About Dr. Cara
Koscinski
Cara is an accomplished occupational therapist, writer, speaker, teacher and overall advocate for children with special needs.
EXPERTISE & HISTORY
Pursuing Innovative Care
Cara is passionate and excited about providing evidence-based treatment to children seeking occupational therapy. She forms partnerships between caregiver and therapist, which enables children to achieve their goals much faster. Using a child’s strengths in therapy helps with co-regulation and improved outcomes.
Part of her passion for occupational therapy and children with special needs comes from her own experience. Cara’s boys are both autistic. Her younger son has mitochondrial disease and complex medical history. Cara sought out services to benefit the boys but was unable to find any therapy centers that provided both quality therapy for autism and sensory processing disorder that also provided direct coaching to parents for carryover of treatment. So, she decided to create her own.
After founding her own successful pediatric clinic in Pittsburgh, Cara moved on to teaching pediatric programs for MOT and OTD students at the university level. Today, Cara continues her pursuit of providing quality therapy material in a variety of formats for OTs and caregivers alike.
Accomplishments
Distinctions
- Member of the American Occupational Therapy Association
- Registered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
- Lead professor in MOT/OTD clinical applications in pediatrics course at university level
- Occupational Therapy advisor to Autism, Asperger, and Sensory Digest Magazine (since 2013)
- Cara was a featured guest for the ANDERSON Cooper national television show discussing eosinophilic disorders
- Recipient of the Duquesne University’s Innovative Practice Entrepreneur Award
- Served as an adjunct clinical instructor at Duquesne University’s Occupational Therapy program
- Extensive training in sensory processing disorder, core and posture, oculo-motor rehabilitation, autism, gastrointestinal disorders, upper extremity treatment, handwriting, Therapeutic Listening, caregiver stressors and support, visual perception, and business/private practice topics
- Created Sound-Eaze and School-Eaze CDs for kids with fear of loud noises
Publications
- Published in AutismAsperger’s Digest, ADDitude Magazine, Autism Spectrum Quarterly, AutismFile, APFED, Autism Parenting Magazine, Something Special Magazine, Parents, San Francisco Parent, and NewsLine, among others
Achievements
- Certified Autism Specialist (CAS) by the International Board of Credentialing
- US Autism Association’s Annual Conference
- Future Horizons Autism Conferences
- Trauma-Informed Schools Conferences
- OCALICON
- The Autism Society of America’s Annual Conference
- Presents continuing education courses for
- OccupationalTherapy.com
- Home CEU Connection
- Many universities and groups across US
- State OT association annual conferences
Cara’s Mission
Empower pediatric occupational therapy practitioners through engaging, evidence-based resources and continuing education courses.
Learning for Life
Creating integrative learning experiences through in-person and recorded programming to develop professional and clinical reasoning.
Integrating Care
Fostering a strengths-based approach when working with children and families affected by special needs.
Critically Thinking
Empowering clinicians to utilize new OT research and current evidence to inform their decisions.
Unified Goals
Promoting use of the latest AOTA Framework to help clinicians create effective and measurable treatment plans.
Tailored Resources
Utilizing multiple methods (videos, handouts, workbooks, self-reflection activities) to maximize learning to meet unique needs of each participant.
Community Engagement
Grow and evolve through consistent learner feedback and review of best practices in occupational therapy guided by the latest research.
Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions
Our self-paced distance learning independent courses are designed so that you can view course materials when it’s convenient for you. Self-paced courses are available to you for 180 days (6 months). They include a downloadable version of the slides, workbook, and any video links required during the course. When you’re finished, click on the post-test link provided in your course materials. A certificate for AOTA CEUs will be provided.
Affiliate courses are those Cara teaches and delivers in-person or remotely through other companies such as OccupationalTherapy.com, Future Horizons, state therapy conferences, and national organizations. Please contact the support team for each organization for technical questions and duplicate certificates as Cara does not have access to them.
All of our courses are AOTA approved for continuing education. Since each state’s policies on CEU approval vary, it is up to each therapist to check his/her state requirements and regulations.
The Pocket Occupational Therapist will keep a record of your CE courses. This includes all complete, incomplete, and pending coursework. When applicable, transcript services may include reporting to professional associations and/or state licensure boards. While The Pocket Occupational Therapist will make all reasonable efforts to offer CE credit for its courses, it is not responsible for state or national, or regulatory current policies or changes in CE requirements that may make courses ineligible for CE credits.
Once a course payment goes through our system, you will see the course you purchased in your course dashboard. Please add info@pocketot.com to your accepted email address list so you receive updates for office hours or information related to your course.
The Pocket Occupational Therapist uses a course platform that records the date and times of each completed module you take. Each module has a short checkpoint quiz that you must pass with a score of 80% or higher.
At the end of the course, you will take an online post-test and must score 80% or higher to earn continuing education credit. You will be required to sign an attestation statement after the post-test.
You must complete the entire course; partial credit is not allowed.
Absolutely! We love providing group rates. Please email Cara at ThePocketOT@gmail.com with the number of attendees in your group. You will receive 15% for 4 attendees, 20% for 5-8 attendees, and 30% for 8 or more. For larger groups of 30+, please email Cara for package rates.
Yes! As long as you can use PayPal or a credit card, and have internet access, you may purchase a course. Please understand that it is your responsibility to know your country’s specific requirements for continuing education.
Accommodations will be made in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have other special learning needs, please email ThePocketOT@gmail.com before registering for our courses.
Refunds will be issued within 14 days of purchase or if no more than 3 modules have been completed. There will be no refunds after this time due to the self-paced nature of the course.
You may request a full-refund or transfer your registration to another course of equal value.
Concerns/complaints should be emailed directly to ThePocketOT@gmail.com
If the live course is canceled by the instructor, you will be given the option of a full
refund or access to a recorded version of the course.
Absolutely! Cara is available to come to your location. She speaks regularly across the US and offers courses available for in-person or via meeting software for your group. Cara has provided courses ranging from 1 to 8.5 hours in length and courses for groups include post-tests to achieve passing scores. Please contact us to hire Cara for your group.
Contact us at ThePocketOT@gmail.com
