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!).

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.

Tenley DeLong, OTD, OTR/L

Tenley is a national and state certified Occupational Therapist from Little Rock, Arkansas. She graduated with her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from the University of Central Arkansas in August of 2020. She has experience with both children and adults in the outpatient, school, and hospital settings. Tenley has training and experience in DIR Floortime, sensory feeding strategies, Integrated Listening Systems, Handwriting Without Tears, Sensory Integration, and neurological based strategies.

Tenley just recently moved to Florida from Little Rock due to her love of the area and all it has to offer. She loves helping her clients maximize their potential, gain confidence in their skills, and empower children and families to reach their goals.

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.

Jennifer Green, COTA/L

Jenna is a native Floridian born & raised in Central Florida. She graduated from the Daytona State College OTA program in 2018 with high honors. Since then she has worked with both adult and pediatric patients in a variety of settings, including inpatient rehab, PPEC’s, schools, and homes. Pediatrics has become her passion and she strives in every session to support and promote each child's emotional, physical, and social development so they may grow to their full potential. Her continuing education courses include Handwriting Without Tears, The Zones of Regulation, and The Pediatric Feeding Institutes Mealtime Miseries workshop.

When not in the clinic, Jenna can be found outdoors with her family. They enjoy camping, playing at the beach, and hiking in local state parks. Additional hobbies & interests include yoga, gardening, and kayaking.

Hannah Mohabir, COTA/L

Hannah is a Florida native, born and raised in central Florida. She graduated from AdventHealth University’s OTA program in 2021 with Magna Cum Laude. Since then, she has worked with the pediatric population in the Orlando area providing care in schools, daycares and homes. Hannah has experience with sensory processing disorders, developmental delays, Autism, ADHD, medically fragile and feeding therapy. She loves to problem solve, be creative and learn new things in order to provide the best care for her clients. She wants every child that she works with to feel loved, seen and safe allowing them to achieve their full potential.

Outside of the therapy world Hannah loves to workout with an emphasis on kickboxing. Attends Mosaic in Winter Garden. Enjoys trying new food, going to bible study and spending time with her friends and family.

Sharon Ramkarran, M.S. CCC-SLP

Sharon considers herself a Florida native although she moved here from New York when she was 4 years old. She grew up in the Central Florida area and always maintained the desire to give back to her community. Sharon graduated from University of Central Florida with her Master's of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology in 2011 and completed her Clinical Fellowship at a skilled nursing facility in St. Augustine, Florida. She has worked in both the pediatric and adult settings with various populations including: traumatic brain injury, strokes, dysarthria, apraxia, head and neck cancer, autism, Alzheimer's disease, and Down's Syndrome. She is licensed in Florida, a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association, and is certified in Vital Stim.

Sharon is currently pursuing a certification in feeding and swallowing to better serve her clients' needs. In September 2020, Sharon received the ACE award from the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association for completing 70 hours of continuing education within a 36 month period. This award is a formal recognition that is bestowed to those within the speech-language pathology and audiology fields that pursue professional learning that goes beyond an academic degree. It is a testament to Sharon's dedication towards providing the best, most current, and evidence based treatment approaches to her clients at Kidz Therapy Zone.

Diana J.Goodwin, MA, CCC-SLP

Diana comes to us with a wealth of knowledge with national and international undergraduate/graduate school training and then 30 years of hospital based outpatient clinic experience at Baycare. She has a love for language whether it’s establishing the first few words, exploring preliteracy skills to promote reading proficiency, teaching English to adults or regaining lost language skills following a stroke. She trained with a pioneer in pragmatics and has retained that interest in the importance of social skill development in the ASD population by establishing social skills groups. She likes to use a combination of the latest tech, currently incorporating the use of Forbrain in her therapy, and good old fashioned common sense, such as parent participation, to maximize progress.

To help her daughter with her growing family, Diana and her husband recently moved from the Tampa area to Davenport. She also enjoys aerobic gardening, gourmet cooking, flower designing, biking and caring for her furry babies, including 2 rescue doxies.;

Naiceli A. Almaguer, M.S, CCC-SLP

Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist (Spanish)

Naiceli is a bilingual certified Speech-Language Pathologist who recently graduated from Florida International University with her Masters in 2019. Since then she has worked in a pediatric private practice setting in Miami, where she gained experience providing speech therapy in both English and Spanish. Naiceli has a big passion for working with children. Her favorite areas of Speech-Language Pathology are: receptive and expressive language disorders, social communication, speech sound disorders, and literacy.

Naiceli enjoys learning new concepts and techniques and looks forward to gaining even more knowledge about different areas in her field. She is committed to giving her patients engaging, effective, and evidence-based therapy in an effort to help them reach their highest potential. Most importantly, Naiceli loves giving back to her community and helping little ones find their voice.