MILDRED PANGILINAN-FLORES – DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR ext. 212, milly@laurensinstitute.org

Mildred (Milly) Pangilinan-Flores, OTR/L, has always been passionate about helping and caring for others wishing to be like Mother Teresa since she was a child. Growing up in the Philippines, Milly was raised and encouraged to help and care for the less fortunate. When she moved to the United States at the age of 16, in her efforts to make sense of her new life in a new country, she started volunteering at the nearby hospital. It was here that she learned about occupational therapy. Her desire to become an occupational therapist was further solidified when she found out that two of her passions could be fulfilled by entering this profession: teaching and caring for the sick. Despite her challenges with learning, Milly received her Bachelors degree in Occupational Therapy from California State University, Dominguez Hills, graduating at the top of her class and with honors in 2002.

Milly was very fortunate to have had such great internships while an occupational therapy student but it was while interning at the Children’s Center at Simi Valley Hospital in California and working with children with Autism and other developmental disabilities that she found her calling. She felt an undeniable connection with these kids and found her niche working in this setting. It was here that Milly started her new life as a pediatric occupational therapist.

Milly has been working as a pediatric therapist for the last 9 years and has worked in a variety of pediatric settings: as an outpatient pediatric therapist for Simi Valley Hospital, as a clinician and school therapist for the Children’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Center (CCNS), and as a home and clinic therapist for Horizon Pediatric Therapy before finally finding her way to L.I.F.E in 2007. Milly’s interest and specialty in the field has always been in sensory integration (SI).  She received most of her training in SI from the late Lorna Jean King when she worked at CCNS. From then on, Milly has continued to hone her skills in SI and has taken several courses in this treatment technique, learning about sensory diets, sensory regulation, the Wilbarger Protocol and getting certified in the SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Test). In addition, Milly has also been a clinical supervisor and a mentor to new occupational therapists since 2004 and is now the occupational therapy supervisor at L.I.F.E. Milly continues to take courses in sensory integration but she is also working on becoming a feeding therapist having recently taken the Beckman Oral-motor course. She is keeping herself busy learning about feeding and  plans on getting certified in Neurodevelopmental Treatment in the near future.

Milly lives with her husband in Maricopa, Arizona. She enjoys reading, cycling, and playing the guitar. She hopes to start a family someday, write a book, and start her own practice in the distant future.

TAMMY GROENWALD – PHYSICAL THERAPIST  tammy@laurensinstitute.org