Meet the experts

Emily Dassow, OTR/L is an energetic and sought-after occupational therapist with a passion for working with children with sensory integration disorders (SIPT certified). Emily currently works with schools in the Los Angeles area working with students ranging from preschool to middle school and at a private clinic in Tarzana, California. In addition, Emily enjoys supervising, educating, and sharing her enthusiasm with the newest generation of occupational therapists as a clinical instructor to level one and two students from universities across the country.  Emily has also presented nationally on relating school-based occupational therapy to Common Core State Standards. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 young sons, cooking, scuba diving, and traveling in her free time.

Heather Olsen, EdD is an educator and consultant who has worked at the local, state, and national levels.  While her expertise has been on the health and safety of the outdoor environment, Dr. Olsen has worked with a number of youth agencies related to playground safety and outdoor curriculum.  Dr. Olsen has lead a number of professional development workshops and trainings on the topic of outdoor play, playground injury prevention, and planning.  Dr. Olsen has been a principal investigator on several federal projects, including curriculum development, educational outreach materials, and publications. Over the years, Dr. Olsen has collaborated and partnered on projects with the US Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Licensing Divisions, and actively participates with the development of playground safety standards.

Dr. Tara Warwick is an occupational therapist and the co-owner of Blue Sparrow, a national training and consulting therapy firm, and Today’s Therapy Solutions, an Oklahoma-based pediatric therapy company. She has over 20 years of experience working with children with disabilities across all
settings. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Tara obtained her bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy in 2000, her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Sciences with an emphasis in pediatrics in 2005. In 2021, she completed a Post- Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate in from Boston University. Tara spends her days providing in-home therapy to children, conducting training and consultations for schools on challenging behavior and autism, and consulting with other therapy companies on practice management. Tara’s areas of intervention expertise include behavior
management, sensory processing, self-care training (potty training, eating/feeding, dressing, play, etc.), assistive technology, and home programming. Tara enjoys thinking outside the box and developing creative ways to help her business run more efficiently and effectively. Tara resides
in Edmond, OK, with her husband and two children.