Meet the Abilitations Board of Consultants

We are honored to feature experienced professionals on our board. These valued individuals work out in the field with our products and/or here at Abilitations.

Cecilia Cruse, MS, OTR/L
Cecilia is an occupational therapist and works on staff here at Abilitations as our educational and product specialist. She is SIPT certified from Sensory Integration International and has over 20 years experience in pediatrics with school-based services, acute care and outpatient pediatric services. Cecilia is also a consultant, author and lecturer, and teaches seminars nationwide on sensory integration and school-based practice. Cecilia can be reached here at Abilitations by calling 1-800-850-8602 ext. 7207 or by e-mailing ccruse@sportime.com. Her seminar schedule can be accessed at www.ciaoseminars.com.

Ricardo C. Carrasco, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Dr. Carrasco has over 30 years of occupational therapy, neuropsychology, education, and business experience. Dr. Carrasco is certified in the SCSIT, SIPT, NDT and TLP. He is the Chairman of FiestaJoy Foundation, Inc. in Winter Park, Florida where he practices, consults, teaches, and conducts research studies in pediatric and adult occupational wellness. Dr. Carrasco travels to various locations to consult and teach. He also has an active real- and virtual-time practice with clients of various ages and diagnoses from various parts of the world. He has lectured and published internationally, and has been on the faculty of several centers of higher education, Sensory Integration International and Advanced Rehabilitation Services. Dr. Carrasco has earned a doctorate in neuropsychology and occupational dysfunction and is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Carolyn Murray-Slutsky, MS OTR
Carolyn is director of Rehabilitation for Children, a private pediatric practice which specializes in outpatient, home and school-based therapy in south Florida. She's also co-founder of two large outpatient clinics that were acquired by a national corporation in 2001. Carolyn is certified in sensory integration (SIPT) and neuro-developmental treatment for pediatrics, infants and adults. Her work experience includes over 26 years working in direct patient care, consultative, educational, and administrative positions. Murray-Slutsky lectures and consults internationally, through her company STAR Services, Inc, presenting workshops on sensory integration, neuro developmental treatment, functional therapy, splinting techniques, and therapeautic intervention for Autism, PDD, behavioral difficulties and SI dysfunction. She is also co-author of the textbook "Exploring the Spectrum of Autism and PDD-Intervention Strategies." Her new book "Is it Sensory or is it Behavior-Intervention Strategies" will be published in early 2004. You may reach Carolyn at STARServicesINC@aol.com or through www.STARServices.TV.

Ilana Danneman, PT
Ilana is our on-staff physical therapist and Abilitations catalog director with over 16 years of therapy experience including acute care, spinal cord injury, outpatient rehab and pediatrics. Ilana has been creating Abilitations since 1992. She is also the author/designer of several Abilitations Creations products in the Abilitations catalog including Roll-R-Cise and Physio Roll-R-Cise cards, Chair Hugger, Art Kits, Cloud Chute, Frog Pockets, Chewlery and Play n' Spray. When not designing product or working on the Abilitations catalog, Ilana is raising a husband, 4 children and several pets. Ilana can be reached at 1-800-850-8602 ext. 7160 or by e-mailing idanneman@sportime.com.

Barbara Bezalel, M.Ed., P.T.
Barbara graduated in 1974 from SUNY Buffalo with a BS in Physical Therapy. Recognizing that a critical element needed to be a good therapist was to understand how her patients learned what she was trying to teach, she returned to school and received her advanced masters degree in Movement Science and Education from Teachers College .Columbia University in 1995. Barbara has been working with children for the past 28 years in a variety of settings. She currently works for On Our Way Learning Center, a not for profit early educational program that serves pre-school children at its center in Far Rockaway, N.Y. as well as with its home based early intervention population. Barbara works closely with Special Olympics International as the New York State Clinical Coordinator of the Healthy Athletes/FUNfitness screening program which screens Special Athletes for strength, balance and flexibility. An avid runner and recreational cyclist, her interest in health, sports and child development are reflected in her various roles, including her role as volunteer guide for an Achilles Athlete during the New York City Marathon these past three years.

"I believe that children enjoy challenges that they take upon themselves to solve. It is my job as a therapist to listen carefully to the clues a child provides in order to find out what those challenges are and provide the play activities and environments that will help that child succeed."

Lee Tidmore, CTRS
Abilitations has been working with Lee for the past 10 years. Lee has been heavily involved in testing product, providing us with children for photography, giving us ideas and most recently in setting up a multi-sensory room in Dekalb County's Heritage School. Lee is a Nationally Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. He has spent the past 14 years employed in Dekalb County Schools' Heritage School as a Rec Therapist working with elementary age children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Lee is also Chairman of the Dekalb County Special Olympics Management Team, and is a certified coach in motor activities and cycling. He is presently coaching the Dekalb and the State of GA Special Olympics cycling teams. Lee can be reached at leetidmore@hotmail.com.

Karen Voytecki
Dr. Karen S. Voytecki is an Assistant Professor, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at East Carolina University. Having many years of experience as a K-12 special education teacher, she prepares future educators from the informed and experienced perspective that only the classroom can provide. Her research interests include sensory integrative approaches to instruction and classroom management, secondary education for students with emotional/behavior disorders and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), postsecondary educational and career goals of students with disabilities, teacher-researcher collaborative partnerships, and single-subject design intervention research. Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Special Education, University of South Florida (Tampa); Master of Arts degree in Varying Exceptionalities, University of South Florida (St. Petersburg); Bachelor of Science in Special Education with a focus on students with Emotional Handicaps, University of Wisconsin . Milwaukee. Karen is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops on the subjects of sensory integration, multisensory instruction, classroom management, community partnerships, and establishing positive learning environments. She was named the 2001 Clarissa Hug International Teacher of the Year by the Council for Exceptional Children.

Suzanne Wilkinson, OTR/L
Suzanne Wilkinson is on staff at Abilitations and is the catalog Director for our newest catalog Integrations. This solutions-based catalog contains "bright ideas" sections that educate and empower school-based personnel to assist children with learning and sensory differences. For a free copy of the Integrations catalog call 800-850-8602 or visit www.integrationscatalog.com. Suzanne is an award winner for innovative teaching and has worked for years in the public schools collaborating with teachers, speech and language therapists, and other school personnel.

An author, consultant, program designer, and inventor, Suzanne loves children and believes in educational and therapy sessions so fun that the children don't even realize they're working. With a background in mental health, she believes in treating the whole child within the family context, even in the educational setting. With over two decades in the field, Suzanne brings us rich experience in the areas of sensory integration, inclusion, autism spectrum disorder, therapeutic listening, oral-motor, ADD/ADHD, learning differences, and school-based practices.

Suzanne is co-owner of one of the nation's largest sensory integration (SI) clinics called LifeSkills, located in Winter Park, FL. Her goal is to build awareness of the power of sensory integration and redesign classrooms using SI strategies so that children can be successful in all environments.