Keith Landherr, M.A., O.T.
Director of Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy Inc.
Occupational Therapist
Certified DIR Floortime® Trainer
You can find me at both the Burnaby and Richmond clinics!
Our therapists value teamwork and professional development opportunities to make treatment successful and cost-effective for families.
All of the Occupational Therapists + Speech-Language Pathologists at Little Buddies hold a Masters or Bachelor’s Degree in their respective fields. Our therapists are approved or supervised by the Registry of Autism and Service Providers (RASP) and are fully licensed and registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia (COTBC) and the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia (CSHBC). Keith is a graduate of New York University's (NYU) Occupational Therapy Program and has over 25 years experience as an Occupational Therapist. Keith has advanced training in Sensory Integration, Multiple Therapeutic Learning Systems, Neuro-Development Treatment, and is a certified DIR Floortime Trainer. He initially trained at Babies and Children's Hospital of New York City. He has presented to child development centres in British Columbia and New York City, and has provided lectures for ICDL's DIR Floortime Training Program, New York City Department of Education, Babies and Children's Hospital of New York, and as an adjunct professor of Occupational Therapy at NYU. Keith has training and experience in treating sensory processing differences in individuals from birth through adulthood in early intervention programs, school-based services and private Occupational Therapy clinics. Keith is the Director and founder of Little Buddies pediatric Therapy Incorporated, where he strives to prove family-centred treatment to children and families while honouring their unique histories and individual differences. Keith is currently a Ph.D. student in the Fielding Graduate School's Infant and Child Development program.
Alysha Paiaro, M.O.T.
Assistant Director of Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy Inc.
Occupational Therapist
Certified Proficient DIR Floortime® Practitioner & Registered PLAY Project™ Consultant
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Following graduation from the University of British Columbia in 2016 with a Master's in Occupational Therapy, Alysha joined Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy where she is now Assistant Director. Her life-long love of learning has driven her to complete post-graduate education in sensory integration, trauma & attachment, pediatric feeding & swallowing, therapeutic listening, and neuro-developmental treatment. It was at Little Buddies where she developed a passion for integrating the holistic DIR Floortime approach into her practice and has become a Proficient DIR Floortime Provider and Registered PLAY Project Consultant. She is proud to be the Assistant Director of Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy where neurodiversity is celebrated and holistic, relationship-based, person-affirming treatment is provided to children and their families.
Megan MacKay, M.Sc., RSLP, BCBA
Speech-Language Pathologist and Behaviour Analyst
Certified in It Takes Two to Talk® and ABC and Beyond®
You can find me at the Richmond clinic!
Megan graduated from the University British Columbia (UBC) with a Masters in the Speech Sciences program from the Faculty of Medicine and a specialization in the Special Education program from the Faculty of Education. She has 20 years of experience working as a Speech-Language Pathologist and Behaviour Analyst. Megan has advanced training in Early Start
Denver Model, SOS feeding program, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Advanced Literacy program, SCERTS®, Hanen: It take two to talk and ABC and Beyond. She has extensive experience working with children with autism and other developmental delays. Megan’s approach to therapy is family-centred care with a mix of child lead play-based therapy
and adult-directed ABA. Megan is very active in the SLP community and holds a position on the
Board for Speech and Hearing BC. When she is not working, Megan enjoys spending time with
her family, including her three young boys. Sasha Wertheim M.A., RSLP, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
You can find me at the Burnaby and Richmond clinics!
Sasha received her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from San José State University in San José, California in 2007. Sasha's primary goal is to improve the lives of individuals with complex communication needs and their families. She has worked in both clinical and school settings to support children and young adults with complex communication needs through direct service and consultation models. Sasha specializes in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and has experience supporting children with a wide variety of needs, including Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Oral Apraxia. She is a strong proponent of strengths-based, child-led therapy for Autistic individuals and continues to pursue learning in the areas of Gestalt Language Acquisition and Autistic social communication that supports authenticity and acceptance of the needs of Autistic individuals. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Lower Mainland with her husband and dog, and finding ways to approach life with curiosity and creativity.
Devin Bennett, M.Sc., O.T.
Occupational Therapist.
