Meet Our Team

Avital is the founder and clinical director of Tumble N’ Dots. Shortly after graduating from the University of Southern California (USC) with a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Occupational Therapy, she began her work as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist at Irvine Unified School District. Avital has received post-professional training in Ayres Sensory Integration® through the Collaboration for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration (CLASI) and is qualified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT). Having completed post-graduate education and training in SOS Feeding Therapy, Avital has been working with children since 2008 and has experience serving children with a variety of diagnosis in the clinic, home, school, telehealth, and community-based settings. Avital believes in helping parents to focus on the strength and abilities of each child while incorporating behavior plans and strategies to foster success. Avital is also the creator of OTPlan – an activity idea search engine for developmental activities. Avital brings her love for children, understanding of parents struggling with a special needs child, and years of therapy experience to every session. In her free time, Avital enjoys spending time with her husband, 3 young children, and her dogs, going to the beach, hiking, and traveling.

Christina Johnson has been a licensed and ASHA certified speech-language pathologist for over 24 years. She has been serving a largely pediatric clientele in her own private practice for the last 2 decades. Christina is a mother of 3 kids and is an avid runner and cyclist. Christina earned her Master’s Degree in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Fullerton in l997. She also holds a BA in Communicative Disorders from CSUF and BA in Social Ecology from UCI. She is credentialed with a Clinical Rehabilitative teaching certificate in the state of California. Christina has worked in a multitude of settings, such as acute hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, public schools, early intervention agencies and private practice. Her professional experience includes the assessment and treatment of children and young adults presenting with a variety of communicative disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, language processing disorder, phonological/articulation disorders, fluency disorder, childhood apraxia of speech, myofunctional/tongue thrust. Christina’s clinical vision is to provide a family centered approach to therapy through evidenced based intervention for her clients, and education for caregivers to ensure the successful achievement of goals. In her free time she also enjoys water sports and traveling with her family.

Darcy is a pediatric occupational therapist that specializes in feeding and swallowing. She earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from Dominguez Hills in 2011. She enjoys working with parents to help children progress within a variety of diagnoses.

The majority of Darcy’s career has been at Providence Speech and Hearing Center in Orange County which was an affiliation with CHOC hospital. She loves to work with a diverse population but focuses on newborns through early teens as a developmental pediatric occupational therapist with an emphasis of treating the whole child. She is passionate about helping her clients and especially enjoys educating families on how to facilitate their child’s progress. Additionally, her goal is to increase a patient’s ability to participate in meaningful daily activities. Darcy’s feeding specialization includes a complex array of feeding diagnosis including, but not limited to difficulties with the bottle, cleft palate, picky/selective eating, sensory and oral motor challenges, and transitioning from a G-tube.

Darcy is a native of California who lives with her husband and 4-year-old daughter. In their free time they enjoy sunny days at the beach, going to their cabin in Yosemite, and playing games as a family.

Angeline is a pediatric occupational therapist who received her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California (USC). She completed her doctoral residency specializing in group programs for young children targeting self-regulation, mindfulness, and social-emotional skills at a private pediatric OT practice.

Angeline has extensive experience providing therapy in both individual and group formats, targeting the areas of fine and gross motor development, sensory processing, self-regulation, and executive functioning. She has completed advanced training in Handwriting without Tears, the USC Chan Sensory Integration Continuing Education Certification program, and Social Thinking. Angeline values collaboration with all individuals who are a part of a child’s life, including caregivers, teachers, and other therapy professionals. She is passionate about providing family-centered care to promote a child’s participation in any of their occupations – including play, learning, and social interactions.

In her free time, Angeline enjoys quality time with family, friends, and her pups, going to Disneyland, and yoga!

Lichelle is a pediatric occupational therapist and feeding and swallowing specialist. She received her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences in Canada before moving to Wisconsin where she received a Masters degree in Occupational therapy. She has over 15 years of extensive experience working with a variety of diagnoses with the pediatric population.

The majority of Lichelle’s career has been at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago focusing on the complex medical needs of patients ranging in age from high risk neonates to young adults. Lichelle’s specializations include developmental therapy, picky/selective eating, bottle feeding, transitioning to solid foods, and sensory and oral motor feeding challenges while looking at the whole child’s sensory, developmental and environmental needs. Lichelle counsels families in providing strategies to foster positive mealtimes at home.

