Occupational Therapist & Owner @ Empowering Play, LLC

I am an occupational therapist serving children and their families in Austin, Texas and am the owner of Empowering Play, LLC. I am obsessed with child development, sensory integration, and psychology and love sharing what I’ve learned with others. I enjoy learning about the unique strengths and challenges of the families I work with and finding supportive strategies that work well for both the child and the caregiver.

I specialize in sensory processing and mental health challenges. I have experience working in a variety of settings, including an inclusive preschool, a juvenile detention center, an outpatient pediatric therapy clinic, a residential treatment center for children healing from trauma, and home health. I also have experience as a live-in respite care provider for individuals with special needs.

My experience in the caregiver role has enabled me to understand how chaotic it can be to care for individuals who are unable to express strong feelings in safe ways. I also understand how frustrating it can be to receive unhelpful advice from well-meaning professionals or family members who don’t understand what your day-to-day life is like. This experience enriches my ability to recognize the challenges my clients face and collaborate with them to make incremental changes over time to cultivate a more peaceful and joyful connection with their children.

Does Your Child…

• seem extra sensitive to their environment?
• have trouble noticing things that are obvious to you?
• have meltdowns that leave you feeling at a loss?
• struggle with coordination for physical activities?
• need more assistance than other kids their age for self-care tasks?

Occupational therapy can help! Schedule your free call at Empowering-play.com!

Lifestyle & Nutrition Doctor, former AWC Steering Committee Member

Dr. Lauryn Lax, OTD, NTP is a lifestyle & nutrition doctor on a mission to help people worldwide reinvent the way they look, move, feel and think.

As a Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Nutritionist, and Functional Medicine Practitioner, Lauryn’s work is inspired by her 20+ years of personal and clinical experience, spent recovering from several chronic and complex illnesses, including autoimmune disease, diabetes, IBS, hypothyroidism and eating disorders. After seeing over 20 doctors nationwide and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in efforts to diagnose and treat her conditions, with little help and few answers, Lauryn decided to take her health back into her own hands.

Through extensive study and research, continual self-experimentation, formal training, and her unrelenting faith and determination, she recovered from her debilitating chronic conditions. Since then, she’s made it her life mission to share what she learned with others and help them do the same, no matter their health challenge or struggle. Lauryn earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas, Doctorate at Belmont University in Nashville and continued her training in functional medicine under leader Chris Kresser and his Kresser Institute, as well as the Institute of Functional Medicine.

She lives in Austin, where she operates her private functional medicine and nutrition practice Thrive Wellness & Recovery and keeps her health journalism skills alive as well: blogging, podcasting, writing books and health articles for publications nationwide.

Occupational Therapist, & AWC Steering Committee Member

I am a Master’s level Occupational Therapist who graduated from OT school in 1981. I have worked as an OT in a wide variety of settings and still love my work!

Many years ago, I realized that people in pain do not want to do exercise. I started massaging my patients for a few minutes at the start of each treatment and found that I got a much better level of participation. Over the intervening years, I have developed my own method of using superficial myofascial release, a hands-on technique, to reduce pain and try to facilitate permanent soft tissue changes and healing.

I have also developed a technique for significantly reducing or even permanently eliminating phantom pain in amputees and have conducted research in this area.

One area of specialization that particularly appeals to me is working with folks on the Autism Spectrum (ASD) and children with learning disabilities using a sensory integrative approach.

I don’t have a website for my private practice, but I do see patient’s in their homes at an affordable rate. Please reach out through Facebook if you’re interested in setting up a consultation.

I look forward to learning of and participating with the group’s new and exciting ideas!