Registered PLAY Project™ Consultant
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Devin is a graduate of the Dalhousie University, Master of Occupational Therapy Program. Devin is a certified Basic DIR Floortime Practitioner and has also completed postgraduate courses and programs including Integrated Listening Systems (iLs) and Embracing and Understanding Individual Differences Workshop with Rosemary White. He is in the process of completing the Play Project Certification Course which is a course designed to support families to help their children reach their full potential through play. Since beginning with Little Buddies Devin has worked with a variety of different diagnoses including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and children with complex behavioural challenges. He is committed to learning each child’s overall profile and providing the necessary care for them to reach their maximal potential.
Sarah Semeniuk M.O.T., B.Kin
Occupational Therapist
Certified Basic DIR Floortime® Practitioner
You can find me at the Richmond clinic!
Sarah graduated with a Masters in Occupational Therapy from the University of British Columbia in 2020 after completing her Bachelor's of Kinesiology at the University of Victoria in 2014. Sarah has previous experience working as a Behavioural Interventionist and Team Leader at a group home where she provided 1:1 care to children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is passionate about providing family-centred, holistic care that focuses on the individual and unique attributes of the child. Sarah is committed to creating a fun and safe space for children to play and develop social, emotional, and functional skills so that they can participate in activities that are meaningful to them. Sarah values ongoing learning and has attended workshops focusing on Trauma-Informed Practice and Core Emotion-Focused Family
Therapy and has completed her certification as a Basic DIR Floortime Practitioner. Alexandra Boran, M.Sc., O.T.
Occupational Therapist
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Alex graduated with a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Alberta in 2019. Prior to this, she completed her Bachelor of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto in 2017. Alex spent the first two and a half years of her occupational therapy career working in private practice with adults who were experiencing various physical and mental health challenges. Alex’s longtime passion for working with children led her to excitedly transition to working at Little Buddies in January of 2023. To further her practice knowledge in pediatrics, Alex completed the Embracing and Understanding Individual Differences workshop presented by Rosemary White, as well as the SOS Approach to Feeding course. Alex intends to utilise this practice knowledge in combination with her passion for child-led, family-centred care to facilitate the achievement of clients’ occupational therapy goals. Alex highly values each child’s individual needs, and strives to highlight each child’s unique strengths in the development of a safe and engaging environment wherein her clients develop skills, learn, and play! Alex is a certified SOS Trained Therapist, and she intends to become a certified Basic DIR Floortime provider to further her skills in relationship-focused, play-based occupational therapy.
Randall Haime
Occupational Therapist
You can find me at the Richmond clinic!
Randall is a father of 3, a lifelong learner and a graduate of the UBC Master of Occupational Therapy Program. He has worked with kids as an OT, teacher, physical education teacher, program coordinator, and coach for over 30 years. Randall also has a Bachelor of Kinesiology, Bachelor of Education, Master of Science in Multidisciplinary Learning and a Post Graduate Certificate in Sensory Integration. Randall was an educator and lived and worked in South Korea, Colombia, Bahamas, China, Thailand, UK, and Angola. He is on the Registry for Autism Service Providers (RASP) list, and recent professional development courses include SOS Feeding, ICDL Floortime Training, Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP), Praxis, Reconciliation Education, Anxiety for Kids, Learning Without Tears to name a few. Randall works with kiddos across the age span. He is highly engaged in working with kiddos with neurodevelopmental challenges and collaborating on ways to increase participation and meaningful occupation, validate and extend a love for play and build a growth mindset.
Deeksha Kumari, M.Sc. OT
Occupational Therapist
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Deeksha graduated with a Master of Occupational Therapy from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, in 2021. Prior to this, she completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at the same university in 2018, laying a strong foundation for her career in this field. Before moving to Canada, Deeksha gained valuable experience as a community Occupational Therapist, allowing her to work closely with individuals in their own environment, providing personalized support to help them regain independence, and improve quality of life. Additionally, Deeksha worked in a pediatric clinic, where she specialized in addressing the unique needs of children using a family-centred approach. In her free time, Deeksha can be found exploring Vancouver hiking trails, taking care of her plants, drawing, and painting.
Damilola Alashe
Occupational Therapist
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2023 with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy.
Prior to this completed my bachelor’s in human Physiology at Babcock University, Nigeria in 2017.
Prior to obtaining my masters I worked for 2 years as an occupational therapist intern with school based
Occupational Therapists, working with children and youths with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Downs
Syndrome as well as Cerebral Palsy to develop foundational skills to engage in day-to-day activities.
I see each child and family as unique and work towards highlighting each child’s strengths in a
therapeutic environment where they can develop confidence in themselves and eventually in their
abilities.
