Individualized Care From a Team You Can Trust
The partnership between HH team members and our clients’ families creates the foundation for success. We work with families to identify their main goals of care, and then develop weekly, one-on-one therapy sessions to support those goals. This customized approach helps to set our clients up for success.
The Helping Hand Way
The Outpatient Programs at Helping Hand focuses on providing individualized care on a weekly basis to people with developmental disabilities. Our focus is simple: genuine care and education to transform lives. We work with families to identify their main goals of care, and work through weekly, one-on-one therapy sessions to achieve those goals. Our inclusive environment is free of judgment or “cookie cutter” treatment plans. We also provide high quality care to children of families who are underserved, regardless of their background. Each client is celebrated as an individual and our care is focused on their unique needs. Our therapists are specialized in pediatrics and developmental disabilities, and stay up-to-date on the newest evidenced-based and client-centered practice.
Meet Our Outpatient Programs Leadership
Director of Clinical Services
Joined HH in 2016 | Years of Experience 16
Jillian loves working with HH’s diverse client population. She values a holistic approach to client-centered care, nurturing environments, and the supportive HH community. Jillian has built a strong group of skilled therapists within the clinic who inspire her constantly. She is incredibly proud of the work they do every day.
Jillian received her Master’s in occupational therapy at Midwestern University, where she researched ways to facilitate self-advocacy skills in young children with food allergies. She completed her doctorate in occupational therapy with a specialization in teaching and learning through the University of St. Augustine. As a doctoral student, Jillian conducted research on therapy outcomes for children based on their insurance to evaluate inequities that exist through our healthcare system. Jillian is trained in Handwriting Without Tears, Therapeutic Listening, and the Zones of Regulation. She is also a feeding therapist, trained in the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding and has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Lewis University. Jillian has presented her research at state conferences, and will be presenting research at the American Occupational Therapy Association national conference in 2024.
My brother has autism. When I was little my parents would take me to his therapy sessions. I knew then that this was what I wanted to do when I grew up. And now here I am, at HH, helping families just like mine.”
Clinical Lead Speech Language Pathologist
Joined HH in 2017 | Years of Experience 7
Allison enjoys working with families in the HH clinic environment. At HH, she has acted as a clinical educator for interns from local graduate programs, as well as supervised SLPs in their clinical fellowship year. She loves working alongside and collaborating with the other clinic therapists to provide care and education to clients and the community. She evaluates and treats all forms of communication disorders and has received special training in Beckman Oral Motor, cognition, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
Allison graduated with honors in Psychology and Communication Sciences from Calvin University, where she completed specialized research in the areas of learning and attention. She then went on to receive a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology and maintains her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA.
Allison began her career working at a therapeutic day school with children with complex communication needs and developed special interests in assistive technology and evidence-based practice (EBP). She is currently chair of the EBP Committee for the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA). In this role, Allison has presented at conferences and published multiple articles related to evidence-based interventions in the field of speech-language pathology.
My favorite part of being an occupational therapist is when my clients and their families see the progress we are working on in everyday situations. Those little steps lead to big changes and empower our clients to continue working toward their goals.”
Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist
Joined HH in 2019 | Years of Experience 4
Amy enjoys connecting with the clients and families at Helping Hand. She values collaboration when approaching her goals and figuring out how to individualize treatment to work best with each client. Amy loves the welcoming and open environment at Helping Hand which fosters great collaboration and communication between therapists as well as families and creates a fun place to work.
Amy received her Master’s in occupational therapy at Rush University. Amy is trained in Handwriting Without Tears and Therapeutic Listening. She is also a feeding therapist, trained in the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding. As Lead Occupational Therapist, she specializes in training occupational therapy students through clinical internships.
Our Successes
Using Tech to Help with Healing
A 13-year-old client who was receiving speech and occupational therapy in the HH clinic recently underwent major surgery. Two years ago, this child would have been out of therapy for 8+ weeks due to her physical restrictions and limitations post surgery. Now, thanks to HH’s investment in technology and resources, her OT and speech therapist continue her therapies without disruption. The ability to continue those sessions also provided much needed support to her parents.
The Power of Client-Centered Care and Technology
A 14-year old client transitioned into high school and had a more hectic schedule. HH therapists created an untraditional approach to make time during the week so she could continue with her sessions. She now receives OT before school and gets two shortened speech therapy sessions throughout the week. HH’s commitment to client-centered care and cutting-edge technology allows us to think creatively about how we can best meet the unique needs of our clients.