Occupational Therapy

Burlington

Emma is an enthusiastic new occupational therapy graduate excited to develop her Occupational Therapy skills with the clients at Butterfly Pediatric Therapy!

Emma completed her undergraduate degree at Brock University in Child and Youth Studies. After completing her undergraduate degree, Emma continued to Western University to pursue a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. Emma has a passion for working with children helping them learn new skills and achieving their goals. Emma has a strong background and passion for gymnastics and continues to pursue this passion through coaching athletes in the competitive program.

During her Master’s degree, Emma had opportunities to develop her knowledge with the pediatric populations during her clinical placements at the Thames Valley Children’s Centre in the Early Years program and at Pathways Health Centre for Children in School Based Rehabilitation Services. Emma values the opportunity to work with families and children being a part of their occupational therapy journey through creating fun, engaging sessions.

Through clinical placements, and during her Master’s degree, Emma has developed knowledge of Handwriting without Tears, Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) Approach, Solution-Focused Coaching, and interventions for fine motor and handwriting skills development.

When Emma is not working, Emma enjoys taking her dog for walks, doing puzzles, spending time with friends and family and doing gymnastics. Emma is excited to be a part of the team at Butterfly and being a part of making a meaningful difference in clients lives!

A few fun facts about Emma:

• If Emma had a superpower, she would want to be able to fly
• If Emma could eat only one food for the rest of her life, it would be pasta
• If Emma were a celebrity, she would be famous for being a professional athlete.

Mississauga

Mr. Elias Salame holds a BSc in Occupational Therapy since 2004 from the Faculty of Public Health and a MSc in Neuropsychology since 2018 from the Faculty of Medical Sciences, both at the Lebanese University. He is certified in Sensory Integration from the University of Southern California, USA. He is also certified in the early childhood education curriculum High/Scope and in Cortical Visual Impairment, both from the USA as well.

He launched his career in 2004, in Kuwait, working in Paediatric Neurology initially at the Conductive Rehabilitation Institution, before moving to Hope School, where he was Lead Occupational Therapist for five years. He also worked in Community Based Rehabilitation with Palestinian and Syrian refugees, and his private practice furthermore covers adult neurology and elderly. Before moving to Canada, he was the Senior Occupational Therapist at the American Special Kids Clinic at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, AUBMC.

Throughout his 18 years of experience, he helped create, establish, and organize several OT departments, created and furnished various sensory rooms, attended numerous workshops, and participated as a speaker in national and international conferences. He has published one article about Screen Exposure and Autism and participated in another one about adaptation of RITA-T (Rapid Interactive Screening Test for Autism in Toddlers) for the Lebanese population. Between 2012 and 2021, he held the position of General Secretary of the Lebanese Occupational Therapy Association (LOTA) and is presently the WFOT delegate member of the Lebanese Occupational Therapists Syndicate (LOTS).

Get to know Elias:

• If Elias could teleport to anywhere in the world, he would teleport to Thailand.
• If Elias were to eat only one food for the rest of his life, he would eat Sushi.
• If Elias were to be an animal, he would be a bird so he could fly!

Mississauga & Burlington

Kimberly is a dynamic and vibrant therapy assistant who strives to optimize and empower children and youth through meaningful and family centered activities and skill acquisition.

Kimberly received her Occupational Therapy Assistant and Physiotherapy Assistant diploma from Centennial College after completing her undergraduate degree in International Relations and History with a minor in Political Science from York University, Glendon Campus. After working at a few summer camps for children with complex neurological conditions, Kimberly knew she had to pivot away from where her undergrad studies had taken her and find a way to work with children and their families full-time in opportunities that enables life-enhancing skills, self-esteem, confidence and above all, fun!

Kimberly dove headfirst into her passion and worked for the Geneva Centre for Autism in their Group Services stream supporting children, youth and adults with Autism. Kimberly had the opportunity to have clinical therapy assistant placements in a variety of settings including hospitals, fast-paced clinics, school-based care and children treatment centers around the GTA. In her spare time, you can find Kimberly exploring the great outdoors, visiting the Toronto Zoo any time she can get; spending time at her local Orange Theory Fitness classes and searching the world for the next best donuts!

