Welcome to Jewels Occupational Therapy Baltimore
Our Pediatric Occupational Therapists strive to help children improve their fine-motor and sensory-motor skills for improved independence and participation across environments:
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SERVICES PROVIDED
Through tailored interventions, JEWELS occupational therapists focus on improving a child's fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing abilities, coordination, and self-regulation skills. These interventions can address challenges related to activities of daily living, school performance, and social interactions. Occupational therapy empowers children to engage more effectively in tasks such as self-care, handwriting, and play, fostering independence and increasing self-esteem. Additionally, therapists work collaboratively with families and educators to create supportive environments that cater to the child's specific needs, ensuring sustained progress and improved quality of life across all environments.
Sensory-Motor Processing and Integration: the ability to self-regulate and effectively manage environmental changes
-
Self-Care Skills: feeding, dressing, and grooming
-
Hand Strengthening and Coordination Skills: required for activities such as cutting with scissors, coloring, and writing, buttoning, using feeding utensils, and more
-
Upper Extremity and Core Strengthening: for coordination and movement
-
Adaptive Equipment: recommendation, training, for use of equipment
-
Neurodevelopmental Treatment: as per diagnosis
-
Visual Motor and Handwriting Skills
-
Feeding and Oral Motor Skills: eating and swallowing safely
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY TEAM
Sara Handler
OTR/L
Clinical Director
​
Sara has been a dedicated pediatric occupational therapist since 2010 and joined the JEWELS team in 2014. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Touro College and her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Towson University. With a long standing passion for working with children, Sara brings diverse experience across public school systems, special education non-public settings, and private therapy practice. She is deeply committed to ongoing professional development and has completed the USC Sensory Integration Continuing Education Certificate Program, holds certification in the Safe and Sound Protocol, and has received additional clinical training in Handwriting Without Tears, Zones of Regulation, and the Size Matters Handwriting Program. Sara has shared her expertise by presenting on topics including the Interoception Curriculum and executive functioning skill development.
As Clinical Director, Sara is passionate about fostering collaboration across disciplines to support a whole-child approach to care. She loves working alongside a dedicated team of experienced therapists and is committed to creating opportunities for team members to learn from one another while delivering comprehensive care to pediatric clients. She is dedicated to creating a warm, professional environment at JEWELS Pediatric Therapy Clinic and values building strong partnerships with families to provide comprehensive, supportive care for every child.
Lauren Batlas
OTR/L
​
Lauren graduated from Towson University with a masters in occupational therapy. Lauren has
experience working in both the school setting as well as outpatient pediatrics. She gained
experience working with children who are medically complex, visually impaired, multi-sensory
impaired, and children who have feeding challenges during her time at Maryland School for the
Blind and Kennedy Krieger Institute. Lauren specializes in feeding therapy at JEWELS and
supports children with mealtime protocols, adaptive feeding equipment, restricted diets, picky
eating, advancing textures, and more. Lauren has also completed her Beckman Oral Motor
Certification.
Kim Eads
OTR/L
​
Kim earned her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Towson University. She has worked in various settings including assisted living, long-term care, outpatient pediatrics, and schools. Kim is passionate about supporting neurodiversity and promoting skill development through child-led interventions. She values a family-centered approach to help children become successful across all environments. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs, trying new restaurants, and photography in her free time.
"Nechama" Rachelle N. Katz
OTR/L
​
Nechama earned her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since graduating, she has worked with pediatrics in therapy clinics and special-education schools. Before joining JEWELS in 2021, she worked on multidisciplinary teams in a non-public special education school for children with complex developmental, behavioral, and medical needs. Nechama's background includes using the DIR/Floortime approach, and she is passionate about promoting development and skill acquisition through child-led interventions. She is currently studying the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) methodology to expand her skillset and enhance her clients' developmental progress through the therapy process. Outside of work, Nechama enjoys spending time with her family and reading.
Shuli Levin
OTR/L
​
Shuli is a proud third generation Baltimorian who has been practicing pediatric occupational therapy for over 20 years. Working primarily in the public school system, Shuli attended Loyola
College and earned her M Ed in Early Childhood Special Education to gain a broader perspective of the entire child. To develop a deeper understanding of neurodiversity and neuro affirming practices, Shuli joined a small cohort of professionals to complete the Autism Studies
Certificate Program at Towson University in 2024. Her current professional learning is focused
on DIR-Floortime, a developmental approach that emphasizes the adult-child relationship and
play as a vehicle to promote developmental growth. Implementing DIR principles like being fully present with the child, and following the child’s interests, has fostered increasingly deeper
connections, more joy, and positive therapy outcomes.
