quality of life, increase physical and emotional capabilities and strive for greater independence for parents and children. Brett also sees mentoring other therapists as part of his service to the kiddos and their families.

Brett’s past experience as a practicing occupational therapist includes 2 years at Memorial University Hospital in Savannah, Georgia and 1 year at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in Alpharetta, Georgia. In 2001, Brett started TOTS, Inc., a traveling occupational therapy service, where he has provided care for over 30 kiddos a week in their homes.

Frustrated by his physical limitations for additional case load and in recognition of families in need of quality care, Brett decided to bring a number of experienced therapists together to extend his services, building on the success of TOTS, Inc. Brett opened Kiddos’ Clubhouse in June 2005 to extend his bandwidth and provide exceptional care to more children and families.

Brett earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 and his Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia in 1998. He is a Registered Occupational Therapist with National Board Certification. He received his license to practice occupational therapy in Georgia in 1998 and is certified to administer and interpret the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT). Brett is also trained in Advanced Therapeutic Listening. He has presented his research work on movement differences in persons with autism on the state and national level. His areas of focus in treatment continue to be children with sensory integrative difficulties and children who utilize augmentative/alternative communication.

Brett has been married to his wife Nell, a fellow occupational therapist, since 2002.  They have a 4-year old son, Hayden and another son, Parker, who is 2.  Brett enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, photography, gardening, Star Wars, watching the Steelers, Penguins and the Red Sox! back to top

Nell DeVore
MHS, OTR/L

While at Backus Children's Hospital as well as Scottish Rite, Nell provided assessment and treatment in the NICU, PICU, and general pediatric inpatient units. She also worked in the outpatient clinic, and was a member of the Therapeutic Feeding Team. The team provided assessment and treatment for feeding and swallowing disorders. While a member of this team, Nell conducted oral-pharyngeal motility studies for both inpatient and outpatient cases. In September 2002, Nell began working at Northside Hospital as a member of the Neonatal Developmental Team. She provided assessment and treatment to patients in the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and served on the NICU Follow-Up Clinic team in conjunction with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Nell is a Certified Infant Massage Instructor through the International Association of Infant Massage.

She is married to Brett and has two children, Hayden and Parker. She enjoys playing tennis, walking, & spending time with her family and friends. back to top

Dawn Smith
MS, CCC-SLP

Jerri Hickman Temple
MEd, CCC-SLP

Jerri Hickman Temple specializes in working with children from birth to age 21 to improve disorders related to receptive/expressive language, articulation, oral-sensory motor skills, feeding/swallowing and apraxia of speech. In the past Jerri has worked for Backus Children's Hospital in Savannah, GA, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, and Northside Hospital.  During her time at those institutions, Jerri was part of therapeutic feeding teams and performed feeding/swallowing evaluations as well as radiological swallowing examinations on infants and children in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, inpatients and outpatients.  She as well worked with children with various disorders of communication on an outpatient basis.  

Jerri has been a practicing speech therapist for 9 years. She is licensed in Georgia by the state board of examiners in Speech and Language Pathology. She also holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence awarded by the Amercian Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

In addition to receiving her Bachelors Degree in Education/Speech Pathology from Miami University in 1994 and a Masters of Education in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Georgia in 1996, Jerri has participated in extensive continuing education study on various topics. Jerri has participated in Debra Beckman's Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention course and received P.R.O.M.P.T. (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) training in September 2005.  Other subjects of continuing education courses Jerri has attended are infant and pediatric feeding/swallowing, neuro-developmental treatment, respiratory function in children with neuromuscular disorders, behavior modification and communication skills in children on the autism spectrum.

Jerri was born on the West Coast, but has lived in many areas of the United States as her father was a Navy Pilot.  Jerri and her husband Elliot have a daughter, Addison, who is 1 year old.  Jerri enjoys spending her free time with friends and family. back to top

Tia Fortes began her career as a speech pathologist in Tustin, California. She left sunny California to enjoy the southern hospitality of Alpharetta, Georgia. Tia has worked with children who have been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, hearing impaired, speech delay, feeding and/or swallowing disorders, language disorders, and articulation disorders. Tia truly enjoys working with children of all ages.

Although Tia has been a practicing speech therapist for five years, her interest in communication disorders was sparked back in 1991 when she served as a volunteer in a language-based classroom.  Her experience in that setting served as motivation throughout her undergraduate career at the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication Disorders.  During her undergraduate studies, she became interested in neurological communication disorders. Tia’s interests lead her to graduate school, away from her native Florida, at the University of Arizona.  Tia earned her Master’s of Science in Speech Pathology, in May of 2002. 

In order to further her learning, Tia has participated in continuing education programs to expand her knowledge.  These programs have included information regarding oral motor evaluation and treatment, teaching children with ASD, and the diagnosis and treatment of CAS. Tia received P.R.O.M.P.T. (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) training in October 2006.

Tia has spent most of her life in the pursuit of sunshine; bouncing from Florida, to Arizona, to California, and finally landing here in Georgia.  Tia is recently engaged and she and her fiancé, Brad will get married in September. In her free time, she loves visiting with friends and family throughout the country. back to top

Jennifer Colón
MS, OTR/L

Jennifer Colón graduated in 2002 from Brenau University where she received a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy. Her graduate research work was in the area of brain plasticity with a thesis entitled “The Feasibility of Home-Based Constraint Induced Movement Therapy Program For Children With Spastic Hemiplegia”. Since 2002, Jennifer has enjoyed working with pediatric clients in the home, school and clinical setting.  She worked for the school system in Tampa, Florida for two and a half years where she gained experience with evaluation and treatment of fine motor/visual perceptual difficulties impacting a child's performance in the school environment. 

