Kristi Vecellio

OTR/L
Clinical Director

Kristi began her career as an OT in 2003 after graduating from The University of Pittsburgh. Her first position was at a private clinic where she was mentored for 3 years by an expert in sensory integration. She gained experience using an intensive short-term model of intervention, seeing students 3-5 days per week and working closely with the whole family. This early immersion and knowledge for how to support sensory processing and work with the whole family has informed her entire care working with children and adults in a variety of settings and regions of the country.

Kristi has studied and obtained certifications to help her provide a broad range of wellness interventions for families, including strength and conditioning, feeding, hippotherapy and functional medicine. Kristi has a passion for providing individualized, strengths-based care that starts with meeting the basic needs of nutrition, sleep, time in nature, and meaningful connection.

Kristi joined Growing Healthy Children in 2016 and immersed herself in the STAR Process as a mentee, working directly with Dr. Lucy Jane Miller and other esteemed faculty of the STAR Institute while serving families and mentoring clinicians at the Rescue headquarters. In 2018 Kristi stepped into the role of Clinical Director to support a fast-growing team, raise up new leaders, expand our high-quality programs, and ensure the company’s mission, vision, and core values are put into action every day.

Kristi is pursuing her clinical doctorate degree in occupational therapy and raising a 9 year old daughter. Outside of work and family, her leisure passion is mountain and gravel biking. Kristi serves on the board or otherwise supports a variety of non-profit organizations that use biking as a means to improve quality of life and increase equity of access to resources for women, children, physically challenged, and neurodiverse individuals.

Treatment Approach

I have a passion for providing individualized, strengths-based care that starts with meeting the basic needs of nutrition, sleep, and time in nature, combined with the power of play-based and client-led sensory integration therapy.

Specialties

Sensory Processing, Functional Medicine, Adaptive Strength and Conditioning

Research

Assisted with the development and standardization of the Sensory Processing Three Dimensions (SP3D)

Continuing Education in

• STAR process for treating Sensory Processing Disorder
• DIRFloortime
• Hippotherapy
• Integrated Listening Systems
• SOS Feeding Therapy
• Autism across the Lifespan