Burlington

Vania is a passionate and enthusiastic new Occupational Therapy graduate and is very excited to build her skills as an Occupational Therapist at Butterfly Paediatric Therapy!  Growing up, Vania has always had a passion for working with children. Whether it was being a summer camp counsellor or teaching kids how to play badminton, she knew she wanted to have a job where she could be helping children and their families. Vania completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour with a specialization in Mental Health. Shortly after, she began pursuing a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. There, she learned how she could use a variety of approaches and tools to help children achieve goals that are important and meaningful to them, and knew she was on the right career path!

During her time as an Occupational Therapy student, Vania developed her skills and knowledge with pediatric populations during her clinical placements at SickKids in the Neurosurgery unit and the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists with the School-Based Occupational Therapy team. Vania values family-centred and strengths-based approaches – as well as the occupation of play! – when working with children and their families. Through her clinical placements and education at the University of Toronto, Vania has developed knowledge on treatment approaches such as Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) Approach, Zones of Regulation, and other interventions for feeding, handwriting, and fine motor skills development. She is eager to continue her learning and taking more courses for treatment approaches to add to her Occupational Therapy toolkit.

Outside of work, Vania enjoys playing fetch with her dog, having karaoke sessions in the car, trying out new cafes and restaurants, and spending time with friends and family. Vania is very excited to be a part of the Butterfly Pediatric Therapy team to meet clients and support them in
doing what is meaningful and fun for them!

Fun facts about Vania:

• If Vania could eat only one food for the rest of her life, it would be macaroni and cheese.
• If Vania could teleport anywhere in the world, it would be to Japan.

If Vania were to be an animal, she would be a capybara because they get along well with all animals and bathe in hot springs filled with oranges!

Mississauga

Andrea is a passionate and eager recent Occupational Therapy graduate, excited to begin this new chapter at Butterfly Paediatric Therapy!  Andrea completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto studying Health Studies and Biological Anthropology. Throughout her undergraduate career, Andrea participated in several research opportunities and projects that aimed to bring the young and young at heart together through intergenerational engagement. She has a strong passion for research and continues to work as a research assistant to give back to her community.

Andrea continued to Queens University for her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy.

During her Masters degree, Andrea had the opportunity to have clinical placements in school-based rehabilitation in Kingston, ON and at Grandview Kids Treatment Centre. She was able to enhance her skills and knowledge in Handwriting Without Tears, emotional regulation approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and the Zones of Regulation, and interventions for fine motor and sensory challenges.

Outside of occupational therapy and research, Andrea enjoys spending time with her family and dog, as well as rock climbing and reading during her spare time.

A few fun facts about Andrea:

• One of Andrea’s life goals is to renovate a van and road trip across Canada with her dog
• Andrea’s favourite food is French fries, and she even worked at a French fry shop to fuel her love for fries.

Andrea loves spending time with her nieces and nephews.

Mississauga

Rima’s passion for working with children and youth emerged from her early roles as a dance class assistant, camp counselor and cooking school instructor. With a background in competitive dance, Rima pursued a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics at the University of Guelph. Intrigued by the “non-traditional” and holistic perspective of Occupational Therapy, she furthered her education with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto.

During her academic journey, Rima strengthened her skills in paediatric care through a clinical placement at SickKids Hospital in the neurology, neurosurgery and trauma unit. Here, she learned to use play as a form of assessment and intervention. She also gained international experience at an intensive neurorehabilitation centre in Madrid, Spain, working with individuals of all ages and integrating traditional therapy techniques with evidence-based technology.

Throughout her clinical placements, Rima has gained knowledge in wheelchair seating and positioning, feeding, upper extremity neuromotor interventions, and guided discovery methods such as the CO-OP approach. Drawing on her two years of experience as a personal trainer and fitness coach, she also brings a solid understanding of biomechanics to her practice, helping individuals work towards their personal goals.

Rima believes in using a strength-based approach to build motivation and self-efficacy in clients. One of the many reasons Rima loves occupational therapy is because it emphasizes that well being can be achieved through small, meaningful steps. As often has been said, the little things are really the big things!

Rima is committed to providing high-quality, family-centred care. She is a lifelong learner who looks forward to continually expanding her knowledge and making a positive impact on the lives of the children and families she serves at Butterfly Paediatric Therapy.

A few fun facts about Rima:

• Rima finds joy in cooking and unwinding with rom-coms during quality time with friends.
• Her ultimate treat for a lifetime? Dairy Milk fruit and nut chocolate bars would be her top pick.
• While no longer engaged in competitive dancing, Rima indulges her dance itch with impromptu sessions while house cleaning.