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| Aparna Guttery MA, OTR/L |
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Aparna received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. Over the past 6 years, Aparna has worked as an Occupational Therapist in both the private sector and for a local Orange Countyschool district to evaluate and provide intervention for a diverse pediatric population.She has collaborated and worked closely with many multi-disciplinary teams to develop and implement individualized programs to meet the specific needs of children. | |
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As a co-developer of the KiDA Block, Aparna’s primary goal is to elicit natural ‘in the moment’ social opportunities through play. With a background in sensory integration and motor development, her primary emphasis was to create and develop activities that would be conducive to these opportunities by embedding sensory experiences and ‘just right’ motor challenges. It is a personal goal of Aparna’s to see the program grow and expand to incorporate neurotypical peers from the community as well as work closely with families to enable them to experience these successes at home. |
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On a personal note, Aparna resides in Irvine with her husband Tony. She greatly enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends. Aparna is a strong believer in maintaining a balance of work, rest and play at every age. |
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| Michelle Wahlquist M.S., CCC-SLP |
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Michelle completed her Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Psychology and Dramatic Arts and the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then attended Arizona State University, where she completed a Master of Science Degree in Communicative Disorders, with specialized training in pediatric speech and language disorders as well as cleft palate/craniofacial disorders. | |
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After moving back to California in 2001, Michelle began working as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Speech Pathology Associates (SPA) in Irvine. She continues to work at SPA, focusing much of her time developing both individual therapy programs as well as social-cognitive groups for children on the Autism Spectrum. She is the director and coordinator of SPA’s early intervention Toddler Language Groups, designed to facilitate the development and generalization of speech, language, social-pragmatic and play skills within the context of a naturalistic peer-driven environment. In addition, she is a member of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Cleft/Craniofacial Team, participating in monthly multi-disciplinary meetings that provide parent training and education, as well as screenings of speech, resonance and language skills for children with cleft and craniofacial disorders. |
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Michelle is thrilled to be part of the KiDA team! With a strong belief that children learn and retain information best when they are having fun, she is excited to be involved in creating a supportive, energetic and nurturing play-based therapeutic program in which children of all ages can explore their motor-systems and develop their communicative and social competence at the same time. Her goal is to create an environment filled with opportunities to laugh, share, initiate, take turns, move, sing, explore, read stories and practice, practice, PRACTICE developmentally appropriate language and social skills. | |
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| Kathleen Mulligan Murphy Ph.D., CCC-SLP |
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 Kathy received her doctorate in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University in 1997. Since she began her graduate studies and throughout her professional career, her focus has been serving young children with speech/ language and developmental disabilities in naturalistic, group learning contexts.
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After completing her studies, Kathy served as a Research Faculty member in the Infant Child Research Program at ASU under the direction of M. Jeanne Wilcox, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. Kathy was active in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level in addition to serving as a field researcher in developing programs to facilitate speech and language skill development within the classroom setting. She has presented research at numerous national professional conferences and served as an editorial consultant for professional journals. |
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Her focused interest and work with young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder began when her family moved from Arizona to Newport Beach in the Fall of 2003. In October 2005, Kathy began her employment as a Speech Language Pathologist with the Newport Mesa Unified School District. She has had the great fortune to work with a progressive staff in the Seahorse/ Starfish preschool program and currently with a newly organized sports league. Many of her ideas and strategies for working with young children with autism have developed in this collaborative environment where opportunities to target and practice speech, language and social skills are around every corner and during every minute on the playground. Her treatment philosophy is focused on impacting an improved quality of life for challenged individuals by establishing a strong set of functional communication skills, facilitating an improved awareness and success in the social environment, and building meaningful relationships with people most important in life through play. |
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Kathy resides on Balboa Peninsula with her husband, Dan. Similar to their parents, their two daughters are also proud University of Arizona Wildcats. Ali, 19, is an International Studies major in Mandarin Chinese and Social Anthropology. Mandy, 23, is a recent graduate in Nutritional Sciences and is now living in Chicago. Kathy enjoys movies, word games, a simple life, and spending time with her family and many friends who migrate from Arizona for a vacation at the beach. She is very grateful to be celebrating two birthdays each year and is especially appreciative of her friends, family and professionals who have supported her passion for life. |
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| Paula L. Horner Ph.D., CCC-SLP |
Paula L. Horner received her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She has specialized in working with infants, toddlers, and families at-risk for the past 25 years. She has practiced in outpatient pediatric clinics, neonatal intensive care nurseries, early intervention programs, private practice, home health, and university-affiliated programs. In addition to maintaining a private caseload and serving as a consultant to hospital and early intervention programs, Dr. Horner has taught graduate and undergraduate coursework at several universities. Her primary areas of interest focus on infants and toddlers at high risk, parent-infant social communicative development, and literacy with children below a functional age of 36 months. She has presented nationally and internationally to early intervention specialists and therapists regarding issues related to the assessment and treatment of children 0-36 months and their families. |
| Paula is the creator of KIDA’s exclusive “Baby Booster” program and parent handbook, and co-leads the program along with Aparna Guttery MA, OTR/L. |
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