Lichelle has a passion to work with families closely to help their day run more smoothly. She takes on a “holistic” approach looking at all areas that may impact a child’s ability to eat and carry on daily skills successfully.

Additionally, Lichelle has experience working in brachial plexus clinic, hand clinic, and specializes in splinting and providing hand therapy for a variety of upper extremity diagnoses in the pediatric population.

Lichelle has presented at OTAC, AOTA, and APTA national and regional conferences providing evaluation and treatment strategies for the pediatric population with feeding/dysphagia issues.

Lichelle is a native Canadian who successfully worked her way down to warm, sunny California where she loves to try new restaurants, attempt new recipes, entertain friends and family, and do anything fun that is active or inactive with her husband, two kids, and dog Bailey.

Phoebe has been working with the pediatric population since 2012. She began volunteering to teach karate to children with special needs and then worked as a Developmental Specialist using DIR/Floortime. Phoebe graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with her Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2018 and her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy in 2019. She completed her doctoral residency to pursue competency in animal-assisted occupational therapy and training dogs for animal assisted interventions. In 2023, Phoebe earned her Certificate as a Human-Animal Interaction Specialist from the University of North Florida’s Animal-Assisted Interventions and Interactions Certificate Program. She follows the Animal Assisted Intervention International Standards & Competencies to practice animal assisted therapy.

Phoebe enjoys learning about each child’s motivations and uses a strengths-based approach to highlight each individual’s inherent abilities and interests to improve areas of need.

Phoebe is a proponent of lifelong learning and presents at local, state, and national conferences. Topics are related to standards of practice and competencies to strengthen the skills of healthcare and human service providers when participating in occupational therapy and animal assisted interventions.

In her free time, Phoebe enjoys eating, reading, baking, rock climbing, taking dog training classes, and going to the dog beach with her dog, Summer.

Christina is an energetic and driven occupational therapist dedicated to bringing the best care for her clients and family. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Cal State Fullerton while simultaneously playing Division 1 soccer for the Titans. Her passion for child development started from coaching youth soccer and being a teacher’s assistant at an early childhood development center after undergrad. She earned her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences in 2016.

She has been working in pediatric private practice clinics ever since graduation with children with a variety of diagnoses. Christina particularly enjoys meeting children and their families where they are at and providing them with the skills and tools necessary to meet their full potential. Christina also has experience with developing and implementing a soccer-based program for youth with varying abilities.

She has completed post-graduate training and certification with sensory integration, Interactive Metronome, Therapeutic Listening, Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding, picky feeders, and primitive reflexes.

Christina is a Southern California native who enjoys being outdoors walking her two dogs Bane and Jafar, hiking, playing soccer, or traveling with her husband.

Katherine graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor’s of Science in Early Childhood Education, focused in Family and Community Settings. She received her Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy from Stanbridge University in 2019. She is a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in sensory integration, self-regulation, feeding, dressing, oral motor skills, fine motor skills, and early intervention in the home. Katherine has extensive experience analyzing the movements and behaviors of children from the ages of 0-3 in the family home context and adapting and providing home program recommendations that suit family routines and cultures. She strongly believes in the collaboration of the community in the development of children and especially in supporting parental needs. Katherine believes that when the parent feels supported and prioritized, the child’s participation are positively impacted. In her free time, Katherine enjoys long talks with friends and family, baking, going on hikes and walks with her dogs, and reading.

Adrienne is a certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA). She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Grand Canyon University in 2021. She also completed an OTA program from Santa Ana College in 2022. She has always had a passion for working with kids. She became a nanny for different families at the age of 15.

While she completed her clinical hours, she spent her time providing support for the OTs, and developing and implementing intervention plans for pediatric clients.

Adrienne was born and raised in Orange County. She enjoys spending time with her friends, traveling, watching sunsets, playing board games, vacationing in Michigan, and taking care of her dog, Lila.

Shannon is a UC Irvine graduate with a bachelor’s of science in Psychology. She has spent her undergraduate years volunteering at pediatric therapy clinics and being a board member of the Pre-Occupational Therapy Student Society at UCI for three years. She plans on expanding her knowledge while working alongside the therapists at Tumble N’ Dots as she prepares to apply for OT school. Shannon values the holistic approach OT supports and looks forward to becoming a future Occupational Therapist. Her other passions include baking, cooking, jewelry-making, and spending quality time with her friends and family.