Rachel Sagal
OTR/L
​
Rachel received her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Towson University in 2010. She has spent over ten years specializing in early intervention and feeding. Rachel has taken numerous courses to support her skills in these practice areas and is ‘Feed the Peds’ trained. Rachel loves partnering with families, which she believes is the bedrock of early intervention. Additionally, Rachel feels strongly about partnerships between therapists, teachers, and medical professionals for the greatest good of each child. Rachel is a certified Kids Yoga Instructor and is passionate about incorporating breathing, dramatic play, and emotional regulation strategies into her OT work. She is a certified Physical Education Teacher in the State of Maryland and serves as the PE teacher at JEWELS. Rachel loves helping children address all kinds of fine, visual motor, and self-care needs. She is currently focused on working at the intersection of feeding and self-regulation skills.
Yocheved Lesnik
OTR/L
​
Yocheved earned her Bachelor's degree in psychology and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She has worked in Pediatrics for more than 25 years, in many different settings and cities. Yocheved has advanced training and experience in the areas of early intervention (from birth through age three), treating the medically fragile, neurodevelopmental treatment, and in the area of sensory integration. Her passion is developing and enhancing a child's self esteem and intrinsic motivation as she works to improve their skills and abilities. Yocheved strives to combine and integrate different treatment models into the perfect "recipe" for each specific child. She works together with families to take therapy to the next level, so that the benefits of therapy can be magnified and become part of the child's everyday life.
Avigail Khaver
OTR/L
​Avigail earned her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at Towson University in 2014. She has experience working with the adult and pediatric populations. Avigail joined Jewels Pediatric Therapy Clinic in 2018. She is passionate about supporting children’s sensory-motor and self-regulation skills through child-led interventions and enhancing their independence in daily activities. Avigail received training in Handwriting Without Tears and has supported school aged children using this curriculum. She also implements the
Zones of Regulation Curriculum and Interoception Curriculum to enhance sensory processing skills and self-regulation skills.
Ananda Clark
COTA/L
​
Ananda earned her Associate of Applied Science degree from Community College of Baltimore County graduating from the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program and receiving certification from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. She gained experience and a passion for providing support and resources for teachers and parents, working on skills necessary for successful participation in the educational environment. Since joining the team at JEWELS in November 2023, Ananda has developed a passion for sensory integration, self-regulation, and using a variety of strategies that can help regulate a child to engage inactivities with more purpose. She believes it is important to promote development with interventions that are intrinsically motivating to the child to encourage skill acquisition. In her spare time, she enjoys doing yoga with her son, spending time with friends, and going on fun excursions.
Emily Sellman
OTR/L
​
Emily received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) from Tufts University. Her doctoral studies focused on the benefits of incorporating integrative health into occupational therapy practice. She has experience in a variety of settings and populations including geriatric psych, acute rehabilitation, schools, and adult and pediatric outpatient. In addition to her OTD, Emily is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor. Emily became attracted to the occupational therapy profession through her love of mind-body movement, building relationships and connections, and working in a dynamic environment. Emily strives to incorporate all these elements into her treatments at JEWELS. In her free time, Emily enjoys cooking up vegetables from her weekly farm share, spending time outdoors with her toes in the grass, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Holly Long
OTR/L
​
Holly specializes in providing feeding therapy in JEWELS, with a focus on providing services to infants and toddlers. She received her graduate degree in occupational therapy from Towson University and a graduate certificate in visual impairments from Louisiana Tech University. Holly has experience working at The Maryland School for the Blind with medically complex infants and toddlers, children, and adolescents who are blind or visually impaired. She has additional
experience as a pediatric occupational therapist at the University of Maryland Medical Center including in their NICU and PICU. Holly has received training in braille, cortical visual impairment, Infant-Driven Feeding, Beckman Oral Motor, and the AEIOU Integrated Approach to Pediatric Feeding. She takes a responsive approach to feeding therapy that incorporates the
whole family and child. In her free time, Holly enjoys spending time outside and making art.
Michal Kramer
OTR/L
​
Michali earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in occupational therapy from Touro University. She specializes in school-based therapy and is passionate about providing client-centered care that supports each child’s unique strengths and needs. Michali's focus is on helping children develop the skills necessary to succeed in their daily environments, with an emphasis on collaboration, meaningful engagement, and individualized support. Outside of work, Michali enjoys spending time with her husband and baby. Together, they are deeply involved in planning and running Camp Shpitz and Shpitz Girlz. One of Michali's favorite hobbies is traveling to new and exciting destinations.
Eli Parry
OTR/L
​
Eli joined the JEWELS team in 2020. She earned her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Towson University. She has always had a passion for working with children and particularly enjoys working with preschool aged children to help them develop skills to promote improved participation in all areas of their lives. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, spending time outdoors, and reading.