Meet the Team

Charity Higgins, MOT, OTR/L, ASDCS

Occupational Therapist, Owner

Charity has been working in the pediatric OT field since 2007. Since getting her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, she has worked in a variety of pediatric settings including private practice, daycare’s, public and private schools, and homes. Puttential, Inc. was created in 2009 with the vision of integrating Occupational Therapy and the game of golf. Later, in 2013, Kidz Therapy Zone was established to better serve clients sensory and developmental needs. The therapy clinic allows for greater Sensory Integration interventions and co treating with Speech and Language therapists. KTZ offers services in a warm, friendly, and positive environment. With continuing education in Sensory Processing and Regulation, Therapeutic Listening, Interactive Metronome, Handwriting Without Tears, Vision Therapy and Reflex Integration principles, Charity and her colleagues treat children of all ages and skill levels with a holistic approach to maximize learning and development. Charity and her staff have a passion for helping children reach their highest potential.

Outside of KTZ, Charity enjoys watching her son play baseball, and helping her daughter make slime (she is a slime guru!).

Mariela Rivera, COTA/L

Mariela completed her studies at Keiser University and became a COTA/L in 2011. Since earning her certification, she has worked solely with the pediatric population, providing services in an outpatient clinic, home health and in school settings. She is trained in Interactive Metronome, and the Handwriting Without Tears programs. Other continuing education courses have focused on Sensory Processing Disorders and Sensory Integration.

She has a passion for the profession and for helping children make improvements that will undoubtedly change their life. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and the outdoors.

Kristy Gillham, OTR/L

Kristy is a national and State of Florida licensed and certified Occupational Therapist. She completed her studies at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa and became an OTR/L in 1998.  Since certification, she has worked in both the pediatric and adult populations. Kristy has worked with children in a variety of settings including outpatient clinic, schools, daycares, and home health. 

Kristy and her family moved to Florida from Illinois in July 2019.  She was previously early intervention credentialed in Illinois and has recently become credentialed to provide early intervention services in Florida. Kristy has experience and training in Handwriting Without Tears, Sensory Processing Disorders, Sensory Integration, Autism, and ADHD.  Kristy loves helping families and children improve their daily life and achieve their goals.

Erline Massillon, OTD, OTR/L

Erline earned her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in 2022. Her professional experience includes working with pediatric clients aged 6 months and older, addressing a spectrum of diagnoses such as ASD, ADHD, SPD, and Down's Syndrome across outpatient and school-based environments. She is passionate about sensory integration and its pivotal role in developmental and functional capabilities.

Erline, a bilingual Haitian-American native to Orlando, Florida, maintains a vibrant personal life. She actively pursues fitness, relishes time with her family—especially her three nieces and nephew—and delights in exploring new cuisines, cooking, reading, and watching movies.

Allison Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Allison is a national and Florida licensed, certified Speech-Language Pathologist from Upstate New York. She graduated from Syracuse University with a Masters of Science Degree in Speech and Language Pathology in 2018. Since then, she has worked in both pediatric and adult settings. Allison is passionate about helping children strengthen their ability and confidence to communicate. She is experienced with Receptive and Expressive Language Disorders, Speech Sound Disorders, Stuttering/Fluency Disorders, Pragmatic Language Disorders, and Feeding/Swallowing Disorders.

During her free time, Allison enjoys spending time with family, watching sports, and going to Disney.

Josh Cammarn, M.S., CCC-SLP

Josh is a licensed and certified speech and language therapist. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Central Florida in 2017 and a master’s degree in communication disorders from Emerson College in 2020.

Josh is deeply committed to empowering children and promoting their autonomy and self-advocacy. With experience in evaluating and fostering communication, he feels honored to collaborate with individuals with complex communication needs, particularly those who may benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Josh is an enthusiastic and compassionate therapist who is constantly refining his therapy style to ensure strengths-based, neurodiversity-informed, and learner-centered approaches that affirm the ambitions of every child. Through his work, Josh strives to create a warm and welcoming environment where every child feels supported, empowered, and inspired to communicate and connect with others.

Miranda Fauladi, M.S., CCC-SLP

Miranda is a committed Speech-Language Pathologist from Indiana with a Master's of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Saint Mary's College (2021). My professional experience spans both adult and pediatric care, though my true passion lies in pediatric speech therapy, particularly language development.

She specialize in treating a range of conditions, including mixed receptive/expressive language disorders, language delays, speech sound disorders, AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) implementation, feeding disorders, pragmatic language issues, and fluency disorders. My approach is holistic and play-based, tailoring treatment plans to the unique needs of each child to enhance communication and overall quality of life. I am dedicated to collaborating with the entire therapeutic team to ensure the best outcomes for each child.

Outside of work, she enjoy reading, running races, traveling, and cheering for the Orlando Magic. Play the song!

Shai Gazga, B.A. SLPA

Shai is a Spanish-English speaking Speech-Language Pathology Assistant, born in Acapulco, Mexico and moved to Naples, FL at the age of 5. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with her Bachelors degree in December of 2019. During her undergraduate studies she gained experience volunteering with members of the UCF Aphasia Family and Brain Fitness Academy, working with early-stage dementia patients. She has since worked in the pediatric private practice and PPEC setting, gaining experience in providing therapy services to children with diagnoses including, Autism, developmental speech delays and feeding disorders.

She enjoys spending quality time with family, including her 4 nieces, traveling back home and attending church on Sundays. She is passionate about helping people find their voices and giving people a variety of opportunities/resources to communicate their wants and needs. Her current areas of interests include AAC devices, second-language acquisition, and articulation.

Michelle Garcia-Mendoza, B.A. SLPA, B.S Biomedical Science

Michelle obtained a dual degree at the University of Central Florida. A Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science. She is a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation scholar, and a member of the American Association for Cancer Research. Michelle has performed research on DNA barcoding plant species and has an innate ability to piece information together, allowing her to reach goals quickly. Michelle values building relationships, understanding her patient's needs, and tailoring interventions to each individual. Michelle uses American Sign Language and has worked as a pediatric SLPA treating patients both in Spanish and English. She is currently obtaining her master’s degree at the University of Central Florida. In her free time, Michelle enjoys working on puzzles, working out, playing tennis, bike riding, going to the beach and spending time with her family.

Susan Mayton, ITDS

Susan is a certified Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist (ITDS), with 25+ years’ experience in Early Childhood service. She has served as Social Worker, Home & Center Based Teacher/Lead Teacher, Program Director, COO, and Independent Contractor. Her favorite role has always been Early Educator/Family Mentor. She considers it an honor to be invited into a home and trusted to support the family as their child’s best teacher, developing interventions that will shape a young child’s love for learning.

Susan has a BSW degree in Clinical Social Work from SUNY Albany; and, a special certificate Masters in Early Education Visual Impairment from FSU. She has worked with children experiencing a range of DD, such as Cerebral Palsy, ASD, Down Syndrome, Communications Disorder, Cognitive Delay, Motor Delay, Medical Fragility with Delay, Vision Impairment & Blindness. She believes that the best teaching begins with the best evaluation, and so has pursued extra training in this. Together with a team, she published a family friendly process for evaluating young children with DD, and trained this process to teachers and evaluators throughout Florida under contract with the Florida Department of Education. This has led to her special passion for working with children who are coping with highly unique challenges, calling for innovative teaching strategies.

Susan is inspired and humbled on a daily basis by her very own superhero, her son Joshua who lives joyfully, while coping with Tuberous Sclerosis!