Savannah is a dedicated Special Education Teacher with a passion for helping children thrive. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Child Development from Cal State Fullerton , followed by her Master of Education in Special Education from Arizona State University. With over 7 years of experience in the field, Savannah has a strong background in fostering learning environments that support children’s growth.

During her master’s program, Savannah gained valuable experience in a special education preschool and previously served as a middle school English special education teacher. She finds immense joy in witnessing children acquire new skills and make positive relationships with their service providers.

Born and raised in Orange County, Savannah embraces an active lifestyle that includes beach outings, hiking adventures, and enjoying vacations. She also finds relaxation in reading fantasy books and spending quality time with friends.

Kelly graduated with her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Akron in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati. Kelly has a passion in working with young children and providing support and valuable tools to their families. Kelly has two children of her own and really empathizes with the parent’s perspective. She has previously worked in special education in an elementary school and completed speech language pathology clinical placements in two elementary schools, a medical adult clinic and various specialized clinical settings. She finds great success at Tumble N’ Dots with the collaboration and holistic model approach to therapy they are able to provide. She sees the opportunity to provide the most effective and caring strategies to children and their families in this setting and she is excited to be a part of this unique model. Kelly enjoys spending time with her family and her two dogs (a lab and a miniature dachshund), exercising, painting water color and going to the beach.

Agnes is a licensed and ASHA-certified Clinical Fellow Speech-Language Pathologist. She earned her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Southern California (USC) and received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Policy from the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

She has completed clinical placements in two elementary schools, one middle school, an adult outpatient clinic at Keck Hospital, a community clinic setting for Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing children, and in a telepractice setting.

Agnes is enthusiastic about working with young children presenting with communicative disorders and their families at Tumble N’ Dots. She finds great joy in supporting children’s growth and collaborating with other clinicians.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Agnes moved to Southern California in 2017. She enjoys spending time with loved ones, working on jigsaw puzzles with her husband, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, and visiting museums.

We are committed to providing family-centered care, focusing on a child’s strengths to foster a trusting relationship and help them fulfill their potential. We are looking for dedicated individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of children and supporting our community. Join us in our mission to change lives for the better.

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Administration

Igal is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Tumble N’ Dots.

Igal is a published children’s book author. He earned his Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California (USC).

Since 2001, he worked as a consultant for many pediatric therapy clinics across the east and west coasts to help with their daily operations and growth.

In his free time, Igal enjoys trail running, mountain biking, playing the drums, and spending quality time with his family.

Allison is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton where she received her bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. Being originally from Carlsbad, CA, she returned to San Diego after college to work as an instructional aide at Scholarshop Prep Academy in Oceanside.

Allison enjoys being able to help families find comprehensive care that works for them and their kiddos here at Tumble N Dots.

An artist at heart, Allison enjoys singing, drawing, reading, and sewing in her free time.

Ella has been assisting at our office since 2020 during her free time, while attending school. She plans to become an Occupational Therapist and is gaining a lot of experience at Tumble N’ Dots in preparation for OT school.

Ella is an avid runner and completed her first full marathon when she was 12 years old.

Ella enjoys going to the beach and spending time with her friends and pets.

Canine Co-Therapists

Summer is an Australian Cattle Dog mix who has been in training with Phoebe since 2019 to work in animal assisted therapy sessions. She began her career in an outpatient occupational therapy clinic and dog training facility. She was trained and handled using positive reinforcement, reward-based, and relationship-based methods. She has participated in two in-person practicums and served as a demonstration dog for animal assisted therapy. Summer has experience working with several populations including children, adolescents, and adults with varying abilities.

Summer has her Canine Good Citizen, Community Canine, and Urban Canine titles from the American Kennel Club. They enjoy taking agility, musical freestyle, and rally competition classes.

Phoebe and Summer are evaluated as an AAI human-animal team yearly for animal assisted occupational therapy and have been deemed a good fit by objective evaluators skilled in occupational therapy, animal assisted therapy, and dog training.

In her free time, Summer enjoys cuddling, sunbathing, playing with her best friend, Toast the pug, and going the dog beach.

Meet Our Team

Avital

Christina J.

Darcy

Dr. Angeline

Lichelle

Dr. Phoebe

Christina R.

Katherine

Adrienne

Shannon

Savannah

Kelly

Agnes

Join our team!

Administration

Igal

Allison

Ella

Canine Co-Therapists

Summer

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