Giovanni Godoy, B.Sc.
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Certified Proficient DIR Floortime® Practitioner
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Gio is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and is a certified Registered Behaviour Technician.
He was born in Honduras and moved to the United States at eleven years old, he is bilingual in both Spanish and English.
Growing up, he was always passionate about science and always found the human body pretty interesting, especially the brain. Gio has been working with autistic children for over four years. He is very passionate about this field and hopes to grow and make an impact in Occupational Therapy. He is a certified Floortime practitioner and has completed his DIR 202: Promoting Higher Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities. Kwiryung Kim
Occupational Therapy Assistant
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Kwi graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science, Department of Occupational Therapy from Nagasaki University, Japan, in 2020. Before moving to Canada, Kwi worked as an Occupational Therapist at the Child Developmental Support Facility, which mainly uses Sensory Integration Therapy, with children and families who had diverse needs for two years. Prior to this work experience, Kwi had been joining the Pediatric Occupational Therapy Sessions as a student volunteer for four years at the same office. Through these 6 years, Kwi gained precious experience with a wide range of clients from toddlers to youth, and developed her interest in children's supportive environment in other countries and decided to come to Canada. After moving to Canada, Kwi started studying Early Childhood Education as a first step in her new journey and received an ECE license. Kwi finished the Infant & Toddler Education and Special Needs diploma as well as the Basic ECE courses and developed her knowledge of the fundamentals of the growth of children. Also, she worked with youth who have a variety of needs as an Integration Support Worker using community resources in Vancouver. Kwi, fortunately, met this opportunity to work as an OTA at Little Buddies and restarted to develop her career in this field. In her free time, Kwi loves to watch movies, dance, and listen to music.
Clare Urquhart
Occupational Therapy Assistant
You can find me at the Richmond clinic!
Clare is an OT assistant at our Richmond clinic. She has been working with us since 2019, previously working as our office manager. Clare is currently completing her Bachelor of Kinesiology at Capilano University, with plans to complete her Master of Occupational Therapy in the future. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, creating embroidery artwork, and always finding new things to learn. Clare is a certified SOS Feeding therapist and strives to create meaningful relationships with our clients through laughter and play.
Yara Berron Garcia
Occupational Therapy Assistant
You can find me at the Burnaby and Richmond clinics!
Yara is a dedicated person who pursued a career in medicine because of her passion for helping others. She studied back in Mexico and worked as a doctor for three years. However, Yara wanted to explore new interests and broaden her horizons, so she moved to Vancouver, and enrolled in the Kinesiology program at Langara College to deepen her understanding of the human body. Yara is also a creative person who enjoys craft activities like building Lego and miniature projects. She finds this artistic outlet helps her relax and be creative. Yara is also passionate about nature and animals, and actively engages in environmental activities. She believes in the power of empathy and compassion and strives to make a positive impact on the lives of others. With her diverse range of interests and genuine love for helping others, Yara embraces every opportunity to contribute to the well-being of everyone she encounters.
Agnes Tam
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant
You can find me at the Burnaby and Richmond clinics!
Agnes graduated with a Master of Speech-Language Pathology from the Education University
of Hong Kong in 2020. Before moving to Canada, she worked as a Speech Therapist for over three years in private clinics, community centres, schools, and aged-care homes. Her experience expanded significantly as she worked with clients spanning various age groups, including toddlers and older adults, resulting in valuable insights gained. After moving to Canada,
Agnes is now striving to become a certified SLP in Canada, as she is passionate about joining the community of speech and hearing health professionals and positively impacting the field. Agnes is passionate about nature and art. She enjoys visiting museums and hiking. She is also curious about new things. and recently got her scuba diving license.
Leah Roberts
Occupational Therapy Assistant
You can find me at the Burnaby clinic!
Leah has recently joined the Little Buddies team as an OTA, after volunteering for the past year. She is currently studying at Simon Fraser University and is finishing up her bachelor’s degree with honours in Health Sciences. Leah has always been passionate about health, and enjoys learning about certain aspects including health promotion, sports injuries, maternal and child health, and mental health. In her free time, Leah likes being active by playing sports such as soccer and tennis, spending time with her dog, family, and friends, gardening, cooking, and baking. She is also a huge soccer fan and watches games regularly. Leah is looking forward to making meaningful connections with the children at Little Buddies, and helping support their needs, and overall well being