MEET THE TEAM
Get to Know Us
and Our Philosophy
Amy Kuhl, MSOT, OTR/L
Owner & Founder
Amy has been working with children as an Occupational Therapist since 2014. She received her Master’s in Occupational Therapy from Ithaca College in 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of New Hampshire. She has since pursued advanced training and specialization in feeding therapy. Amy has also pursued training in holistic approaches to treatment including aromatherapy, mediation, nutrition, and craniosacral therapy.
Amy has experience in private practice, early intervention, and in schools. She has a deep passion for out-patient private practice and a strong belief in individualization for each child. She has observed the benefits of working closely with the family to achieve the most carryover from private sessions in the clinic into the home environment. Experience has taught her that this approach provides the best opportunity for the child to progress more quickly. Amy has had her own struggles in life and perceives that those experiences have brought an extraordinarily deeper perspective on life, broadening her skills and allowing for a profound understanding and empathy for the kids and families that she works with.
Amy chose to start Kuhl Therapies in 2018 because she wanted to develop a place where a unique and holistic approach is welcomed. Kuhl Therapies was founded to provide an environment for children and families that enriches the innate intelligence of each child, and supports those who care for them.
Kuhl Therapies is a place where each family member is heard and treated individually. Amy enjoys partnering with caregivers, and forming a team to empower the whole family. In this way, the child and family enter into a trusting relationship that forms a community of support.
Shannon Wade
Speech Language Pathologist
Shannon is a nationally certified Speech-Language Pathologist. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Art degrees from the University of Central Florida.
Shannon has experience assessing and treating children and adults with a variety of diagnoses, including Autism, Down Syndrome, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Fluency, Language, Hearing Loss, Dysphagia, Aphasia, and other Cognitive Impairments. She has experience working with the individuals in outpatient, inpatient rehab, early intervention, and school settings.
Shannon has worked with individuals of all ages, but her passion lies in pediatrics. She employs a collaborative, multidisciplinary, and whole-person approach to therapy. She is constantly expanding her understanding of, and sharing information about, Neurodiversity Affirming practices. A quote she lives by is “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer. Establishing trust and ensuring that children feel safe, respected, and loved is foundational to her practice. These ideals are also foundational to Kuhl Therapies. Shannon is thankful to have found a team of like-minded therapists working to support children and their families.
Shannon has recently relocated with her children from Central Florida to Maryland. She has a son and daughter. They are enjoying the seasonal changes and love exploring the beautiful DMV outdoors!
Jackie Scezcpkowski
Occupational Therapist
After graduating with a BA in psychology and religion from Bucknell University in 1999, Jackie followed her love of children into a career teaching preschool. She naturally felt a deep respect for children’s creative intelligence and right to autonomy.
By presuming competence and tuning in to their interests, play drive and unique learning styles, her students thrived. Jackie’s passion for the power of play then led to pediatric occupational therapy.
She received her MS in OT from Trinity Washington University in 2019. Whenever she felt that environmental barriers hindered children’s social-emotional well-being, she looked for new ways to help them succeed. At a pediatric residential facility, she helped a student propose a youth advisory council to increase youth self-advocacy. At a neurodivergent high school, she started a meditation club, socratic seminar, and debate club. These clubs facilitated emotional regulation, mindfulness, critical thinking, flexible thinking, and social interaction skills.
After working as an OT in various settings, and learning from
each one, she wanted to settle into a work environment that is authentically committed to supporting diverse and divergent children, families, and staff. Jackie is thrilled to now be part of a strengths-based neurodiverent-affirming practice like
Kuhl Therapies.
Kaela Scutt
Insurance and Billing Coordinator
My name is Kaela Scutt, and I have been working for Kuhl Therapies since August 2021.
I was born and raised in Seattle Washington. I was raised in a family where if I tried my best my parents would always be proud of me. Lucky for me, trying my best was never a struggle, but keeping up with everyone else around me was a challenge. If it wasn’t a hands-on project or a physical challenge, I felt like I was going to be the little engine that never could no matter how hard I worked.
As I grew older, I always wondered why learning with my hands stuck to my memory but when it comes to learning with my eyes (reading, writing, spelling, etc.) it wasn’t easy and I couldn’t remember anything at all.
Well, it wasn’t until my husband, and I had our three girls that I learned there are many ways a person’s brain works in life and when it comes to learning. What may work for one person most likely won’t work for everyone around you.
It is because of my struggles that I am passionate about neurodiversity and work to ensure that I, my children, and the children that come to Kuhl Therapies are accepted.
Stuart Frazier
Design and Marketing
Stuart has a background in visual arts and experience in marketing, administrative and operations. He has always valued "connection." Whether that is through Marketing, (customer and product or service) or one on one with individuals. He sees the world through a lens of interconnected parts. One leading to another, and another, and so on. Each unique and special in their own way. This way of "seeing" has inevitably drawn him to Kuhl Therapies, where people are celebrated for who they are, and not forced into a confining box of conformity.
Kim Scutt
Office Manager
Kim brings 20+ years of customer service and working in the administrative field. With 16 years being a testing and class schedules coordinator for a center of 150 students. She has worked as an Administrative Assistant in HR scheduling and insurance billing for a Mental health practice.
She has 4 sons, and 11 grandchildren total. Each and every one of them are a story all their own, with no two alike, and bring joy to her life! Khul Therapies has given me a much brighter vision in a world today where neurological differences are recognized and how it affects every child and their family everyday life style.
Emily Scheiner
Occupational Therapist
Emily is an Occupational Therapist who graduated from Towson University with an M.S. in Occupational Therapy in 2021. While Emily gained experience with various ages and settings, outpatient pediatrics is an area that she found especially meaningful. Emily found while connecting with children and their families, she is able to provide the type of therapy she wishes she had in her own childhood.
Emily is dedicated to engaging with ongoing education in best practices for OT with a strong interest in topics of neurodiversity, responsive feeding, and executive functioning. Emily practices with a holistic framework, knowing that it is impossible to get a full picture of a person if only looking through one type of lens. Emily also understands the importance of meeting people where they are in order to fully appreciate an individual's strengths while also supporting their growth and learning.
Emily lives in Germantown, MD with her partner Jesse as well as their beloved cat and 2 guinea pigs. Outside of work, Emily enjoys being in nature, taking care of animals, and trying new vegetarian/vegan recipes.
Michael Mentzel
Speech Language Pathologist
Michael Mentzel is proud to be the newest member of the Kuhl Therapies team. Michael is a neurodivergent speech-language therapist specializing in working with clients across the
neurodiversity spectrum and across the lifespan. Michael believes that speech-language therapy that focuses on the lived experience of neurodivergent individuals and people who
stutter rather than on external behaviors alone can support each individual’s quality of life. His pioneering work supporting young neurodivergent adults in transition-to-work programs such
as Project SEARCH® and HCPSS’s Community Connection has brought needed attention to the critical role of the language of self-identity and self-advocacy in successful employment
outcomes. At the university level, Michael's experience supporting autistic and ADHD college students in the University of Maryland SIGNA program taught him the importance of executive functioning support and self-advocacy in the academic setting. Understanding that no two children are alike, Michael is passionate about creating communication interventions that are
tailored and individualized for every child with communication differences. He believes that therapy should always be child-led, strengths-based, and neurodiversity-affirming. Michael and
his wife Joy are the proud parents of two neurodivergent boys.
