Meet our February Provider of the month, Susan A. Zapf, Ph.D., OTR/L, BCP, ATP

Dr. Susan Zapf is an Occupational Therapist and Assistive Technology Professional with over 27 years of experience working with the pediatric population in both private practice and school-based settings. She is an entrepreneur and is the Owner and Clinical of The Children’s Therapy Center, Inc., a prominent pediatric sensory integration clinic in Houston, Texas. Dr. Zapf is also the Owner and President of Children’s Journey to Shine, Inc, an educational training company that educates healthcare professionals on assistive technology assessment and service delivery and provides therapy services that utilize animals and nature as tools in therapy. Dr. Zapf is the President of Reining Potential of Texas, a non-profit organization that uses the horse in occupational therapy services. Dr. Zapf is adjunct faculty for the Ph.D. Pediatric Science track at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah, and teaches a course on assistive technology. As an occupational therapist, she is passionate about helping children and their families develop skills to reach their full potential and she believes that occupational therapy, assistive technology, and animals can be powerful interventions to assist in this process.

Occupation: Occupational Therapist

Population: I currently work with Pediatrics, including infants and early intervention.

Number of Years Using IM?  
I’ve been using IM for 15 years now.

Tell us about your business:
The Children’s Therapy Center, Inc. is a premier pediatric sensory integration clinic that provides occupational and speech therapy services, and feeding therapy to children ages 6 months to 21. We have been in business for 29 years proudly serving children to meet their full potential and supporting families. We provide intensives in the Interactive Metronome and Safe and Sound Protocol. The clinic also provides social buddy groups and a summer camp. We believe in treating the whole child using effective evidenced-based treatment strategies and supporting the family through education and parent training.

What made you look into IM?
The clinic was using the IM and I was impressed with the changes observed during our clinical intensives. I was also completing my Ph.D. and was interested in the clinical research.

What do you like most about IM?
I like that the success of the IM program can be utilized at home to further support the child in their treatment needs as part of a daily routine.

What are your thoughts on IM Universe?
I like the effectiveness of using the IM portal to monitor clients on the home program and the ease of sending training protocols to clients.

Do you incorporate Best Practices with your IM training?
Yes, we are an evidence-based clinic and utilize best practice strategies in our treatment sessions

What other modalities do you use in your practice that you like to combine with IM?
Sensory Integration, OT interventions, Visual motor, and Perceptual tasks, Ocular motor skills, movement, and postural control.

What marketing methods have you found successful, what ones have failed?
Most of our referrals are word of mouth and we have several doctors that will refer tom our clinic. I also market on our website and do some seasonal marketing.

Tips for other IM Providers:
Remember that you are using the IM from your clinical profession and as an OT we work on the whole child. Be creative and make the IM a fun challenge for your clients. The power of an intensive program can make a huge difference for your clients!

Anything else?
Thanks for the opportunity to share my experience with you and other IM Providers.