Where do we begin?

It has been a long journey to get here. This website is a labor of love between my wife and I. We are both Pediatric Occupational Therapists who are passionate about helping others and sharing valuable information.

Who are we?

I will begin by saying that my first name is Miller; I know some of you might be thinking, “That is an uncommon first name!!!”. I was born and raised in Colombia and came to the United States in my late teenage years. I graduated from Hunter College in New York City (NYC) with a BS in Biomedical Lab Sciences in 2002. After working as a lab technologist for several years, I needed a career change and professional growth. So I returned to school to study Occupational Therapy (OT). I graduated with a M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Mercy College in 2009. Initially, I started working in an acute and outpatient rehabilitation setting. Then, I went to sub-acute rehabilitation and later ventured into pediatric OT.  I have worked as an OT in various school districts on Long Island. It was a big adjustment from working with the adult population to a pediatric population. However, I can assure you that I do not regret it at all! Both areas of practice are challenging and rewarding in their own way. I have learned, gained knowledge, and met so many wonderful people throughout my career that I can not help but consider myself blessed to be an OT. Now let’s introduce my wife…  

Now that you know a little about my husband, let me introduce myself. My name is Esther and I am of Puertorican descent.  I was born and raised in NYC.  I spent several years living in Puerto Rico and came back to live in NYC in order to go to Queens College to obtain my BA. My career trajectory is slightly different from my husbands. Very early in my career, I started off as a Bilingual Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped ( Bil TSHH) serving children from a lower socio-economic background. I have my BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Psychology. In addition, I earned my TSHH and Bilingual extension which allowed me to work with Spanish speaking children. When it was time to go back to school to earn my Master’s degree, two co-workers (a physical therapist and occupational therapist) noticed I had a keen interest in both of their disciplines. They challenged me to look into their fields and decide between the three disciplines. I accepted the challenge, did some research and shortly afterwards realized that I was leaning more towards OT. As a result, I decided to apply to an OT program and the rest is history!  In 2008, I obtained a BS in Health Sciences and an MS in Occupational Therapy. At the time of writing this introduction, I have been working in this field for a little over 13 years and absolutely love it! I have had the opportunity to train and work in: schools, homes, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, early intervention, as well as head start and nursery programs. 

Being able to work in so many settings and help so many people has encouraged us to use this forum to become a beacon of knowledge and hope for those individuals and/ or caregivers who wish to make a positive change in the world of their students, children, and/or loved ones. 

Why are we doing this?

We are passionate about our work!

We have learned a great deal of information and continue to learn more within our practice as Occupational Therapy Practitioners, so we felt compelled to share our knowledge and experience with others. It is disheartening to see parents, teachers, and caregivers struggle to help their students and loved ones succeed and not know where to begin. It’s also very challenging to observe students struggle and fall behind in a class of 30 because the correct resources/support systems are not available and are not in place. These are some of the reasons for why we decided to launch this site.

Our mission:

It is simple!!!

Mechanics of OT is an occupational therapy blog created to empower therapists, teachers, and parents by sharing information and resources to help promote independence and improve function in children.