This Pediatric Therapist Helps Kids Find Their Inner 'Glow' In Somerset, Union Counties
WARREN, NJ — Marisa Davison of Warren has always been drawn to working with children and and helping others. So it came as no surprise when she followed her dream to become a pediatric occupational therapist(OT) and open her own practice called Glow OT.
“I was introduced to occupational therapy because I have a family member who’s also an OT and it really, it felt like a calling,” said Davison to Patch.
When Davison was in high school, she babysat for an autistic child where she got to see some of the child’s therapy sessions.
Find out what's happening in Basking Ridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“It was so amazing to kind of see how she lit up when therapy was going on, and it was a source of so much joy for her. But she was also working really hard, so it was really, really exciting to see as a high schooler,” said Davison.
This fueled her passion for helping children to fulfill independent and meaningful lives. Davison graduated with honors from New York University with a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy. She is a board-certified and registered occupational therapist.
Find out what's happening in Basking Ridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
After completing her clinical rotations at NYU Langone (Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital), Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Bellevue, Davison opened Glow OT, a mobile pediatric occupational therapy practice serving the Somerset, Union and Morris County area.
Click Here: South Korea soccer tracksuit
Davison specializes in working with neurodivergent children ages 2-14 with autism, ADHD, anxiety, feeding differences, etc.
“I’m passionate about using strengths, connections, relationships, and play in therapy sessions,” said Davison.
Her specialty areas include sensory processing, emotion regulation, behavior support using neurodiversity-affirming practices, and feeding therapy.
“There’s something called pathological demand avoidance(PDA) and sensory processing disorders. What is at the center of my practice is kind of connections and relationships, and using those connections and relationships to regulate and build confidence. And that’s really where my name came from,” said Davison.
The biggest feedback Davison gets from parents is that their child is so confident in the park now or the playground, and they’re able to kind of tackle challenges that they weren’t able to tackle before.
Davison said that having the confidence to approach something in life translates to adults as well, if we don’t have the confidence to do so, or we perceive it to be challenging it can become a barrier to engagement and participation.
That’s where Davison comes in to build that confidence in a child so they know they can accomplish hard tasks with their parents and Davison’s support.
Overall, Davison says she is very passionate about her profession and watching the children grow and “glow” is very rewarding.
For example, Davison has been working with an autistic child who was having a lot of trouble with transitions, specifically to go outside his house.
“The other day, we were really engaged in a play activity using some trains. And we actually took a ride on the trains out to his deck patio area, and then from there, he was having so much fun that we brought the trains down onto the grass and then onto the play thing. And it was just a really beautiful moment, because, you know, being outside, the transition part, kind of took a back seat,” said Davison. “He really kind of was just so engrossed in the play activity that he didn’t even realize we were outside. And once, he looked up from that play activity and came back to what we were doing. He was like, ‘Oh, we’re outside, and it’s not that bad.’ And it was a really beautiful moment to kind of see that realization of, ‘Oh, I can do hard things and it’s okay’.”
Those wins seem small to others but are monumental to the child and Davison loves being apart of those scenarios.
“The foundation of my practice is really just about that connection-and-relationship-based approach and using play,” said Davison. “When I spend so much time building that therapeutic relationship and trust. There’s no need to use external reward based systems, because a child has that intrinsic motivation to want to engage and participate when there’s connections and relationships.”
As a passionate OT, Davison welcomes new clients with a consultation or assessment to customize and discuss the child’s needs.
For more information visit glowot.com or email [email protected] or follow instagram.com/glow.ot.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected].
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.