Meet the Team: Occupational Therapists
Shannon Lindsay, MS, OTR/L, SIPT
Lead Therapist FWB And clinic Educator
Shannon pursued an occupational therapy degree secondary to her love and passion for helping others in a creative way. She is from the Gulf Coast area and graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelors of science, pre-occupational therapy in 2006. She continued her education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she graduated with a masters of occupational therapy in 2008. She is licensed in the state of Florida and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy.
Shannon has worked in several settings and areas of practice from a neonatal intensive care unit with premature babies to a skilled nursing facility with the elderly. Majority of her clinical experience is in the area of pediatrics. Shannon has attended numerous continuing education classes related to sensory processing, autism, Constraint Induced Movement Therapy, S.O.S. Feeding Techniques and is certified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test. Shannon's clinical interests include inclusion and community integration of individuals with special needs, adaptive sports, fine/gross motor delays, visual motor integration, sensory processing, and developmental delays. Shannon loves to collaborate with other professionals, teachers, parents, and caregivers to provide a holistic approach to further increase the success of her patients.
Erin Lee, MS, OTR/L, SIPT
Co-Lead FWb
In May of 2013, Erin Ranz graduated from Maryville University in St. Louis, MO, with her masters in occupational therapy. A Midwest native, Erin has always had a heart for helping others. After being introduced to occupational therapy, she was excited about putting that passion to use.
Since Erin has worked at Kidz Korner she has completed continuing education courses to further her repertoire of pediatric knowledge. She completed the SOS Approach to Feeding Course and is now seeing kids who are extremely picky because of tactile sensitivities or oral motor delays. She has also become SIPT certified and can administer the SIPT test to kids who have sensory processing difficulties. Erin enjoys every opportunity to help the families that walk through our door! Erin is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and has also had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and Honduras to use her occupational therapy skills. In Guatemala, she worked in an orphanage for severely disabled children and adults, and in Honduras she was a part of a medical mission team that provided healthcare to numerous villages.
Erin is happy to serve families at our Fort Walton Beach location.
Sarah Skipper, MS, OTR/L, SIPT
RBCS Lead & Lead iLs Contact
Sarah graduated from the University of Florida with her Bachelor’s degree in Health Science in 2012. She continued her education at Florida Gulf Coast University to pursue her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy, graduating in May 2014. Sarah is licensed to practice in the state of Florida and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy. Sarah completed a 3-month clinical rotation here at Kidz Korner while pursuing her master’s degree where she gained experience in pediatrics. She joined the team to pursue her passion of working with children. Since working at Kidz Korner, Sarah has attended continuing education and training courses to further her knowledge in numerous areas including sensory integration, DIR/Floortime Model, Integrated Listening Systems (iLs), and autism spectrum disorders. She has also become certified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT) for children with difficulties with sensory processing and praxis skills. Sarah’s clinical interests include sensory processing difficulties, coordination disorders, autism, fine/gross motor delays, visual motor/perceptual delays, and general developmental delays. Sarah and her husband, Corey, live in Niceville. Sarah grew up in the area and loves being able to serve her community and build relationships with the kids and families as well as being a part of the amazing team of therapists we have at Kidz Korner.
Sarah is happy to serve families at our Rocky Bayou Christian School location.
Jaime Singletary, OTR/L
Fwb Clinic Manager
Jaime graduated from the University of South Alabama in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy. Her experience includes acute care, inpatient rehab and outpatient adults with emphasis on stroke and brain injury, as well as school systems. She worked as a travel OT for 5 years working in a variety of settings. Jaime began to take an interest in pediatrics in 2015 as she was working in the schools. Her background in neuro, cognition and behavior has carried over in the transition into outpatient pediatrics. She has furthered her knowledge with courses including sensory integration, floor time model, reflex integration and iLS.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time at the beach, hiking and camping.
Jaime is happy to serve families at out Fort Walton Beach location.
Amanda Warfield, MS, OTR/L
fwb staff + ECLC LEad
Amanda graduated from The Ohio State University in 2012 with a degree in Biology. After graduating, Amanda decided that occupational therapy was the right career field for her and pursued her master of occupational therapy at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, graduating in December 2017. Amanda is licensed by the state of Florida as well as certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy. Amanda had gained experience and love for pediatrics in a school based setting during her clinical rotations and later by taking on more and more pediatric patients in a mostly adult outpatient setting as the facility grew. Amanda’s other areas of experience include outpatient hand/upper extremity orthopedic and neurologic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and a small caseload of acute care patients.
Amanda has been working at Kidz Korner for 5 years now after moving here with her husband and 2 children. Her areas of clinical interest include sensory processing disorders, handwriting, fine motor skills, and feeding intervention.
Amanda is happy to serve families at our Fort Walton Beach location.
Daria Melnik, MHS, OTR/L
FWB staff + ECLC
Daria graduated from Florida State University with her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2016. After discovering her passion for wanting to help others gain and maintain their quality of life, she pursued higher education receiving a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Science in 2022. She is licensed in the state of Florida and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy.
Daria found her passion for pediatrics completing her 4 month clinical rotation at Center for Pediatrics Rehabilitation clinic in Pensacola. There she worked with kids with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and global developmental delays. She is looking forward to serving her new community here and is honored to grow alongside experienced therapists at Kidz Korner.
Daria is happy to serve families at our Fort Walton Beach location.
Ashton Polachek, OTR/L
ECLC + RBCS Staff
Ashton is a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist from Dallas, TX. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Baylor University then went on to get her Master of Occupational Therapy at Texas Woman’s University. Ashton has 3 years of experience working with the pediatric population and has a passion for seeing children succeed through play based intervention. She has attended various continuing education courses including topics such as feeding, sensory integration, and primitive reflex integration.
In her free time Ashton enjoys reading, travel, local coffee shops, the outdoors and any new adventure she and her husband, Sam, can come up with.
Sarah Katherine (SK) Mills
FWB STAFF
SK graduated from the University of Mississippi with a BS in Psychology and Spanish in 2017. She pursued a career in Occupational Therapy and graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2020. SK has experience in outpatient pediatrics and early intervention services. She became interested in pediatric occupational therapy as a 6th grader and gained experience during her clinical rotations in Memphis, TN and Jackson, MS. She is a certified adaptive swim instructor for children with autism and also holds a DIR/floortime certification. She is licensed in MS and FL and is national board certified.
SK enjoys spending time with her goldenddoodle Stella, traveling and time at the lake with her family.