About Wild & Free OT, LLC
Wild & Free OT, LLC’s vision is to provide nature-based programming and make it inclusive and accessible to all children. There are many benefits of nature for children and adults including the following: increasing psychological and physical wellness of children and adults, influencing emotional and cognitive health well-being, engaging intentionally in nature through activities such as gardening is linked to decreased stress responses and increases in mood, participation in outdoor recreation activities is associated with perceived emotional well-being, increasing attention & decreased attentional fatigue, and increasing physical energy & vitality.
Nature-based programming provides sessions outside and reaps all the benefits of the great outdoors! It is child-led so that kids are having fun and improving skills in a natural environment. I am trained in the ConTiGO Approach (Connection & Transformation in the Great Outdoors) which is a practice model to guide nature-based occupational therapy intervention for children.
There is limited programming for children with and without disabilities in a nature-based setting, and Wild & Free OT is here to change that! Nature-based programming can provide children of all abilities with many benefits and keep them engaged and having fun at the same time!
Shannon Kerns
Occupational Therapist
My name is Shannon Kerns and I am a pediatric occupational therapist in Brunswick, Ohio. I have been an occupational therapist for 10 years. The majority of my experience has been in school-based therapy, where I worked in public schools, private schools, and a school specifically for autistic students. Prior to occupational therapy school, I worked in a community recreation program where I took groups of children and adults with various disabilities into the community. I also worked as a group home assistant manager, working with adults with profound intellectual disabilities. All of my work has fueled my passion for working with people of all functioning levels to improve their independence and overall quality of life. The goal for my next venture is nature-based programming where the focus is to connect children with nature where they can engage in meaningful tasks, all while improving attention, sensory processing, fine motor skills, and more! I am a mother of two young children, and have seen firsthand the positive effects of nature on children. One of my children has a developmental disability, and I have always noticed that she works on therapy skills outdoors without even knowing it and way more willingly than when we are inside. Nature has been an important part of our journey, and I am hoping to bring it to more children!