Our Team.
Our therapy specialists come from a wide variety of backgrounds, have diverse areas of expertise, and make Sensational Steps a very unique and comprehensive therapy clinic. Meet our team of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and feeding specialists!
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS
SPEECH THERAPISTS
Erin Carmode
Speech-Language Pathologist
Early Interventionist
Meredith Block
Speech-Language Pathologist
Katelyn DeYoung
Speech-Language Pathologist
Feeding Specialist
PROVIDER BIOs
Kaylie Stearns, OTR/L
I am the owner of Sensational Steps Therapy, Inc. I am a registered, licensed pediatric occupational therapist and I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to provide OT services in the state of Michigan! I have been an OT and private practice owner for 13 years.
I use a play-based, child-led approach to treating developmental delays and sensory processing differences. I am a Sensory Integration certified therapist, Intermediate DIR Floortime provider, handwriting specialist, and feeding therapist. I have had formal training in Handwriting Without Tears, the SOS Approach to Feeding, Therapeutic Listening, and iLs Integrated Listening. In addition, I have experience providing interventions for social-emotional regulation and visual motor/perceptual development.
I have had the opportunity to practice in a variety of environments including in-home, private practice, early intervention, and school-based therapies. Today, I continue to work as a contract therapist and provide in-person pediatric OT services in/around the tri-cities area of West Michigan and teletherapy to the entire state of Michigan (and beyond).
Education: I grew up in Grand Haven and went to GHHS! I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Michigan State University and my Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. In graduate school, my master's thesis focused on Autism Spectrum Disorder and anxiety.
Emma McCleary, OTR/L
Meet Emma McCleary! She joined the team at Sensational Steps Therapy in April 2023 and is the Lead Occupational Therapist at both of our clinics. Emma has a variety of experience including, hospital-based intensive care (ICU), day programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, outpatient pediatrics working with children with physical disabilities, parent coaching, and tele-health. She has received additional continuing education in the SOS Approach to Feeding, Breastfeeding & Lactation, and Reflex Integration.
One of Emma’s core beliefs is the power of trust and relationship building. She loves supporting families to ensure they feel heard and empowered to be advocates for their children. Emma fully embraces play in all forms. During her sessions, you’ll hear lots of laughter, singing, and funny voices. Her favorite game to play during sessions are scavenger hunts!
Outside of the clinic, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family. On the weekends, you can find her playing soccer or exploring West Michigan’s trails and breweries. She loves reading and is always looking for new library book recommendations.
Education: Emma graduated from Western Michigan University with both her undergraduate and masters degrees. While at WMU, she had the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland while studying Eco-health and the impact the environment has on our health & health systems. Additionally, she participated in research on various trauma-informed treatment approaches to pediatric occupational therapy intervention.
Laurie Bullerman, OTR/L
Laurie Bullerman brings 14 years of diverse occupational therapy experience to our team, with a rich background spanning pediatric outpatient care, school-based services, adult outpatient care, and home-based therapy. Laurie is passionate about creating individualized treatment plans that foster growth and development in her clients.
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Specializing in sensory integration, feeding therapy, therapeutic listening, and working with individuals with physical disabilities, Laurie is dedicated to enhancing the lives of those she works with. Her creativity shines in the clinic, where she enjoys merging her imagination with that of her clients to create engaging and fun therapeutic activities. Her current favorite game at the clinic is "Space Landing and Alien Hunting"!
She is committed to staying active both in and out of the clinic, whether she’s biking, swimming, or enjoying a day at the amusement park. At home, Laurie enjoys family life with her husband of 13 years, their three energetic boys, and their beloved Bernese Mountain Dog, Louie.
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Education: Laurie holds both a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Science and a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University.
Kirsten Baas, OTR/L.
Kirsten is our newest occupational therapist at Sensational Steps. We are so excited to have her! More information about Kirsten coming soon.
Erin Carmode, CCC-SLP
Erin is an ASHA-certified and licensed speech language pathologist and has been practicing for the last 6 years. This is Erin's second career!
Erin embraces a play-based, child-led approach to treating development delays including speech, language, cognitive, social communication and feeding difficulties. She passionately believes in a whole-child approach to intervention, meeting children where they are at. She has experience providing interventions for children with global developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, social-emotional and social-communication regulation difficulties, pre-natal exposure and prematurity, and alternative and augmentative communication needs. Erin has had formal training in the SOS Approach to Feeding, Hanen It Takes Two and More Than Words, the PLAY Project based on evidence-based DIR-Floortime underpinnings, LAMP: Words for Life and PODD: Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display.
In addition to providing therapies within the private practice world with Sensational Steps, Erin is a full-time speech-language pathologist and primary service provider for Early On Muskegon County, providing services to children aged birth-3 and their families within the home environment. She has experience practicing within a variety of settings including the schools, outpatient and early intervention.
Erin has two children, a large Great Dane and a quick-witted husband. She grew up in the Tri-Cities and loves raising her family here. She enjoys reading, traveling, speaking time outdoors, and be active through movement.
Education: Erin received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from Michigan State University and Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Grand Valley State University.
Meredith Block, CCC-SLP
Meet Meredith! She is joining the team at Sensational Steps Therapy as a pediatric speech-language pathologist. Meredith has over 9 years of experience working in an outpatient pediatric rehabilitation center. During her time there, she focused on individual and group sessions, as well as being an SLP in a preschool classroom.
Meredith has worked with children with a variety of speech and language difficulties, as well as with children who had medical diagnoses. She has experience treating receptive/expressive language, articulation, apraxia/motor speech, vocabulary, phonological issues, as well as social language and pragmatics.
Meredith is a believe that family involvement and carryover within a variety of settings is key to improving communication skills. She is looking forward to meeting new clients and families and helping improve their child's communication skills.
Education: Meredith recieved her Bachelors in Communication Disorders from Central Michigan University and her Masters is Speech Language Pathologist from Eastern Michigan University.
Katelyn DeYoung, CCC-SLP
Katelyn is an ASHA-certified and licensed speech language pathologist and has been practicing for the last 4 years primarily in the realm of pediatrics, although she has also provided therapy to older populations.vKatelyn is passionate about child-led, strengths-based therapy with a focus on play as the primary mode of intervention. She has experience with global developmental delays, language delays and disorders, Autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, social communication differences, prematurity, phonological and articulation impairments, and alternative and augmentative communication with a focus on high-tech devices. She is also an experienced pediatric feeding and swallowing therapist, with experience advancing children to solids, supporting bottle refusals, difficulty breastfeeding, and weaning children off of thickened liquids.
Katelyn is eager to collaborate with her clients and their families to provide functional activities to carry progress over to their communities. She is also passionate about making parents feel heard and supported as they navigate receiving services for their children. Katelyn holds a basic certificate in DIR Floortime, is trained in LSVT LOUD and pediatric NMES therapy. She has also taken additional continuing education courses in pediatric feeding, articulation, and AAC, as well as done extensive research into the neurodiversity affirming movement.
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Katelyn has one young daughter, a sweet and spunky pup, and has been married to her husband, Max, since 2019. She grew up in a Zeeland, MI and moved to Grand Haven, MI in 2022. She enjoys reading, traveling, and the beach.
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Education: Katelyn graduated with her bachelors degree from Calvin University in Speech Pathology and Audiology in 2019, and then went on to earn her masters degree from Calvin University in 2020.
"Play is the most important occupation of childhood. The mission of Sensational Steps Therapy is to provide play-based pediatric therapy services, allowing each child to grow and develop to their full potential through meaningful activities."
Kaylie Stearns, OTR/L, SIPT