In addition to being on staff as a physical therapist, Eliette is also the Clinical Director of KidTherapy. Before receiving her Masters of Physical Therapy at Southwest Texas State University, she received a Masters of Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Since graduating as a physical therapist, she has had experience in various pediatric therapy fields, including outpatient, home health, and early childhood intervention programs, and has treated children with a multitude of diagnoses affecting their movement abilities. She uses therapeutic techniques such as cardiovascular endurance training, neuro-muscular re-education, serial casting, therapeutic taping, therapeutic exercise, and sensory integrative techniques to assist each child’s progress with motor skills. Eliette believes strongly in open communication between referring physicians, parents, and therapists so that every person in the child’s healthcare team is working together for the child’s benefit.
Niharika Received a Masters of Physical Therapy from Manipal University after receiving her Bachelors in Physical Therapy from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. In 2020, she graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Michigan in Flint, Michigan. Her clinical experience includes acute care, impatient trauma, surgery, and pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. She has alos had experience in both outpatient hospital and clinical settings. She really enjoys working with children diagnosed with genetic disorders, cerebral palsy and other developmental disorders. She has a passion for working with infants and toddlers under the age of 3. She believes in using principals of neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) , functional strength training and purposeful play techniques. Niharika has been in Austin since 2017. She enjoys reading and writing and speaks 6 different languages! She has always had a passion for children and this passion is what originally had her study physical therapy.
Clayton moved to Austin after graduating from Florida International University with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2021. With his studies, he has obtained clinical experience in orthopedics, pediatrics and acute care. His clinical interests are working with children with toriticollis, cerebral palsy, as well as orthopedic limitations. Clayton uses treatment techniques such as manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, and joint mobilizations in order to help his clients achieve their goals. Clayton is passionate in striving to help all his clients and their families reach their full potential. A little tid-bit about Clayton is that he is the eldest of 5 brothers. He attributes his competitive spirit to this fact.
Cheryl decided on a profession in physical therapy after volunteering in the physical therapy department at the UW hospital in Madison, Wisconsin during her middle school years, and has never looked back. Her initial clinical work included acute care and rehab hospitals as well as nursing homes. After receiving her pediatric NDT (Neuro-Developmental Treatment) certification, Cheryl decided to specialize in working with young children and infants with neurological and developmental disorders. She later received further specialization in the NDT approach to treating babies and continued to work with infants and young children with a wide variety of diagnoses in public school settings, Parent-Infant and Early Childhood programs, outpatient clinics, and the NICU. Cheryl owned her own pediatric therapy clinic in McAllen, Texas for 22 years during which time she provided follow-up screenings and treatment services to graduates of the NICU there as well as treatment services to children with torticollis, Erb’s palsy, orthopedic, developmental, and neurological disorders. She has also worked with children with sensory integrative disorders. Cheryl and her husband moved to the Austin area in the fall of 2010 to be closer to their grown children and the grand children that have come along the last several years. She began working at Kidtherapy in the fall of 2011. Cheryl continues to enjoy working with children and their families to assist children in developing their motor skills to their fullest potential. She believes that early intervention and parental involvement have proven to have the greatest positive impact on a young child’s development and has committed her professional practice to that ideology.