Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dana Johnson, PhD, MS, OTR/L. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Dana, thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

My defining moment came in 2015 when I read the book “Ido in Autismland”. The author, Ido, a nonspeaker with autism who spelled to communicate talked about how OT did “nothing for me”. As an OT, that caught my eye. I soon learned that what I was doing as an OT working with individuals with autism wasn’t enough. I only knew a very small amount about those individuals who have what’s called whole body apraxia or the ability to understand and learn, but the inability to control their body movements. The majority of individuals with autism also have whole body apraxia and I was never taught this in all of my education. It was a pivotal moment in my career because everything changed. My entire set up in my clinic changed. How I worked with my clients and their families changed. And most importantly, I was missing one of the most important ways to support my clients and that was educating myself on the differences between cognition and neuromotor differences as it relates to autism.

Dana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been an occupational therapist for over 20 years. I work with individuals of all ages with autism and other neuromotor disabilities. I have a private clinic in the Tampa Bay area and prior to opening that I worked in the school and out patient pediatric hospital settings. In 2015 I founded a school for nonspeaking and unreliably speaking students with autism, apraxia and other sensory motor disabilities. At that time the school was one of four in the world that provided a reliable means of communication for those with sensory motor differences to demonstrate their knowledge and learning. Spelled communication is a method that teaches those with sensory motor disabilities the motor planning needed to point to letters to spell and type to communicate. I continued with my private practice while running the school to best serve the families in the area. I left the school in 2021 to focus more on my private clinic and consulting business.

In 2021 a colleague and I teamed up to create a business called Empowered2 which focused on empowering parents to learn how to support their autistic child to communicate. In 2022 Empowered2 was rebranded to SPELLERS as a documentary called SPELLERS The Movie had been launched which won two awards at the Phoenix Film Festival that year. SPELLERS currently offers online courses, in person training at our Spellers Centers, and support for parents and caregivers. www.spellers.com

My colleague and I have most recently completed a docuseries of 5 episodes that documents the lives of the cast in the documentary a bit more closely while focusing on a subject related to nonspeakers/spellers – education reform, family dynamics, social enterprise, etc. The docuseries is currently for sale to purchase per episode or the series together. www.underestimated.tv

I currently run my private clinic and work with clients two days/week. I am opening another clinic in Atlanta early 2025 and will be adding to our online training platform and will continue to provide up to date information on various issues/therapies/ topics related to autism and neuromotor disabilities.

I’m most proud of being able to change the lives of families who have at one time been told that their child isn’t able to learn or understand. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. They can learn and understand everything around them. The problem is they don’t have a way to demonstrate their knowledge because of their motor planning challenges. Nonspeaking autism is a motor issue, not a cognitive issue. I feel that I have been blessed to be able to meet and work with the families that I do and that I “get” to do this every day.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Absolutely! My undergrad in exercise physiology, Master’s in OT, and PhD in the area of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Development have set me up to build a specialty to be able to serve a population that is underserved. I have developed a niche that allows me to use all of my training to provide support for my clients.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The ability to pivot on a moment’s notice, problem-solving, patience, empathy, resilience, and drive are just a few things that are required for working and succeeding in this field. The families that I work with come from many different backgrounds and experiences. Each day is both exciting and challenging but I wouldn’t change a thing. My goal every day is to support my clients to the best of my ability so that they can be autonomous and live their best lives!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.spellers.com
• Instagram: _dana.johns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dana.johnson.5832/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-johnson-phd-66056a2b/