In the fall of 2005, Jennifer transitioned to serving children in the clinical (private practice) setting due to therapy restraints within the school setting. She enjoys working with children of all ages with special needs including but not limited to Autism / PDD spectrum, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, various genetic syndromes, Sensory Processing Disorders and fine/visual motor and visual perceptual dysfunction. Jennifer has a strong background and expertise with Evaluation and Treatment of children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD). She has attended several Advanced Continuing Education courses in this area. She is also a Certified Interactive Metronome provider and is trained in Therapeutic Listening. She values and enjoys attending continuing education courses to further expand her knowledge in the latest Occupational Therapy practice and research.

Jennifer was born and raised in the Atlanta, Georgia area.  She is married and has two cats. Her interests include hiking, photography and traveling.   back to top

Lindsey Mueller Hall
MS, CCC-SLP

Lindsey Hall became devoted to helping children through speech therapy after chairing a philanthropic event at the University of Georgia to benefit Rehabilitation Services at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Lindsey began her career as a speech language pathologist in Boston, Massachusetts after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Boston University.  She is certified by the American Speech Language Hearing Association and is licensed in the state of Georgia. 

While at her previous position in Boston, Lindsey gained experience both evaluating and treating children in subacute and outpatient settings.  Additionally, she had the privilege of working on multidisciplinary evaluation teams to assess the speech and language abilities of children and determine appropriate diagnoses, interventions, and academic recommendations.  She also collaborated with an occupational therapist, nutritionist and psychologist to provide comprehensive feeding assessments.  Lindsey has worked with a diverse group of children including those with feeding and swallowing disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, language disorders, articulation disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, stroke, hearing impairments, and global developmental delay. Lindsey received P.R.O.M.P.T. (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) training in December 2006.

Lindsey was born and raised in the Atlanta area and has recently relocated back to the area to be closer to family. Lindsey and her husband Todd were married in April 2007. back to top

Christin has been working with young children since the age of 15.  It began with summer jobs and has eventually led to becoming a licensed Speech Language Pathologist.   Her love of children and their innocence is what fuels her passion to make a difference in the lives of special needs populations. 

She has worked in the public school system and within a private clinical setting.  During that time, she has gained valuable experience with diagnoses of autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, hearing loss, as well as working with developmental speech and language delays, feeding/swallowing disorders, apraxia, and articulation disorders. She enjoys working closely within a collaborative team setting in order to learn from others, and maximize the potential of the children she works with.

Christin obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn University in 1999, and then continued on to Valdosta State University, where she received a Master’s of Education in Communication Disorders in 2000.  Upon graduation, she became clinically certified by the state of Georgia and through the American Speech and Language Association.

In addition to learning from other disciplines such as occupational therapists and physical therapists, Christin has also attended continuing education courses related to feeding aversions and disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome, apraxia, and sign language. Christin received P.R.O.M.P.T. (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) training in August 2007.

Christin was born and raised in Roswell, Georgia and currently lives nearby.  She enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling, college football, golf, and being outdoors. back to top

Amy Matthews has been a practicing occupational therapist since 2000.  Following years of babysitting and camp counseling, her area of focus and her passion has always been pediatrics. She graduated from Colorado State University with Bachelor degrees in Occupational Therapy and Human Development and Family Studies. She recently graduated with her Master’s degree in OT from Boston University with an emphasis in pediatrics. Her research is focused on the impact of moderate exercise on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). 

Her work experience began in Colorado at The Children’s Hospital outpatient clinic.  Amy has also worked at a center focused on children with ASD and emotional and behavioral disorders, as well as in a public school setting.  In addition to working with children with ASD, Amy has experience working with children with emotional and behavioral disorders, sensory processing disorders, learning disabilities, ADHD, cerebral palsy, feeding disorders and Down syndrome.  Amy worked on a transdisciplinary team to create an evaluation and assess children with ASD using aspects of the SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) approach to feeding. Besides receiving training in the SOS approach in 2005, Amy has attended numerous continuing education courses in ASD, Handwriting without Tears and sensory processing disorders, including one on collaborating with speech therapists utilizing sensory integration techniques.

Amy is originally from Colorado, but moved to the Atlanta area in January 2007 after 3 ½ years in Minnesota.  She and her husband Brian were married in 2000, and immediately began serving as Peace Corps Volunteers in the South Pacific for their 2 year “honeymoon.” They have a daughter, Kaelina, who is 1 year old.  Amy is about to finish her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University in May. In her free time, Amy enjoys spending time with friends and family, running, yoga, playing ultimate frisbee, photography and travel. back to top

Anna Harper, MPT

Anna Harper has been set on a career of physical therapy since a young age when her younger cousin was diagnosed with autism.  She enjoyed being able to participate in her therapies and see the difference that was made in her ability to function with both family members and peers. Anna began her studies towards physical therapy at Wake Forest University in Health and Exercise Science.  She then attended University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas where she received her Masters of Physical Therapy. 

Anna began her work in physical therapy in Dallas, Texas at Children's Medical Center.  She spent the majority of her time working in the Physical Medicine department where she treated children birth to 18 with varying diagnoses including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, developmental delay, orthopedic injuries and post-op care and torticollis.  Anna also spent time working in the Clinical Nutrition department where she was the team physical therapist for the LEAN Families program which was a 12-week intensive weight therapy program for 5-11 year olds and their families.  In this role, Anna created and implemented the physical activity portion of the program.  Anna is passionate about including parents and caregivers in physical therapy treatment as much as possible in order maximize children's potential progress.

Anna and her husband Andrew have been married since March 2005 and relocated to Atlanta in October 2007.  Anna's latest project is assisting in the development of a physical therapy clinic in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where she and her husband have been involved with Mission Emanuel since 2002.  back to top