Meet The Coastal Kids Therapy Team

Laurel Thornton, OTR/L

Opening Coastal Kids Therapy with her sister has been a dream come true for Laurel.

She graduated in 1985 from East Carolina University and has loved her 30 year career as an occupational therapist. Laurel has extensive experience and education in the treatment of children and adolescents with autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, neuromuscular disorders, sensory processing dysfunction, and a variety of genetic syndromes. She has practiced in the public school system, home health, and private clinic settings. She is certified in Childlight Yoga, Therapeutic Listening, Sequential Oral Sensory feeding, and Interactive Metronome.

Laurel loves working with children, reading, yoga, art, and spending time with family, friends, and her two dogs.

Weatherly Landry, COTA/L

Weatherly Landry, COTA/L, joined Coastal Kids Therapy in 2012 and loves being a part of the amazing team. She has degrees from The College of Charleston, The Citadel, and earned her Associates in Occupational Therapy from Cape Fear Community College. In her free time, she enjoys doing just about anything with her husband and two sons as well as her extended family and friends. She loves bringing her creativity and love for the arts to life through her OT treatments at CKT.

Julie Westbrook, COTA/L

Julie received a Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Communications in 1996 from Mount Olive University. However, found her true passion was using her creativity while working with children and their families to improve success with daily activities. Julie received an Associate in Applied Science degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant in 2001 from Cape Fear Community College. She later served as Instructor and Academic Fieldwork Coordinator for the CFCC program for 3 years before returning to treat in the private practice setting. Special interests include working with children who have a variety of fine motor, sensory, motor coordination, cognitive, and behavioral concerns.

Abbey Christ, M.S., OTR/L

Abbey moved to Wilmington in 2008 to attend UNCW, where she received her BA in Recreation Therapy with a minor in Psychology. She, then, received her Associate in Applied Science - Occupational Therapy Assistant degree from Cape Fear Community College in 2015. Abbey worked in a school system and then with Coastal Kids Therapy as an occupational therapy assistant before returning to school and earning her Master of Occupational Therapy degree in 2019. Abbey loves working with children, alongside their families, to help them reach their full potential. In her free time, Abbey enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, and being at the beach.

Megan Sahraie, M.S.,OTR/L

Megan has been part of the Coastal Kids family since 2017. Megan is originally from upstate New York and received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University at Albany in 2012. She went on to receive her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University in Georgia in 2015. She has experience working in outpatient pediatrics and has found a passion for working with children to help them achieve success and gain independence. In her spare time, Megan enjoys spending time with her dog, Teddy, and her family and friends, going to the beach, reading, and traveling.

Susan Royder, M.S.,OTR/L

Susan is a 1982 graduate of Boston University with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy.She received a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology in 1977 from the University of Maryland .

She has worked continuously as an OT in acute care pediatric and adult settings, the Pennsylvania School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and has had her longest career working at the Watson Institute providing OT to preschool students that have a diagnosis of ASD.

Susan has worked part time for Coastal Kids Therapy since 2015. She absolutely loves working with children of all ages. She particularly strives to facilitate sensory processing and both gross and fine motor skills.

Susan enjoys bicycling, swimming and snow skiing. She has worked with the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project for 5 years.

Kaitlyn Sottile, M.S., OTR/L

Kaitlyn moved to Wilmington in 2010 to attend UNCW as she earned her B.A. in Recreational Management. After working in both the camp world and the business industry after graduation, she discovered a passion for Occupational Therapy and began the process to go back to school. During that time period, she worked as a Registered Behavior Technician in an ABA clinic, and loved having the opportunity to work with children with Autism. She attended Lenoir-Rhyne University and earned her Masters of Occupational Therapy in 2021. During that time she had the opportunity to complete her fieldwork at Coastal Kids Therapy and found a passion for working collaboratively with families to help their children participate in their lives to the fullest. In her free time Kaitlyn loves going on runs with her dog Aspen, surfing with her husband, traveling, and being outside.

Leila Garriss

Though she lived in Atlanta, Honolulu and Raleigh as a child, Leila has lived in Wilmington for most of her life. She graduated from North Carolina State University with an undergraduate degree in Communication and from Western Carolina University with a graduate degree in School Counseling. She has worked with many of Wilmington’s youth through the school system and community organizations. Leila is excited to transition into a new role within our clinic as office assistant. When she’s not spending time with her family’s rescue animals, Leila enjoys going to the beach, watching movies and playing poker with her husband, John, and their two children.

Zoe Spadaro, M.S.,OTR/L

Zoe graduated from Elizabethtown College’s Occupational Therapy master’s program in December 2021. Originally from Baltimore MD, she recently moved to the Wilmington area to pursue her first Occupational Therapy job. Her love for working with children began in high school and has since continued to grow into a passion to help all reach their full potential. In her free time, she loves going to the beach, drinking coffee, watching football, and being with her friends and family!

Emma Provenzano, M.S., CCC-SLP

Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist

Emma recently moved to Wilmington from Boston, Massachusetts. She received her Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2020 from Emerson College. She has experience working in a variety of settings, including public schools, private clinics and home health. Emma loves working with children and follows a child-led therapy approach to ensure that all sessions are engaging and meaningful to her clients. In her free time, Emma enjoys hiking, paddle boarding, and reading. Her newest favorite activity is going for walks on the beach with her dog and fiancé.

Gunner

The Coastal Kids Therapy team is beyond excited to welcome our Paws4People registered rehabilitation facility dog, Gunner!  The staff and children adore him and he has already shown what an asset he will be to therapy sessions.  Gunner helps the kids with motivation, social skills, anxiety reduction, communication skills, self-care, listening skills, learning about kindness and gentleness, and sensory processing.  Gunner is an ace at doing obstacle courses in our gym and gives the best fist bumps.