Saco Bay Peds

Kaela earned her bachelor's in exercise science at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. She then went on to complete her doctorate of physical therapy at Sacred Heart University, where she graduated in 2018. Kaela specializes in treating infants with torticollis, plagiocephaly and developmental delay. She also specializes in treating neurological conditions such as spina bifida. She is an American Physical Therapy Association Member, (Pediatric Section) and serves as a clinical instructor to students. She has a strong passion for Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), and her facility therapy dog, Denver, can always be found close by. Denver participates in many of Kaela’s sessions to provide motivation, comfort, competition, as well as sensory and social experiences for children at Saco Bay Kids.

Growing up, Emily knew she wanted to be in healthcare, she just didn’t know what type of healthcare or in what capacity. She always thought, “Life is far too amazing to not pursue what you want to do. There should not be limitations.” This thought helped guide her decision. She decided that she wanted to get those who have limitations back to doing what they love. At Quinnipiac University, Emily acquired her bachelor's degree in health science, then pursued her doctorate of physical therapy. Throughout her education, she knew her end goal was to work with kids. Emily’s passion for pediatrics grew as she volunteered for Special Olympics and Camp No Limits; two organizations that serve those with intellectual and physical disabilities/limb loss. When Emily isn’t working, she loves to enjoy the Maine outdoors, try new restaurants, travel and spend time with her family and friends.

Julia graduated from the University of New England with a masters in occupational therapy. She has experience treating children with various challenges and strengths, including but not limited to, those with sensory integration difficulties, emotional regulation challenges and developmental delays. Julia became interested in occupational therapy while she was a behavioral health professional at a preschool for children with special needs (she also provided in-home support for a child with autism for about 3 years). The ability to use play as a means of assisting children in gaining/re-learning skills for their everyday life is one of the many reasons she loves occupational therapy. In her free time, Julia enjoys spending time with her husband, dog and son, as well as exploring the outdoors (she loves the beach) and trying new foods.

Stephanie Hyde completed her bachelor of arts in linguistics and French language and literature and her masters of science in speech language pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Boston, Massachusetts. She has experience providing evaluation and treatment to individuals from birth through adulthood with a variety of needs, including disorders of articulation and phonology, fluency, language, pragmatics and social language, motor speech, swallowing and feeding. Stephanie is fluent in French. Stephanie is licensed by the Maine Board of Speech, Audiology & Hearing Aid and has her certificate of clinical competency from the American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Helen earned her bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders at the University of New Hampshire. She then moved to Arizona where she received her master’s in speech language pathology at Arizona State University and remained in Arizona to complete her clinical fellowship before moving back to her home state of Maine. Helen holds her national certification with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and serves as a clinical mentor at Saco Bay Kids Pediatric Therapy for clinical fellows starting their career in the pediatric outpatient setting. Helen enjoys working with the many areas of communication that this field has to offer as well as the wide range of ages seen at Saco Bay Kids. Helen also works with children with feeding difficulties providing assessment and therapy and is trained in the sequential oral sensory (SOS) approach to feeding.

Lea graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2014 with her doctorate of physical therapy. After taking the boards, she decided to backpack around Southeast Asia for seven months. She spent three of those months volunteering as a physical therapist at a rehabilitation center in Cambodia, working primarily with patients with spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Following her return to the States, she then decided to move to Colorado where she worked as an outpatient pediatric therapist at Children’s Hospital in Colorado for more than five years before joining the team at Saco Bay Kids Pediatric Therapy. Lea loves working with children of all ages and specializes in neurodevelopmental and muscle disorders, foot management (including clubfeet and limb loss), as well as concussion and vestibular rehabilitation. She is currently undergoing training in the management of pediatric pelvic health and is excited to start working with this population!

Lyndsay graduated from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. She continued her education at Grand Valley State University, earning a doctorate in physical therapy. After electing to take an advanced topic course in pediatric physical therapy practice and completing an educational research project regarding power mobility training in children with cerebral palsy, her interest in pediatrics grew. Originally from Michigan, Lyndsay relocated to Maine in 2020 in order to practice in the interdisciplinary rehabilitation environment offered at Saco Bay Kids Pediatric Therapy. She has experience in the school systems and as a clinical instructor for physical therapy students. In her spare time, Lyndsay enjoys exploring all that Maine has to offer.

Jaimie graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a master’s of science in occupational therapy in 2019. Growing up, Jaimie always knew she wanted to work with children. It was not until she job-shadowed at a pediatric outpatient facility that she knew she wanted to become a pediatric occupational therapist to work with children to help them reach their full potential. Through her graduate studies, Jaimie became very interested in the sensory system and completed a course about sensory integration in pediatrics. Jaimie enjoys being able to use a play-based approach to help children attain their goals in fun and engaging ways. In her free time, Jaimie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going on hikes and exploring all the beautiful sights Maine has to offer.

Olivia earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education at the University of Maine-Presque Isle. She was a collegiate athlete for the university women’s basketball team for four years. Her experiences as an athlete led her to want to pursue earning her degree as a physical therapy assistant. Olivia continued her education at the University and completed her degree in 2017. Olivia knew she wanted to work with children after being a direct support provider for adolescents in addition to teaching/hosting basketball camps for third through eighth grade athletes. Olivia enjoys the learning opportunities and the ability to treat a wide variety of diagnoses for all ages at Saco Bay Kids. In Olivia’s free time she enjoys spending time with her friends/family, participating in adult sport leagues, outdoor recreational activities and traveling.

Jennie graduated from the University of Maine with her bachelor’s degree in exercise science where she ran cross country and track. She then went on to earn her doctorate of physical therapy at Stony Brook University in 2015. After graduation, Jennie worked as a travel physical therapist on Cape Cod in Massachusetts before moving to Austin, Texas to begin her career as a pediatric physical therapist. In 2019, Jennie moved back to Maine to be closer to her family. Due to her love of children, Jennie continued to pursue a career in pediatrics and loves being a part of the amazing team at Saco Bay Kids. She is an APTA certified clinical instructor and enjoys working with kids of all ages and with all diagnoses. Her favorite part of the job is helping kids achieve their goals and teaching them how to have fun while doing it!

Lydia graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a master's in occupational therapy. During her graduate studies, Lydia had experiences working with adults with developmental disabilities to learn life skills, working with the elderly population at a skilled nursing facility and working with children with a variety of diagnoses. She has experience working with children ages two-18 with a variety of diagnoses, including developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder and physical disabilities. Lydia is a member of the America Occupational Therapy Association. In her free time, Lydia enjoys CrossFit, exploring the outdoors, trying new restaurants and spending time with family and friends.