Organising Committee

Susanne Smith Roley - OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Susanne is an occupational therapist with more than 30 years of experience in paediatrics. She obtained her BS in OT at Indiana University, her MS in Allied Health Sciences at Boston University and her OTD at University of Southern California. She is in private practice in Orange County in Southern California and co-founder of the Collaborative for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration (CLASI).
Susanne was on the original faculty of the Centre for the Study of Sensory Integrative Dysfunction (CSSID0 started by Dr. Ayres, subsequently known as Sensory Integration International (SII)). She was a course originator of the Sensory Integration Certification Program sponsored by USC/WPS and its Program Director for 14 years through the University of Southern California Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She is a past chair of the Commission on Practice and the Sensory Integration Special Interest Section for AOTA; and a contributing author of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 2002 and 2nd Edition.
She is an internationally recognised author and lecturer on the theory and application of sensory integration. She is co-editor of numerous chapters, articles, and the books, Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration with Diverse Populations and Sensory Integration: Applying Clinical Reasoning to Diverse Populations. She is a fellow of the AOTA and recipient of the AOTF Virginia Scardina Award of Excellence and the AOTF A. Jean Ayres Award.

 

Zoe Mailloux - OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Zoe is a founding partner, alongside Susanne Smith Roley, of the Collaborative for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration (CLASI). She has participated in test development and clinical research related to sensory integrative dysfunction and autism and she was a research assistant to Dr. A. Jean Ayres from 1978 to 1984 during which time she was involved in many clinical and research projects with Dr. Ayres.
Zoe has more than 30 years of experience in non-profit management and she is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Jefferson School of Health Professions at Thomas Jefferson University.  She is also in private practice and consults on a variety of projects including program and professional development.
Zoe has published numerous journal articles and textbook chapters and has received a number of professional awards, including being named a fellow of AOTA in 1993. She also received an award of excellence from the Autism Research Foundation, the Wilma West Lectureship at the University of Southern California and the A. Jean Ayres Award and the Virginia Scardina Award of Excellence from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation.  Zoe is interested in innovative practice that will enhance life satisfaction in new and effective ways for children and their families.

 

Dr. Shelley J Lane

Shelley is Academic Program Director at Colorado State University (CSU), Director of the Sensory Integration, Play and Occupational Therapy Lab at CSU, and a Conjoint Professor of Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She holds a BS in Occupational Therapy and a PhD in Anatomy and Neuroscience, and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Dr. Lane’s research has focused broadly on neuroscience applications in occupational therapy, and development and sensory integration/processing in children. Her recent collaborative scholarship projects include neuroscience of play; interoception neuroscience and clinical application; sensory processing considerations for sleep in autism; and understanding the neuroscience underlying paediatric occupational therapy interventions.
Other collaborative projects include: clinical reasoning and reflective practice in occupational therapy; emotional regulation in autism; transition out of the military; biobehavioural synchrony; and sensory processing and adaptive behaviour during PANS remission and exacerbations.
Dr. Lane holds certification in both the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests and the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests. She served as country liaison for Australia during data collection for the Evaluation of Ayres Sensory Integration.  Dr. Lane presents nationally and internationally, has published extensively, and has edited chapters and texts, and authored and co-authored book chapters addressing issues related to sensory integration and processing, neuroscience applications to practice, and paediatric occupational therapy practice. 


Roseann Schaaf

Roseann is Director of the Jefferson Autism Center of Excellence, Professor of Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University, and Research Director for the Collaborative in Ayes Sensory Integration®. 
Dr. Schaaf, an occupational therapist, also has a PhD in Neuroscience and is on the faculty of Jefferson’s Farber Institute for Neurosciences. She has devoted her career to the study of sensory features in autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions with the goal of improving the lives of children and families. Dr. Schaaf has received over $10 million for research including support from the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Lurie Foundation.
In collaboration with her colleagues, Dr. Schaaf manualised Occupational Therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration® and developed the Data Driven Decision Making Approach to guide practice. Their work showed that Occupational Therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration® is effective for autistic children. This work contributed to its rating as an evidence-based intervention for autism.
Dr. Schaaf has mentored dozens of students and young therapists, is the author of 6 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles/abstracts, and is now extending her work to diverse and underserved communities. She is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the recipient of the A.J. Ayres Award and was awarded the Eleanor Clark Slagle lectureship, the highest research honor of the profession.